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Merge Your First Orders

This guide walks you through merging orders for the first time with Order Merger. You'll learn how to manually merge orders and set up automatic merging for hands-free operation.

Tom avatar
Written by Tom
Updated this week

Before You Start

What You Need

  1. Order Merger installed on your Shopify store

  2. A pricing plan selected (including the free Merge As You Go plan)

  3. At least 2 orders from the same customer with the same shipping address

What Happens When Orders Are Merged

When you merge orders:

  • A new order is created containing all items from the original orders

  • The original orders can be archived, canceled, or left as-is (based on your settings)

  • Shipping costs are consolidated (you choose how)

  • Customers can be notified via email (on paid plans)

  • The merge is recorded in your merge history

Manual Merge (Recommended for First Time)

Manual merge lets you select specific orders and see exactly what will happen before confirming. This is the best way to learn how OrderMerger works.

Step 1: Go to Manual Merge

  1. Open Order Merger from your Shopify admin

  2. Click Manual Merge in the navigation

Step 2: Find Orders to Merge

  1. In the search field, enter an order number or order name

  2. Select the order from the search results

  3. Repeat to add at least one more order

  4. Selected orders appear as tags in the search field

Tip: Orders should be from the same customer and have the same shipping address for best results.

Step 3: Review Your Settings

Before merging, review the settings that control how the merge works:

Shipping Rate Selection

Choose which shipping cost to keep:

  • Keep oldest order's shipping rate

  • Keep most recent order's shipping rate

  • Keep cheapest shipping rate

  • Keep most expensive shipping rate

  • Combine all shipping rates

  • Set shipping to zero (It is automatically set to this option when "Set new order value to 0" is enabled).

Shipping Refunds

Decide if unused shipping should be refunded to the customer.

Order Actions

Choose what happens to the original orders:

  • Add tags to identify merged orders

  • Add notes for reference

  • Archive original orders

  • Cancel original orders

Note: For your first merge, the default settings work well. You can customize them later.

Step 4: Merge the Orders

  1. Click Merge Orders

  2. If the orders have different shipping addresses, you'll be asked to choose which address to use

  3. Wait for the merge to complete

  4. A success message shows the new merged order

Step 5: View the Result

Click View merged order to open the new order in Shopify admin. You'll see:

  • All items from the original orders combined

  • The shipping rate based on your settings

  • Notes indicating which orders were merged

Set Up Automatic Merge

Once you're comfortable with manual merging, set up automatic merge to let Order Merger handle everything for you. Learn more about automatic merge

What to Expect After Merging

The Merged Order

The new order will contain:

  • All line items from the original orders

  • Combined order notes

  • Shipping based on your settings

  • Tags you configured (if any)

The Original Orders

Based on your settings, original orders may be:

  • Archived - Hidden from main list, still accessible

  • Canceled - Marked as canceled in Shopify

  • Tagged - Marked with tags for reference

  • Unchanged - Left as-is (not recommended)

Common First-Time Questions

Will it inflate my sales data?

By default, the merged order retains the combined value of all original orders, which can result in double-counted revenue in your reports (once from the original orders, once from the merged order). To prevent this, enable "Set new order value to zero" in the Order Actions section. This sets the merged order total to $0, so your sales reports only count the original order values.

Why didn't my orders merge automatically?

Check that:

  • Automatic merge is enabled

  • Orders are from the same customer (same email/account)

  • Shipping addresses match exactly

  • Orders meet your rule conditions

  • Enough time has passed (merge delay)

Can I undo a merge?

No. Once orders are merged, the only way to "undo" a merge is by canceling and deleting the merged order. However:

  • Original order data is preserved in notes

  • You can manually recreate orders if needed

  • Always test with a small merge first

What happens to payments?

  • Payments stay with original orders

  • Refunds (like shipping) are processed on original orders

What happens to fulfillment?

  • Fulfill the new merged order, not the originals

  • Original orders can be auto-fulfilled based on your settings

  • This prevents duplicate shipments

Will customers see multiple charges?

No. Customers pay for their original orders normally. The merged order is for fulfillment purposes only.

Tips for Success

  1. Start with manual merges - Get comfortable before enabling automatic merge

  2. Use conservative rules first - Start with strict rules (like 24-hour window) and loosen them if needed

  3. Enable shipping refunds - Customers appreciate getting refunded for duplicate shipping

  4. Archive original orders - Keeps your orders list clean and prevents confusion

  5. Add tags - Makes it easy to filter and find merged orders later

  6. Check your merge history regularly - Especially in the first few days, to ensure everything works as expected

  7. Set up customer notifications - Keeps customers informed and reduces support questions

Next Steps

Now that you've merged your first orders:

  1. Fine-tune your rules - Adjust based on your store's patterns

  2. Set up customer notifications - Keep customers informed (paid plans)

  3. Explore merge suggestions - Find orders you might have missed

  4. Monitor your dashboard - Track savings and merge activity

For more details on any feature, see the specific documentation:

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