The Shopify Address Issue: Why Businesses Have "AL, US" in Their Data (and How to Fix It)

Many Shopify merchants face an issue where incomplete or unrecognized customer addresses default to “AL, US” (Alabama, United States), leading to shipping errors and tax miscalculations. This happens because Shopify assigns Alabama as a default address when a valid shipping location isn’t detected, affecting order fulfillment and compliance. This article will explain why the Shopify address issue occurs and how businesses can fix it to ensure accurate deliveries and tax reporting.

The Shopify Address Default Issue

The Shopify address issue occurs when incomplete or incorrectly formatted shipping addresses are automatically assigned to “AL, US” (Alabama, United States) due to Shopify’s default settings. Since Alabama appears first alphabetically, Shopify uses it as a placeholder when no valid billing address is provided, leading to checkout issues that affect orders, delivery, and tax compliance.

Merchants often do not realize this problem until they audit their shipping addresses and find an unusual number of orders linked to Alabama, even when customers are located in different states or countries. The Shopify Community highlights how this issue affects both B2B and direct-to-consumer merchants by causing errors in order fulfillment and tax reporting.

These inaccuracies can result in incorrect shipping fees, delayed delivery, and compliance risks, requiring manual troubleshooting to correct faulty records. If this problem is not addressed, businesses may face increased error messages, chargebacks, and dissatisfied customers due to failed deliveries.

Why Does Shopify Default to Alabama (AL, US)?

One Shopify user asked this question in a forum "Why does the default customer address set to Alabama in ecommerce platforms?" Surprisingly, many merchants admitted encountering the same problem and reported that this checkout issue results in failed shipping, higher return rates, and incorrect sales tax filings.

Unfortunately, they do not know how to fix it. "I am also having this issue and cannot find customer-address.liquid in Sections," one shared on the thread where the merchants discuss possible solution.

Another merchant reached out to Shopify support to address the problem. However, they were of no help. I've also tried contacting support, but they say they can't help me with this issue,” JorgeVázquez wrote.

As mentioned above, the Shopify address issue occurs when Shopify assigns “AL, US” (Alabama, United States) as the default shipping address when a customer enters incomplete or improperly formatted billing address details at checkout. Since Alabama appears first alphabetically in Shopify’s settings, the platform automatically fills in AL, US whenever it encounters missing or unrecognized shipping address information.

How Does This Affect Your Business?

The Shopify address issue can have serious consequences for B2B and direct-to-consumer businesses by causing errors in orders, incorrect tax calculations, and failed shipping processes. When Shopify defaults to “AL, US” (Alabama, United States) due to incomplete or improperly formatted shipping addresses, merchants unknowingly store inaccurate customer data, which leads to compliance risks and delivery failures.

Businesses relying on faulty billing address information may collect the wrong amount of sales tax, potentially facing audits or penalties due to misreported orders. Additionally, businesses that don’t catch this problem early may face delays in delivery, inaccurate sales forecasts, and unreliable reporting in their Shopify settings.

If left unchecked, this issue can damage customer trust, increase refund requests, and create ongoing operational inefficiencies.

How the Kintsugi Customer Success Team Uncovered the (AL, US) Pattern

The Kintsugi Customer Success team discovered the Shopify address issue while conducting an in-depth audit of shipping address data for multiple merchants, noticing an unusual pattern of orders assigned to “AL, US” (Alabama, United States). At first, this seemed like a coincidence, but further investigation revealed that Shopify automatically assigns Alabama as the default billing address when a customer enters incomplete or improperly formatted shipping details at checkout.

This led to widespread checkout issues, causing incorrect tax calculations, failed deliveries, and inaccurate customer data, all of which required additional troubleshooting. Many merchants were unaware of this problem until they experienced repeated errors in orders, unexpected sales tax adjustments, and complaints from customers receiving error messages.

Discussions in the Shopify Community confirmed that other businesses were facing similar checkout issues, affecting both B2B and direct-to-consumer sales. By analyzing Shopify’s settings and transaction records, our Customer Success team identified that the lack of address verification was a major contributor to these shipping address errors.

How to Identify and Fix This Issue in Your Store

If you’re using Shopify, here’s how to troubleshoot and fix this issue:

1. Audit Your Address Data:
   1. Go to Shopify Admin > Orders or Customers
   2. Export customer or order data as a CSV file
   3. Filter for shipping addresses where the state is AL (Alabama)
   4. Look for incomplete billing address details​
2. Verify Suspicious Orders: 2. Cross-check orders with actual customer records 2. Look for mismatches, such as customers outside Alabama being assigned AL, US
3. Enable Address Verification : For issues not addressed, consider consulting the Shopify help center for additional support. 3. Use Shopify address verification tools such as: 3. Google Places API 3. EasyPost Address Verification
4. Manually Correct Data: 4. Locate affected orders and update shipping information
5. Prevent Future Checkout Issues: 5. Require address verification at checkout 5. Set up automated alerts for incomplete billing addresses​

By enabling address verification you can easily fix this Shopify issue and ensure fewer error messages and order fulfillment.

Why Data Accuracy Matters for Sales Tax, Shipping, and Customer Success

Accurate shipping address data is essential for proper orders, tax compliance, and smooth checkout processes, as even small errors in billing addresses can lead to financial losses, delivery failures, and customer dissatisfaction; the Shopify help center can provide additional guidance on resolving such issues. When merchants experience the Shopify address issue, where incomplete shipping addresses default to “AL, US” (Alabama, United States), they risk charging the wrong sales tax, misdirecting orders, and creating unnecessary checkout issues.

Businesses that do not correct these errors may end up overcharging or undercharging customers, exposing themselves to potential tax audits and compliance violations. Inaccurate Shopify settings can also cause failed delivery, increasing return-to-sender rates and additional troubleshooting costs.

Many merchants in the Shopify Community have reported that bad shipping address data leads to delayed orders, lost products, and frustrated customers. Without fixing this problem, businesses risk long-term damage to their B2B operations, as repeated checkout issues reduce conversion rates and increase refund requests.

Implementing address verification, auditing shipping addresses, and adjusting Shopify’s settings will help merchants avoid these challenges while improving order accuracy and customer trust.

Data Errors Won’t Hold Your Business Back with Kintsugi

The Shopify address issue is just one example of how hidden errors in shipping address data can impact orders, tax compliance, and overall customer satisfaction. Many merchants don’t realize their Shopify settings are causing checkout issues until they face unexpected tax audits, failed delivery, or increased troubleshooting costs due to incorrect billing addresses.

At Kintsugi, we help businesses identify and resolve these problems before they create long-term financial and operational challenges. To prevent these issues, merchants should use address verification tools, regularly audit their shipping addresses, and optimize their Shopify settings for clean data entry. Without proactive solutions, businesses risk additional costs from returned orders, chargebacks, and poor B2B relationships due to failed shipments.

By partnering with Kintsugi, merchants can implement address verification, reduce checkout issues, and ensure that all orders are completed smoothly without unnecessary troubleshooting. Don’t let bad data slow down your business-- Book a demo or sign up with Kintsugi to take control of your Shopify, eliminate shipping address errors, and improve customer trust.