9 min read | Last updated: August 2026
In this guide:
- Why this popped up in your admin out of nowhere
- What Shopify is actually recommending, in plain terms
- Email only vs letting shoppers use a phone number
- Requiring a name vs keeping checkout as short as possible
- The part nobody talks about: your consent settings decide if the list is worth anything
- Handle the big fear: will applying these changes hurt my checkout or lose me sales?
- What each setting actually controls
- Common mistakes owners make with these settings
- Your simple plan for handling the checkout recommendations
- Where to go from here
Imagine your bank sends you a letter. It says, "We have reviewed your account, and we recommend a few changes." The changes sound small and helpful. Update this setting, tick that box. Most people would sign it and send it back without thinking twice, because it came from the bank and the bank knows best.
But a recommendation is not a rule. It is a suggestion shaped by what benefits the person making it. Sometimes that lines up perfectly with what benefits you. Sometimes it does not, and you only find out later.
Shopify just started doing exactly this with your checkout. A little panel now appears in your admin telling you to change your customer information settings. It looks official and harmless, and mostly it is. But some of these changes quietly reshape how you collect emails and phone numbers, and that affects the one asset you actually own: your marketing list.
This guide walks you through what Shopify is now recommending for your checkout fields, what each change really does to your email and SMS list, and when to say yes and when to think twice. No jargon, no panic. Just what the settings do and why it matters.
Why this popped up in your admin out of nowhere
In August 2026, Shopify rolled out a feature that gives eligible stores personalised recommendations for their checkout information settings, right from the Checkout settings page. If you opened your admin and saw a prompt suggesting changes, that is this.
The reason it feels sudden is that your Shopify checkout settings are something most owners set once and never touch again. You launched your store, the fields were whatever the default was back then, and you moved on to selling. Years can pass without a single change. So when Shopify surfaces a panel saying your setup could be better, it stands out.
Here is the part worth knowing. New stores already use these recommended settings by default. Your older store does not, which is why Shopify is nudging you to catch up. Your existing settings will not change unless you choose to apply the recommendations. Nothing happens behind your back. But the nudge is designed to make saying yes feel like the obvious move.
What Shopify is actually recommending, in plain terms
Strip away the polish, and the recommendations usually cover three things.
Set your customer contact method to email only. Require a first and last name. Make the shipping phone number optional instead of required.
Each one sounds boring. Together they change what lands in your customer list. Email only means every checkout hands you an email address instead of letting some shoppers check out with just a phone number. Requiring a name means your list has real names attached, which makes your marketing emails feel personal instead of starting with "Hi there." Making phone optional means fewer people abandon the checkout because they did not want to hand over their number.
The thread running through all of it is the same. Shopify wants you collecting cleaner, more complete contact details so you can reconnect with shoppers later and personalise your marketing.
The takeaway: These recommendations are not really about checkout. They are about quietly upgrading the quality of the email list you build from every sale.
Email only vs letting shoppers use a phone number
Letting customers check out with a phone number instead of an email has a real upside. Some shoppers, especially on mobile, find it faster. In markets where SMS is the main channel, a phone number is genuinely useful, and people are comfortable giving it.
But here is where it falls short for most stores. A phone number is a weak foundation for marketing. Email is still the channel you own outright. It is cheap to send, it works in every country, and it does not depend on a shopper opting into SMS separately. When a chunk of your checkouts capture only a phone number, your email list grows slower than your sales do, and you cannot see it happening. Switching to email only closes that leak. For most stores, this recommendation is a clear yes.
Requiring a name vs keeping checkout as short as possible
The instinct to keep checkout short is a good one. Every extra field you force on a shopper costs you a few sales, because friction and abandonment go hand in hand. Owners who obsess over a lean checkout are not wrong to do so.
The honest catch is that a name is not really friction. Almost everyone expects to type their name when they buy something, and the shipping label needs it anyway. So this is a rare field that adds real value to your list without scaring anyone off. A list with names lets you write "Hi Sarah" instead of "Hi there," and personal emails get opened more. This one is worth applying. The place to stay strict on short checkout is optional junk fields, not the basics.
The part nobody talks about: your consent settings decide if the list is worth anything
Everyone focuses on collecting more emails. Almost nobody mentions that an email in your list is close to worthless if you do not have permission to market to it. That is the hidden layer these recommendations quietly sit on top of.
Shopify checkout includes a marketing consent checkbox, and you get to decide whether it is pre-ticked and in which regions. This sounds like a small toggle. It is not. A pre-ticked box grows your list faster, but in places like the EU, the UK, and Canada, a pre-ticked box is not valid consent under the law. Those regions need the shopper to actively tick it themselves. Get this wrong, and you are not just risking a fine. You are filling your list with contacts you are not allowed to email, which drags down your deliverability for everyone else too.
So the smart move pairs with the field recommendations. Collect email only, require the name, and set your consent checkbox pre-ticked only in regions where that is allowed, unticked everywhere it is not. That is how you build a list that is both big and legal.
Handle the big fear: will applying these changes hurt my checkout or lose me sales?
This is the worry that keeps owners from touching that panel. They are scared that saying yes tanks their conversion rate or breaks something at the worst moment. Let's settle it.
- Nothing changes until you apply it. The recommendations sit there as a suggestion. Your live checkout stays exactly as it is until you click to apply. There is no silent switch.
- These changes reduce friction more than they add it. Making phone optional removes a field that made people abandon. Email only is one clean field instead of a confusing choice. The net effect on most checkouts is neutral to positive.
- You can reverse any of it. If a change does not suit your store, you go back into Checkout settings and switch it back. Nothing here is permanent or destructive.
The real risk is not applying these. It is leaving an old checkout that quietly captures half-complete contact details on every order for another year.
What each setting actually controls
Before you touch anything, it helps to know exactly what each part does so you apply the ones that fit you.
Contact method: This decides whether a shopper checks out with an email, a phone number, or a choice of either. Email only is the recommendation and the safest default for list building.
Full name requirement: This sets whether first and last name are required, optional, or hidden. Required is the recommendation and rarely costs you a sale.
Shipping phone number: This controls whether the phone field at the address step is required or optional. Optional is the recommendation, because a forced phone number is a common abandonment trigger.
Marketing consent checkbox: This is the separate opt-in that decides if you can actually email or text the person. You control whether it shows and whether it is pre-selected by region.
Common mistakes owners make with these settings
Most stores do not get burned by the recommendations themselves. They get burned by applying them carelessly.
- Applying every recommendation without reading it. Click to apply blindly, and you might switch a setting that suited your market. Read each one, then apply the ones that fit. Two minutes now saves a headache later.
- Pre-ticking the consent box everywhere. It feels like free list growth, but in the EU, UK, and Canada it is not legal consent. Leave it unticked in those regions, or you build a list you cannot use and hurt your sending reputation.
- Confusing a bigger list with a better list. Collecting emails is only step one. If you never ask for consent properly, you have addresses you cannot legally market to. Growth without permission is just clutter.
- Ignoring SMS consent rules. The SMS opt-in can never be pre-ticked at checkout. If you want to text customers, you need them to actively agree. Treat phone and email consent as two separate permissions, not one.
Your simple plan for handling the checkout recommendations
You do not need to overhaul anything. You can customize your Shopify checkout in about twenty minutes with a clear head.
Step 1 — Open Checkout settings and read the panel. Look at each recommendation Shopify is showing you. Do not click Apply yet. Just understand what each one changes.
Step 2 — Apply the safe wins. Set contact method to email only and require the full name. For almost every store, these two are a clear yes, and they immediately improve list quality.
Step 3 — Decide on the phone field. If you rely on SMS or delivery calls, keep phone as a field but consider making it optional. If you do not, optional or hidden is fine.
Step 4 — Fix your consent settings. This is the one that actually protects the list. Pre-tick the marketing box only in regions where it is allowed, leave it unticked for the EU, UK, and Canada, and never pre-tick SMS.
By the end, you have a checkout that collects cleaner contacts and a marketing list you are actually allowed to use.
Where to go from here
Shopify's recommendations are mostly helpful, and applying the safe ones is a genuine upgrade to the list you build from every sale. You do not need to customize your Shopify checkout page from scratch to get this right, just handle these four settings with care. The trap is treating them as one big yes button instead of four separate decisions, especially the consent piece that decides whether your list is worth anything at all.
If you would like a second pair of eyes on your checkout and email setup before you change anything, we are happy to take a look.
Book your free Shopify checkout and email audit and see what your current settings are really doing to your list.
