Returning Customers And Shopify

Use this guide when a customer already bought from you in the past and comes back with a new inquiry.

The short version

Slokoto still keeps one canonical lead per customer identity.

That means:

Slokoto does not create a second duplicate lead just because the same customer writes again
the same lead can move from Won back into an active selling stage when a new buying cycle starts
historical Shopify purchases stay visible as context, but they should not automatically close a new inquiry

How a won lead can reopen

Slokoto automatically reopens a won lead only when both are true:

A new inbound is classified as a real sales lead or high-intent inquiry
At least 60 days have passed since the latest known win marker

If both conditions are met, Slokoto reopens the same lead record and moves it back to the first active pipeline stage.

This keeps the full timeline in one place:

when the lead first won
when the customer returned
what product or expansion they asked about next

What does not reopen a won lead

These do not automatically reopen a won lead:

support questions
admin or operational messages
order-status messages
customer-success check-ins without a new buying signal
a Shopify purchase that happened before the current buying cycle

How Shopify behaves now

After Shopify is connected, Slokoto keeps matching Shopify customers, draft orders, and paid orders back to the canonical lead.

The important rule is:

a paid Shopify order only moves the current cycle to Won when that order happened during the current buying cycle
an older paid order is treated as purchase history only

So if a past customer comes back to explore an expansion, upsell, or new product, the old purchase stays visible, but it should not force the new inquiry back to Won.

What you see in Lead View

Returning-customer leads can now show:

a Returning customer badge in the header
Last won
Last purchase
Current cycle
Reopened

The timeline also shows a Reopened stage event when Slokoto reopens a won lead into a new active cycle.

Manager-controlled stage changes

Managers and reps can still challenge or change a stage manually.

From Lead View:

Open the stage picker in the sidebar
Choose the target stage
Explain why in the Slokoto consultation box

That explanation is saved in the consultation history, and the resulting stage change is written to the lead timeline.

Important detail:

the Lead View flow currently sends the stage change through Slokoto review first
the explicit force-apply manager override path still lives in the pipeline override flow

So the note is preserved today, but the exact "manual override" label depends on which manager flow is used.

Why Slokoto works this way

This model is a bridge between two needs:

keep one clean customer record instead of creating duplicates
still allow the same customer to re-enter the pipeline later for a new deal

It keeps history readable today without introducing a full contacts-and-opportunities model yet.