Replatforming to Magento 2: A complete guide to preserving customer data

Customer data is the lifeblood of any e-commerce business, and its integrity is crucial during a replatforming project. Mishandling this data can lead to severe consequences, such as lost orders, inaccessible customer accounts, and inaccurate loyalty histories, all of which can result in revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction. This guide provides a comprehensive, step-by-step process for accurately and completely migrating customer data when transitioning to Magento 2.

Pre-migration planning: Essential considerations for customer data

Before starting the replatforming process, a crucial step is to create a detailed plan that outlines what customer data needs to be moved and how you’ll approach the migration. This planning phase helps you avoid data loss and ensures a smooth transition for both your business and your customers.

Identifying critical customer data for migration

The first step is to identify all the customer data that is vital to your business operations. This includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Customer account information: This includes names, email addresses, assigned customer groups, billing and shipping addresses, and securely migrated password hashes.
• Customer preferences & interactions: Don’t forget to migrate newsletter subscriptions and any custom attributes or fields you’ve created for your customers.
• Transactional history: All comprehensive order history, including status, items, prices, and dates, should be transferred.
• Loyalty and promotional data: This includes gift card balances and reward points or loyalty program data.

Choosing your migration approach

Your choice of migration method is a fundamental decision that depends on your current e-commerce platform.

1. From Magento 1 to Magento 2: Leverage the Magento Data Migration Tool. 

The Magento 2 Data Migration Tool is the official solution for this transition. It’s designed to handle a significant amount of data, including customer accounts, password hashes, addresses, and order history. However, certain data, like media files, custom modules, and gift card or reward program data, are not supported and will require a separate strategy.

2. From other platforms to Magento 2: Utilizing third-party migration tools

If you’re moving from a different platform, you’ll need to use third-party tools like Cart2Cart or LitExtension. While these tools can migrate basic customer and order information, they often can’t handle password hashes, meaning customers will likely need to reset their passwords. Loyalty program data and gift card balances also frequently require manual recreation or specific Magento 2 extensions.

3. Manual migration: 

This approach is a last resort, used when other tools are insufficient. It involves exporting data to a CSV file, reformatting it to match Magento 2’s structure, and then importing it. This method may also involve using Magento APIs to handle more complex data transfers.

H2: Step-by-step customer data migration process

Step 1: Comprehensive data backup

Before you begin the migration, the most critical first action is to back up your entire database and all core files from your current platform. This isn’t just a precautionary measure; it’s an essential safety net that provides a complete, restorable snapshot of your e-commerce store at a specific point in time.

To ensure a complete backup, you should create a copy of:

• Your current site’s database (SQL dump): This is a copy of all your structured data, including customer information, orders, products, and settings. Backing up the database is the single most important step to preserve all of your core data.
• All core files: This includes your media files (product images), theme files, and module files. You need to ensure all files on your server are copied.

In the event of a migration failure, data corruption, or unforeseen errors, this backup allows you to revert to the original state without any loss of critical information. It ensures that your customer data, including accounts, orders, and passwords, remains secure and intact. This step should never be skipped, regardless of the migration tool or method you choose.

Step 2: Installing and utilizing the migration tool

Once your data is securely backed up, you’ll proceed with the migration using the tool that aligns with your chosen approach. The process and its complexities will differ depending on your source platform.

For Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration:

• Install the Magento Data Migration Tool:
  • First, you must ensure the tool’s version matches your Magento 2 version.
  • You have two options for installation:
    • From repo.magento.com: This is the standard method for installing packages from the official Magento repository.
    • From GitHub: You can also install the tool directly from its GitHub repository.
  • The installation is performed using Composer, Magento’s official package manager. You will need to update the composer.json file in your Magento 2 root directory and then run the appropriate Composer commands to add the tool’s package to your project. For detailed installation steps, refer to the official Magento Data Migration Tool installation guide from Adobe Commerce.
• Configure config.xml: After installation, you must configure the config.xml file by providing the database credentials for both the Magento 1 and Magento 2 stores. This file acts as a bridge, telling the tool where to find the old data and where to put the new data.
• Execute the three-phase migration: The tool runs in a specific order to ensure data integrity:
  • Settings migration: This phase transfers your configuration data, such as store settings, websites, and currencies.
  • Data migration: This is the core phase where customer accounts, addresses, password hashes, order history, and product data are moved.
  • Delta migration: After the initial data transfer, this phase is used to capture and sync any new data or updates that occurred on the Magento 1 site while the main migration was in progress.

For other platforms to Magento 2 migration:

When migrating to Magento 2 from platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce, you’ll need to use a specialized third-party migration tool like Cart2Cart or LitExtension. They automate most of the data transfer, saving time compared to manual migration.

Steps:

• Set up source and target stores
  • Install connector plugins or provide store credentials (API access or admin login).
  • Magento 2 will act as the target store, and the original platform as the source.
• Choose which data to migrate

• Customer data: Names, emails, passwords (if available), addresses, groups.
• Orders: Order history, products purchased, payment/shipping info, and statuses.
• Products: SKUs, images, pricing, inventory.
• Categories, CMS content, coupons, reviews, wishlists, etc.

You can select all or migrate only specific entities depending on your store’s needs.

• Field mapping: 
  • You must map data fields from the old platform to Magento 2’s database structure. Example: billing_address.first_name → customer.firstname

• Merge full names if needed (Shopify stores full name in one field).
• Pay close attention to:
  • Custom customer fields
  • Order statuses (e.g., “Fulfilled” → “Complete”)
  • Store views if migrating to a multi-store setup
• Address format normalization: 

Different platforms have varying address structures, which can cause data migration issues. Examples:

• Some platforms split addresses into address_line_1 and address_line_2, whereas Magento 2 uses an array format, street[].
• Regions and postal codes may follow different ISO or local formatting standards.

So, you should clean and reformat the data during the mapping process or in a preprocessing CSV file to ensure compatibility. This is crucial to prevent customers from encountering errors when logging in or making payments on the new website.

Step 3: Handling specific customer data types

Customer custom attributes

If your old platform includes custom customer fields (e.g., customer_type, VIP level, referral_code), these will not migrate automatically. Here’s how to handle them:

• Identify all custom attributes: Review customer profiles on your old platform, as well as any registration forms, customer account pages, or CRM integrations.
• Recreate the attributes in Magento 2: Use the Admin panel for basic fields or custom code for advanced logic to manually recreate these attributes in your new store.
• Prepare and map the data for import: If your migration tool supports custom field mapping, use it. Otherwise, you must manually include these fields in your import file (e.g., a CSV).

Passwords

• From Magento 1 to Magento 2: Passwords can often be retained if the hashing algorithms are compatible. The Magento Data Migration Tool is designed to handle this.
• From other platforms to Magento 2: Generally, passwords cannot be migrated directly due to different encryption methods and security protocols. You will need to plan for a password reset process and a clear communication strategy to inform your customers about this change.

Behavioral data

• Viewed products: The Magento Data Migration Tool can transfer some of this data if report data migration is enabled. However, the completeness of this data may vary depending on how the original platform stored session-based views. For a more reliable solution, consider using third-party tracking extensions or integrating with CRM/Marketing Automation systems to re-collect this data post-migration.
• Cart items: Most platforms do not expose cart items via export, especially for guest users. After migration, the best solution is to prompt users to log in and rebuild their carts.

Order data

While many tools handle basic order data, you may need a more robust solution for complex historical order information. An extension like the Magento order import export by BSS Commerce can be very helpful. The process is as follows:

• Export order data: Export the order data from your old platform (or Magento 1) into a CSV format.
• Data formatting: Meticulously adjust the CSV file to match Magento 2’s specific import format. This step is critical to ensure data integrity.
• Import into Magento 2: Use the Order Import Export Extension to import the formatted CSV file into your new Magento 2 store.
• Verify data: It is critical to ensure that order statuses are maintained and that all orders are correctly linked to their respective customer IDs.

Gift card redemption

Loyalty data, such as gift card balances, is a common point of failure for automated migrations and is often not moved automatically. You must handle this data separately. We recommend using a specialized third-party extension, such as the Gift Card Magento 2 extension by BSS Commerce, to manage these aspects.

• Process: Manually input or import existing gift card balances and assign the gift codes to the corresponding customer emails.
• Communication: Consider sending notification emails to customers about their updated balances or new gift codes to ensure they are aware of the changes.

Reward points

Similar to gift cards, reward points data often needs to be recreated. You should utilize Magento 2’s built-in reward point management or a dedicated extension to re-enter existing customer point balances and ensure the continuity of your loyalty program.

=> These extensions are all available on the BSS Commerce Extension Store. Visit the BSS Commerce – the leading Magento 2 extension development agency.

Step 5: Thorough validation and testing

After the migration process is complete, extensive validation and testing are essential to ensure data integrity and a seamless transition. This phase should always be conducted on a staging site before you deploy to your live production environment.

Critical post-migration checks:

• Customer login functionality: Verify that all customers can log in to their new accounts without issues.
• Billing and shipping addresses: Confirm that customer profiles correctly display their billing and shipping addresses.
• Order history: Ensure that all past orders are correctly linked to their respective customer IDs and that the data is complete.
• Loyalty program data: Validate that newsletter subscriptions and loyalty program balances (e.g., gift cards, reward points) are accurate.

Staging environment is key: Always perform these extensive checks and tests on a staging environment. This allows you to identify and fix any errors or inconsistencies without impacting your live store or customers.

Step 6: Post-migration best practices

There are a few final steps and best practices to follow before and after going live.

• Final delta migration: Immediately before your store goes live, perform one final delta migration. This last run will capture any new orders, customers, or data changes that occurred on your old platform during the final stages of the migration, ensuring no data is lost.
• Customer communication: Proactively inform your customers about the platform change. A clear communication strategy is crucial for a smooth transition. This is the time to explain any necessary actions they need to take, such as a password reset if you were unable to migrate their passwords.
• Error monitoring: After going live, actively monitor system logs for any migration-related errors or anomalies. This can help you quickly identify and address any lingering issues that were not caught during the testing phase.
• Customer support preparedness: Ensure your customer support team is fully prepared to handle an influx of questions or issues. Establish a clear support system to address any customer issues or questions that arise post-migration, providing a seamless experience for your users.

Common issues and how to address them

Here are some common issues that can arise during customer data migration and how to address them.

• Password migration failures: This is a frequent problem, especially when moving from non-Magento platforms. Due to different encryption algorithms, direct password migration is often not possible. The solution is to prepare for a mandatory password reset process and communicate this clearly to customers.
• Incorrect address/order formatting: Discrepancies in data structures between your old platform and Magento 2 can lead to formatting errors. To fix this, you need to meticulously review and adjust CSV files after exporting data, ensuring they comply with Magento 2’s import format. Meticulous field mapping is crucial.
• Loss of custom attributes: If mapping is not done carefully, custom customer attributes (like customer_type or VIP level) may be lost. You should identify all custom fields beforehand and recreate them in Magento 2 before migration.
• Order-customer ID mismatch: This error occurs when incomplete or incorrect data fields lead to “orphaned” orders that are not linked to any customer account. To avoid this, always double-check your data and ensure that customer_id fields are maintained correctly throughout the migration process.

Conclusion

Migrating to Magento 2 without losing customer data requires careful planning, especially for preserving account details, order history, custom attributes, and behavioral data. While tools like Magento’s Data Migration Tool and Cart2Cart streamline much of the process, certain data types may require manual handling or post-launch recovery. With the right strategy, you can ensure a smooth transition and retain valuable customer insights.