What this is
The Customers tab gives your staff a searchable directory of customers, right inside the staff dashboard. Search by name or email, browse results as a card grid, and click any customer to open their full profile — order history, tags, interactions, and key details like lifetime value. No need to leave the dashboard or dive into the WordPress admin.
This is especially useful when a customer calls, emails, or walks up to the counter and your staff need to pull up their information quickly. Instead of hunting through WooCommerce orders or admin screens, they type a name and everything is right there.
—
Setting it up
The Customers tab is part of the unified staff dashboard. It appears alongside the Orders and Returns tabs on the same page — no separate shortcode or page needed.
Requirements
One feature flag controls the Customers tab:
packsie.customers_tab— found under the Packsie module in Tracksies > Settings > Features. This is enabled by default when Packsie is activated.
Permissions
Which roles can see the Customers tab is controlled by the permissions matrix in Tracksies > Settings (Packsie section). By default, Administrators and Shop Managers see all tabs. For other roles like Packer, you need to explicitly tick the Customers column in the matrix.
See Staff Roles & Access Control for the full permissions setup.
—
Searching for customers
When staff click the Customers tab, they see a search bar at the top of the panel. Type a customer’s name or email address and press Enter (or click the search button). Results appear as a grid of customer cards below the search bar.
The search checks both the customer’s display name and email address, so partial matches work. Searching “smith” will find “Jane Smith” and “john.smith@example.com” alike.
—
Customer cards
Each search result appears as a card showing key information at a glance:
- Customer name — display name from their WordPress profile
- Email address — for quick identification
- Status badge — their current Tracksies status (Active, VIP, At Risk, Churned, Flagged, or Do Not Serve)
- Lifetime value (LTV) — total spend across all orders
- Order count — how many orders they’ve placed
The card grid is responsive — it adjusts the number of columns based on the available space, so it works well on both wide monitors and tablets.
—
Customer profile panel
Click any customer card and a profile panel slides open on the right side of the screen. This gives your staff a complete picture of that customer without leaving the dashboard.
What’s in the profile
Summary section — the customer’s name, email, status badge, lifetime value, total orders, and average order value.
Order history — a list of the customer’s recent orders showing order number, date, status, and total. Staff can see at a glance whether a customer is a regular or a first-timer.
Tags — any tags the customer has earned through the Tracksies tag system. Tags are shown with their custom colours and icons (if configured in Tracksies HQ settings).
Interactions — a timeline of customer interactions logged by Tracksies, including contact form submissions, support requests, and other touchpoints.
Key details — registration date, last order date, and account information.
Closing the panel
Click the close button at the top of the panel, or click a different customer card to switch profiles. The panel is read-only — staff can view information but can’t edit customer details from here.
—
When the Customers tab is useful
Customer phone calls. “Hi, I’m calling about my order.” Staff search the customer’s name, open their profile, and see their full order history. No asking for order numbers, no switching to the admin.
Returns processing. While working on a return in the Returns tab, staff can switch to Customers to check a customer’s history — are they a frequent returner? A VIP? This context helps with return decisions.
Packing context. A packer notices a VIP badge on an order. They can quickly check the customer’s profile to see their full relationship with your store.
In-store lookups. If you have a physical location, staff can search for walk-in customers to check their order history or account status.
—
Tips
- The Customers tab uses data from Tracksies HQ’s customer intelligence system. The richer your customer data (tags configured, contact form integration enabled, orders synced), the more useful the profiles will be.
- Search is fast but not instant — it queries the database each time, so results appear after a brief moment. This keeps the dashboard lightweight by not loading thousands of customer records upfront.
- The profile panel is read-only. To edit customer details, tags, or status, use the full customer profile in WooCommerce > Customers (or the Tracksies admin customer view).
- Combine with permissions wisely. Not every role needs to see customer profiles. If your packers only need the Orders tab, leave Customers unticked in the permissions matrix. Give it to supervisors, returns staff, or customer service roles who actually need the context.