# CSV import

> A CSV import is a spreadsheet of products or stock uploaded to Shopify in one go, matched to existing records by handle.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/glossary/csv-import/
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Author: Marcus Ilori, Support lead, Store Standards

---

The fastest way to change a thousand products, and the fastest way to ruin
them.

## How Shopify matches rows

On the [handle](https://storestandards.com/glossary/handle/). A row whose handle already exists updates
that product. A row whose handle does not creates a new one.

That is the whole matching rule, and it is why a typo in one cell creates a
duplicate product rather than raising an error.

## Blank does not mean leave alone

An empty cell in a column you included is an instruction to empty that field.
Export, edit only what you meant to change, and delete the columns you are not
touching before you upload.

This is how stores lose every [barcode](https://storestandards.com/glossary/barcode-field/) in an
afternoon.

## Excel eats numbers

Open a CSV in Excel and a barcode becomes a number. Leading zeros vanish,
long codes turn into scientific notation, and nothing warns you.

Import the column as text, or work in a tool that leaves it alone.

## Where it goes wrong

Quantities are imported for variants with
[inventory tracking](https://storestandards.com/glossary/inventory-tracking/) turned off. The upload
reports success and changes nothing.

The other one is no backup. Export the products first, every time. It takes a
minute, and it is the only undo this feature has.

## Related terms

- [Handle](https://storestandards.com/glossary/handle/): A handle is the readable part of a Shopify URL, generated from the title and used to identify a product, collection or page.
- [Barcode field](https://storestandards.com/glossary/barcode-field/): The barcode field is the box on a Shopify variant that holds the number printed under the bars on the product.
- [Inventory tracking](https://storestandards.com/glossary/inventory-tracking/): Inventory tracking is the setting that tells Shopify to count a variant. With it off, Shopify holds no quantity at all.