What Is Identity Resolution? A Plain-English Guide for Ecommerce Brands
Identity resolution connects anonymous store visitors to real customer profiles. Learn how it works, what data it uses and how Shopify brands put it to work, with consent.
By IntentWave · Published · 4 min read
Key takeaways
- Identity resolution links the scattered signals a shopper leaves behind (a device, a browser, an email, a purchase) into one customer profile.
- For ecommerce, the payoff is simple: you can follow up with the shoppers who left without buying instead of losing them.
- Consent is the line that matters. Resolve identities only for shoppers who agree to it.
- It works best when it feeds tools you already run, such as Klaviyo and Meta.
What is identity resolution?
Identity resolution is the process of matching the different pieces of data a person leaves across devices and channels to a single, persistent profile. One shopper might browse your store on a phone, open an email on a laptop and buy a week later from a tablet. Without identity resolution, that looks like three strangers. With it, you see one customer and one journey.
The result is often called an identity graph: a record that ties together identifiers such as email addresses, device IDs, cookies and past purchases. Brands use that graph to recognize returning shoppers, personalize messages and measure what actually led to a sale.
Why identity resolution matters for ecommerce
Most visitors never give you their email. They look at a product, maybe add it to the cart, and leave. Your analytics show a session. Your email platform shows nothing, because there is no profile to send to.
Identity resolution closes that gap. When a shopper consents, you can attach a name, an email and the products they viewed to that visit. That is the difference between knowing "412 visitors left today" and knowing who they were and what they wanted.
How identity resolution works
Most systems follow the same four steps.
- Collect signals. A pixel on your store records first-party events: page views, products viewed, items added to cart.
- Match to a person. The system compares those signals against known identifiers, such as an email that has been seen before or a device linked to a customer record.
- Assign a persistent ID. Matched signals are grouped under one profile so the shopper is recognized on the next visit and on other devices.
- Activate the profile. The profile is sent to the tools that act on it: an abandoned cart flow in Klaviyo, a custom audience in Meta, a segment for a campaign.
Deterministic and probabilistic matching
Two methods do the matching, and good systems use both.
| Method | How it matches | Strength | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deterministic | Exact shared identifiers, such as the same email or login | High accuracy | Needs a known identifier |
| Probabilistic | Statistical likelihood from patterns like device and behavior | Wider reach | Less certain, needs careful thresholds |
Deterministic matches are the ones you can rely on for sending an email. Probabilistic matching widens reach but should be held to a stricter standard before you act on it.
Identity resolution and consent
Resolving identity means working with personal information, so permission comes first. A responsible setup shows a consent banner and a privacy policy, and only identifies visitors who agree. IntentWave works this way: it identifies shoppers with consent, and it does not identify anyone who has not agreed.
Privacy rules vary by state and country, and they change. Treat consent as a design requirement, not an afterthought, and talk to your counsel about what applies to your brand.
What ecommerce brands do with resolved identities
- Recover abandoned carts and browse sessions. Send a message that names the shopper and the exact product they left.
- Build audiences that perform. Turn identified shoppers into custom audiences for Meta and other ad platforms.
- Grow your email list. Reach people who would otherwise never have subscribed.
- Measure what worked. Tie an order back to the flow or audience that produced it.
Is identity resolution B2B or B2C?
Both exist, and they solve different problems. B2B identity resolution matches visitors to companies and contacts for sales teams. B2C identity resolution, the kind ecommerce brands use, matches visitors to individual consumers so they can be reached with relevant marketing. IntentWave is built for B2C ecommerce: Shopify and Shopify Plus brands that sell to consumers. We cover the difference in B2C vs B2B identity resolution.
How to get started
Start with one question: of the shoppers who left your store last month, how many could you contact today? If the answer is "only the ones who were already subscribers," identity resolution is the gap to close. Begin with a pixel, a consent banner and one flow, for example abandoned cart, and expand once you can see the revenue it recovers.
Frequently asked questions
What is identity resolution in simple terms?
It is matching the scattered data a person leaves across devices and channels so you can recognize them as one customer. For a store, that means knowing who a visitor was, not just that someone visited.
Is identity resolution the same as a customer data platform?
No. A customer data platform stores and organizes customer data. Identity resolution is the matching step that decides which records belong to the same person. Many platforms include it, and some tools offer it on its own.
Does identity resolution require consent?
It should. Responsible tools identify only visitors who agree to it, behind a consent banner and a clear privacy policy. Rules differ by location, so check what applies to your brand.
How is identity resolution used in Shopify stores?
Shopify brands use it to turn anonymous visitors into profiles they can email and advertise to, then trigger flows in Klaviyo and build audiences in Meta from the shoppers who left without buying.