Closing a Shopify store means deleting your account and removing your storefront from the internet

When you close a Shopify store, your shop stops accepting orders, your domain goes offline, and your account is permanently deleted. Shopify does not keep a backup of your store data after deletion, so you should download your product information, customer records, and order history before you proceed. The process itself takes a few minutes, but the preparation can take longer depending on how much data you need to save.

You can close your store from the Shopify admin dashboard at any time, regardless of whether you are on a paid plan or a free trial. If you have an active subscription, Shopify will not refund the current billing period, though you can cancel before your next renewal date to avoid being charged again. If you have a custom domain (like yourstore.com), it will stop pointing to your Shopify site once you delete the account, but you will still own the domain name itself through your registrar.

Key Takeaways

  • Download your store data — products, customers, orders, and analytics — before closing, because Shopify permanently deletes everything after account deletion.
  • You will not receive a refund for your current billing period, but you can cancel before the next renewal date to stop future charges.
  • Your custom domain will stop working but remains registered in your name; you can point it elsewhere or let it expire.
  • The actual deletion happens in your account settings under "Close store" and requires you to type your store name to confirm.

Download your data before you delete anything

Shopify gives you tools to export your store information, but you have to use them before you close the account. Once your account is deleted, this data is gone. Open your Shopify admin, go to Settings, then scroll down to the "Danger zone" section at the bottom of the page. You will see an option called "Export your data" — click it and Shopify will prepare CSV files of your products, customers, orders, and other records.

The export process can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on the size of your store. Shopify will send you a download link by email once the files are ready. Save these files to your computer or cloud storage. If you use a third-party accounting tool, inventory system, or email marketing platform, check whether those services have their own export options as well — you may have data stored there that Shopify does not include in its standard export.

If you have images, product descriptions, or other content you created, make sure you have copies outside of Shopify. You can take screenshots or use a web scraper tool, but the easiest method is to export your products as a CSV file, which includes most of the text content you entered.

Cancel your subscription before your next billing date

If you are on a paid Shopify plan, you will be charged again on your next billing date unless you cancel first. Closing your store does not automatically cancel your subscription — you have to do that separately. Go to Settings, then click "Plan and permissions," and you will see your current plan and billing date. Click "Change plan" and select the option to cancel your subscription.

Shopify will ask you why you are canceling and may offer you a discount to stay. You can ignore these offers and proceed with cancellation. Once you confirm, your subscription ends on your next billing date, and you will not be charged again. If you have already paid for the current period, that money is not refunded, but you can use the store until the billing date arrives.

If you are on a free trial, there is no subscription to cancel — you can close the store immediately without any charges.

Handle your custom domain and DNS settings

If you registered a custom domain through Shopify (like yourstore.com), that domain will stop working once you close your store. You still own the domain, and Shopify will not delete it from your account. You can either let it expire, renew it for future use, or point it to a different website.

If you registered your domain elsewhere and pointed it to Shopify using DNS records, closing your store will not affect your domain registration — you will still own it through your original registrar. However, the DNS records you set up to point to Shopify will no longer work, so your domain will show an error page. You can update those DNS records to point to a new website, or leave them as is if you do not plan to use the domain.

Before you close your store, decide what you want to do with your domain. If you plan to use it again later, renew it now. If you want to let it expire, note the expiration date so you know when it will become available to others.

Delete your store from the account settings

Once you have downloaded your data and canceled your subscription, you are ready to delete the store. Go to Settings in your Shopify admin, scroll to the bottom, and look for the "Close store" option in the Danger zone section. Click it, and Shopify will show you a warning that explains what will happen: your store will be deleted, all data will be removed, and the action cannot be undone.

Shopify will ask you to type your store name exactly as it appears to confirm the deletion. This is a safety measure to prevent accidental closures. Type the name, click the delete button, and your store will be removed from the internet immediately. Your Shopify admin dashboard will no longer be accessible, and anyone who visits your store URL will see an error page.

What happens to your orders and customer data

After you close your store, you will not be able to access your order history, customer email addresses, or any other information through Shopify. This is why downloading your data beforehand is critical. If a customer contacts you about a past order, you will need the information you exported to look it up.

If you use Shopify's email marketing tool or have synced your customer list to an external service like Klaviyo or Mailchimp, those platforms will still have the data you sent them. However, Shopify itself will not retain anything. Some payment processors like Stripe keep their own records of transactions, so you may be able to retrieve transaction history from them if needed.

Reopening a closed store

If you close your store and later decide you want to reopen it, you will need to create a new Shopify account from scratch. Shopify does not restore deleted accounts or data. You can recreate your products, customers, and settings using the CSV files you exported, but this will be a manual process. Your store URL will be different unless you register the same custom domain again.

If you are unsure about closing permanently, consider pausing your store instead. You can downgrade to the free Shopify plan, which keeps your store online and accessible but stops charging you. This way, your store remains available if you want to reopen it later, and you do not have to rebuild everything from scratch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I get a refund if I close my store mid-billing cycle?

No. Shopify does not refund the current billing period. If you close your store on the 15th of a month and your billing date is the 30th, you will not receive a refund for the remaining days. You can cancel your subscription before the next billing date to prevent future charges.

Can I download my store data after I close my account?

No. Once your account is deleted, Shopify permanently removes all data and does not provide backups. You must download your products, customers, orders, and other information before you close the store. Use the "Export your data" option in your Settings before proceeding with deletion.

What happens to my domain name when I close my store?

If you registered your domain through Shopify, you still own it and can renew it or point it elsewhere. If you registered it through another company and pointed it to Shopify, you still own it there — closing your store just breaks the connection. Your domain registration is separate from your Shopify account.

Can I pause my store instead of closing it?

Yes. You can downgrade to Shopify's free plan, which keeps your store online but stops charging you monthly fees. This preserves your store data and URL, so you can reopen it later without rebuilding everything. You can also use Shopify's pause feature if available in your region.

What if I have pending orders when I close my store?

Closing your store stops it from accepting new orders immediately, but you should fulfill any pending orders before you close. After deletion, you will not be able to access order details through Shopify, so make sure you have downloaded your order history and contacted customers about their purchases.