Bulk Actions
4 min read
Bulk actions on the Customers list let you operate on many customers at once — block, unblock, allowlist, remove from allowlist, recalculate, or delete in bulk. They’re the workflow for cohort-level moderation and for cleanup tasks. This page covers each bulk action, how it executes, and when to use it.
How to Run a Bulk Action #
- Apply filters to narrow the list to the cohort you want to act on
- Select rows using the checkbox column (or “select all on this page” header checkbox)
- For cohorts spanning multiple pages, click “Select all matching” link that appears above the list when filters are active
- Choose an action from the bulk-action dropdown at the top of the list
- Click Apply
- Confirm the action in the dialog (shows count and effect summary)
- The action executes — for large cohorts, it runs in the background and shows progress
Available Bulk Actions #
| Action | Effect | Reversible |
|---|---|---|
| Block | Sets is_blocked = true on all selected customers |
Yes (Bulk Unblock) |
| Unblock | Sets is_blocked = false |
Yes (Bulk Block) |
| Allowlist | Sets is_allowlisted = true; locks score at 100 |
Yes (Bulk Remove from Allowlist) |
| Remove from Allowlist | Sets is_allowlisted = false; score recalculates |
Yes |
| Recalculate | Queues score recalculation for each selected customer | N/A — recalc is idempotent |
| Export CSV | Downloads selected customers as CSV | N/A — read-only |
| Delete | Removes all TrustLens data for selected customers | No — permanent |
Background Execution #
Small cohorts (≤ 50 customers) execute synchronously — the page reloads with a success message. Larger cohorts run as Action Scheduler jobs:
- The action is queued as one or more background jobs
- The page shows a progress indicator with count completed / total
- You can navigate away — the job continues
- On return, the page reflects the current state
This prevents bulk actions from timing out on large stores. A bulk recalculate on 100,000 customers might take 30 minutes; the job runs in the background without blocking the admin.
Common Bulk Workflows #
Allowlisting Your Top Customers #
- Filter to Trusted + VIP segments
- Sort by total order value desc
- Select the top 50 or 100 customers
- Bulk Allowlist
One-time setup that locks your top customers at score 100, immune to future signal noise.
Mass Block After a Fraud Ring Detection #
- Open one confirmed fraud-ring member’s profile
- Note the linked accounts
- On the Customers list, filter by “Linked to {known_critical_customer}” or use search
- Select all matching
- Bulk Block
Cleanup After a False-Positive Wave #
- If a recent setting change produced wrong blocks, filter to “Blocked” status
- Sort by block date desc
- Select the false-positive cohort
- Bulk Unblock
Quarterly Allowlist Audit #
- Filter to allowlisted customers
- Sort by last-order-date asc — oldest dormant first
- Review each — are they still active customers worth allowlisting?
- Bulk Remove from Allowlist for dormant ones
Forced Recalculation After Setting Changes #
- After significantly changing scoring settings (e.g. lowering return-rate thresholds), filter to all customers in a specific segment
- Select all matching
- Bulk Recalculate
- Lets you see the impact of the setting change without waiting for organic recalculation triggers
Bulk Delete #
The most dangerous bulk action. Removes all TrustLens data for selected customers:
- Customer record from
{prefix}trustlens_customers - All signals from
{prefix}trustlens_signals - All events from
{prefix}trustlens_events - All disputes from
{prefix}trustlens_disputes - All fingerprints and linked-account records
- All admin notes
The WooCommerce customer record is not deleted — only the TrustLens data. The customer continues to exist as a WooCommerce customer, just without trust profiling.
Use cases:
- GDPR erasure requests for individual customers (though TrustLens’s GDPR integration handles this automatically)
- Wiping test customer data
- Cleaning up after a migration
The confirmation dialog requires you to type “DELETE” or similar to confirm — accidental clicks shouldn’t wipe customer data.
Bulk Export CSV #
The CSV export includes:
- Email hash (and email if not erased)
- Trust score
- Segment
- Total orders
- Total order value
- Total refunds
- Return rate
- Total refund value
- Total disputes (and won / lost breakdown)
- First order date
- Last order date
- Status flags (blocked, allowlisted)
Use for offline analysis, importing into CRM, or building custom dashboards. The export respects the current filter state — what you see is what you get.
Permissions #
Bulk actions require the manage_woocommerce capability. The same admin users who can manage individual customers can run bulk operations on cohorts of any size.
Consider establishing internal protocols for bulk actions affecting many customers — e.g. require a second team member’s approval before bulk-blocking more than 100 customers. There’s no built-in two-person approval mechanism; build the discipline organizationally.
Audit Trail #
Each bulk action is logged once per affected customer (not as a single bulk event). So if you bulk-block 200 customers, each customer’s event timeline gets a blocked entry. The admin user is the same across all 200 entries, with the same timestamp.
This makes per-customer auditability work the same as for individual actions — no special-case handling for bulk-originated state changes.