Bulk Product Upload Using CSV File files to import and export products
Bulk Product Upload Using CSV use a CSV (comma-separated values) file to import products into your Shopify store, and to export products from your store. When you use a CSV file, you can import or export a large number of products and their details at same time. This can be helpful if you want to exchange product information between Shopify and other platforms.
Column | Bulk Product Upload Default value created when the column is blank |
|---|---|
| Handle (required) | Bulk Product Upload Using CSV value is created based on the value in the Title column. For example, if the value in the Title column is Black Sun Glasses, then the value in this column is black-sun-glasses. |
| Vendor (required) | The name of the store as you entered it when you created your Shopify account. For example, John's Apparel or johns-apparel. This is the same store name that you use when you log in to Shopify. |
| Published (required) | The default value is true, which means that this product will be published and available in the online store sales channel. Published can also be set to false, which means that the uploaded product won’t be published. |
| Option1 Name (required) | The default value is Title if no value is set. If a product has an option, then enter its name. For example, Color. If a product has only one option, then this value should be Title. |
| Option1 Value (required) | If a product has an option, then enter its value. For example, Black. If a product has only one option, then this value should be The default value is If linking to a category metafield with the Caution: Changing data in this column deletes existing variant IDs values, and creates new variant IDs. Any change to variant ID values can break third-party dependencies on variant IDs. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Option1 LinkedTo | If a product option is connected to a category metafield, then this value should be product.metafields.shopify.{taxonomy_attribute} |
| Variant Grams (required) | The default value is 0.0 if no value is set. The weight of the product or variant in grams. Don’t specify a unit of measurement or use decimals. For example, for a weight of 5.125 kg, enter 5125. Shopify always imports and exports the weight in grams, even if you specify a different unit. You must use accurate weights if you intend to offer carrier-calculated shipping or use a third-party fulfillment service. |
| Variant Inventory Qty (required) | The default value is 0 if no value is set. The number of items you have in stock of this product or variant. This column is only used for Shopify stores that have a single location. Note: This column is only available for stores that have only one location. If your store manages inventory at multiple locations, then this column isn’t included. If you want to import or export inventory quantities, then use the inventory CSV file. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Variant Inventory Policy (required) | The default value is deny if no value is set. When the value is How to handle orders when the inventory level for this product or variant has reached zero. Variants with a |
| Variant Fulfillment Service (required) | The default value is manual if no value is set. The product or variant fulfillment service used. The following are the valid values for this column:
If you use a custom fulfillment service, then you can add the name of the service in this column. For the custom name, use only lowercase letters. Spaces aren’t allowed and you must replace them with a dash (-). Periods and other special characters are removed. For example, if “Joan’s Fulfillment” is your fulfillment service’s name, then enter You must have a custom fulfillment service set up in your Shopify admin before you can add the name of the service in this column. |
| Variant Price (required) | The default value is 0.0 if no value is set. The price of the product or variant. Only include the price and don’t include any currency symbols. For example, |
| Variant Requires Shipping (required) | The default value is true if no value is set. When the value is The option to require shipping. Valid values are |
| Variant Taxable (required) | The default value is true if no value is set. Applies taxes to this variant. Valid values are |
| Gift Card (required) | The default value is false if no value is set. When the value is Indicates whether the product is a gift card. Valid values are Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Variant Weight Unit (required) | The default value is kg if no value is set.Valid values are g, kg, lb, and oz. |
| Included / [Primary] (required) | This column indicates whether or not the product is included for sale in your primary market. The default value is true. This column heading name varies depending on the country or region determined to be your primary market in International. If you change the default primary market, then your column headers display with the new market name. Refer to the considerations section for more information. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Included / International (required) | If you sell internationally, then this column indicates whether or not the product is included for sale in that market. The default value is true. This column heading name varies depending on the International that you have set up on your store. The default market is Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Status (required) | If this column is present, then it needs to have a value. If the column isn’t present, then the product status is automatically uploaded as active.Indicates whether a product is available to your customers. Valid values are:
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| Title | The title of your product. For example, Women's Snowboard. |
| Body (HTML) | The description of the product in HTML format. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Product Category | A label that describes the type of product and is used to calculate a product’s tax rate in the United States. This label must be taken from the predefined standardized list of product categories. You can input the standardized product category in either of the following ways:
Learn more about adding a product category Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Type | A label that describes the category of a product. This label doesn’t need to conform to any predefined format. Learn more about adding a type. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Tags | A comma-separated list of tags used to tag the product. Most spreadsheet applications automatically add quotes around the tags for you. If you use a plain text editor, then you need to manually add the quotes. For example, tag1, tag2, tag3. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Option2 Name | If a product has a second option, then enter its name. For example, Size. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Option2 Value | If a product has a second option, then enter its value. For example, Large. The Option Value can be either a Metaobject handle or GID (not display name). Caution: Changing data in this column deletes existing variant IDs values, and creates new variant IDs. Any change to variant ID values can break third-party dependencies on variant IDs. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Option2 LinkedTo | If a product option is connected to a category metafield, then this value should be product.metafields.shopify.{taxonomy_attribute} |
| Option3 Name | If a product has a third option, then enter its name. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Option3 Value | If a product has a second option, then enter its value. For example, Large. The Option Value can be either a Metaobject handle or GID (not display name). Caution: Changing data in this column deletes existing variant IDs values, and creates new variant IDs. Any change to variant ID values can break third-party dependencies on variant IDs. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Option3 LinkedTo | If a product option is connected to a category metafield, then this value should be product.metafields.shopify.{taxonomy_attribute} |
| Variant SKU | The SKU of the product or variant. This is used to track inventory with inventory tracking services. This field can’t be left blank if you’re using a custom fulfillment service. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Variant Inventory Tracker | Include your inventory tracking for this variant or product. Valid values include shopify, shipwire, amazon_marketplace_web, or blank if inventory isn’t tracked. If the existing inventory tracking options are removed, then inventory is no longer tracked. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Variant Compare At Price | The “Compare-at Price” of the product or variant. Only include the price and don’t include any currency symbols. For example, 9.99. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Variant Barcode | The barcode, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), or Universal Product Code (UPC) of the product. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Image Src | Enter the URL for the product image. Shopify downloads the images during the import and re-uploads them into your store. These images aren’t variant-specific. The variant image column is where you specify variant images. You can’t change the image file name after that image has been uploaded to your store. Don’t upload images that have Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Image Position | Enter the number that represents the order in which you want the image to display on the product’s page. The images display in order from smallest to largest starting from an image position value of 1. For example, if you want the image to display first for that product, then enter 1. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Image Alt Text | Alt (alternate) text describes an image and is an important part of a product description. If an image can’t load for any reason, then alt text displays instead. It’s also used by assistive technology to describe an image to a customer who’s visually impaired. Including alt text will boost your website’s SEO. Keep your alt text brief and descriptive. The maximum length is 512 characters, but the optimal length is 125 characters or fewer. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| SEO Title | The SEO Title is found on a product’s details page under the Search engine listing preview header in the Page title field. The SEO Title is alphanumeric and can include up to 70 characters. If you leave this column blank when you import a product, then the value in the Title column is entered into the Page title field on the product’s details page. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| SEO Description | The SEO description is also found on a product’s details page under the Search engine listing preview header in the Description. The SEO description is alphanumeric and can include up to 320 characters. If you leave this column blank when you import a product, then the value in the Body (HTML) column is entered into the Description field on the product’s details page. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Google Shopping / Google Product Category | If you currently use a Google product category, then you can use it as your Shopify product category. You can use the product category, the Google Product Category, or both. Provide the most specific category possible for each item. The Google Product Category (GPC) (google_product_category) uses Google’s product taxonomy. You can input the Google product category in either of the following ways:
Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Google Shopping (Unstructured metafield) | The column headers will vary based on the Google Shopping metafield the included value represents, and will be preceded by Google Shopping / . The metafields included in the product CSV column headers are:
The Google Shopping columns might be used by an app to synchronize products to the Google Merchant Center. However, the Google and YouTube channel doesn’t use these Metafields. You can ignore values in the metafields columns that include “Google Shopping” in their names unless an app tells you to use them. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in these columns. |
| Variant Image | The URL for images of variants. If you add an URL, then it must be a functioning image URL. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Variant Tax Code | Available to: Shopify Plus plan The Avalara code to apply taxes to this product. This field only applies when you import to or export from a store that uses the Shopify Plus plan’s integration with Avalara AvaTax. When you create a CSV file by exporting products from a store that uses Avalara, the Variant Tax Code column is filled. If you import this CSV file into a store that doesn’t have Avalara set up, then your import fails. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Cost per item | How much Bulk Product Upload Using CSV costs you for the product or variant. Only include the cost. Don’t include any currency symbols. For example, 9.99. Learn more about how overwriting existing products affects the data in this column. |
| Price / International | A fixed price for that product in the market of the same name and in that market’s currency. Learn more about CSV columns for International. |
| Compare At Price / International | Sets a fixed compare at price for that product in the market of the same name and in that market’s currency. A fixed price for a product in a market is required to use a fixed compare at price. Learn more about CSV columns for International. |
| Metafields | Bulk Product Upload Using CSV metafields that are created on your store. The product metafield definition displays in the column header as <name> (product.metafields.custom.<key>). The following metafield types are supported within CSV bulk import/export:
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