Shopify Bulk Inventory Update: Adjust Your Product Information With Ease

Today, we’d like to draw your attention to Shopify bulk inventory updates. This guide is useful for everyone except Shopify dropshippers who don’t need to adjust Shopify inventory quantity regularly. So, do you know how to update inventory in Shopify? Of course, you do. Importing a CSV with the corresponding data to your e-commerce website is necessary. However, this simple approach doesn’t work every time. What if you need to import the quantity adjustment of the Shopify product inventory by importing the delta – the difference that should be added to the existing product quantity? By default, your e-commerce website will understand the provided number as the new quantity that should be used instead of the one recorded in a database, which is a disaster. In this article, you will learn how to avoid this unpleasant situation by letting your store know whether to import the new inventory quantity instead of the one available in your database; or combine both values.  

Shopify Bulk Update: Inventory & Built-in Tools

In Shopify, bulk inventory update is a common part of your e-commerce routine. However, it can become a very complex venture that devours your time and effort if you use the default tools. The problem is in the platform’s inability whether you want to sum up or replace quantities. 

Let’s suppose, you need to add a new quantity to the existing one. How to do that in the case of the default instruments? 

Your Shopify bulk inventory update should be divided into the following steps:

1. Export the existing inventory.
   
2. Open the exported file and manually edit the inventory quantity:
   1. Specify the new value for each product. It is a combination of the remaining number of products + the update qty you want to add.
      Let’s suppose, the existing inventory quantity for product A is 35. You need to increase it by 40 units. Specify 75 in the Variant Inventory Qty column.
      
   2. Apply changes to all products you want to update.
3. Now, re-import the edited CSV back to Shopify.
   
   

As you can see, the amount of headaches is directly proportional to the number of products you need to update.

Shopify Inventory Quantity Update Made Easy

Luckily, there is a way to eliminate this problem. You no longer need to export your inventory from Shopify, edit it, and then re-import it back with the Import & Export Tool. Our application lets you choose whether you want to import the inventory quantities to Shopify as they are specified in your update or add them to the existing values.

When you create a new import profile, the app lets you enable or disable the Stock Increment Strategy toggle in the Advanced Settings section. 

• When it’s disabled, you deal with the standard import: the import process replaces the existing product stock with the quantity specified in your import file. For example, if your store currently has 35 items of product A in stock. You import 40 with the toggle disabled. Post-import, your Shopify inventory quantity for product A will be 40.
• When it’s enabled, the app works differently. It increases the existing product stock by the amount displayed in your file. So, if your actual stock level for product A is 35, and your update specifies an increase of 40, your new stock level will be 75 after the import process is complete.

As you can see, there is no need to export, edit, and re-import. The Import & Export Tool lets you choose how to bulk update inventory in Shopify. 

We explain how the Reload Product Before Update toggle works in our guide to stock increment strategy.  

How to Bulk Update Inventory in Shopify

Now, let’s see how to update Shopify inventory quantity in bulk. Follow these steps to upload new product quantities to your e-commerce website:

Step 1: Create a New Import Profile

First of all, you need to create a new import profile to update inventory in Shopify. Go to Apps -> Firebear Import & Export Tool -> Import and click the New Profile.

Step 2: Select File Screen

The Select File screen consists of multiple options that help you tweak the parameters of your inventory update:

1. Name your import profile, e.g., Shopify Bulk Inventory Update.
2. Choose Products as your import entity. 
3. If your update is regular, enable the On Schedule toggle to create a schedule and automate your imports.
4. Enable notifications for Shopify import results if you want to stay informed on how your inventory updates go.
5. Select your file format. Our app lets you import not only CSV files, but also XLSX, XML, and Google Sheets spreadsheets.
6. Now, choose your import source: FTP, URL, Google Drive, or manual file uploads. 
7. And finally, you are in the Advanced settings part of your Select file screen. Choose whether you want to turn on the Stock Increment Strategy feature or keep it disabled.

Step 3: Configure Mapping

Now, you are on the mapping screen. If your Shopify inventory quantity update adheres to the platform’s requirements, you don’t need to do anything here. If it originates somewhere outside Shopify, you can match its columns to the default ones used in Shopify.

Click “Continue” to proceed to the next section. 

Step 4: Preview Results

Now, you can preview how your product update will be handled. The Import & Export Tool displays the product information you are about to import, including the inventory quantity per warehouse. This step allows you to catch mistakes that could result in failed imports and see whether your Shopify bulk inventory update will be applied correctly.

Step 5: Import

Click the “Save” button to save your Shopify import profile. Next, click the “Import” button to bulk update Shopify inventory. Next time, the profile will be executed automatically if you’ve created a schedule.

Final Words

Shopify bulk inventory update is something that every merchant can easily perform if they have the proper tools. If not, they face a time-consuming process of data editing. So, don’t let the inefficient mechanisms stop you on your way to the correct Shopify inventory quantity. If you still have questions regarding inventory updates in Shopify, please, contact us. 

For more detailed information on how to enhance your Shopify import, visit our Improved Import & Export Tool Manual.