Why WooCommerce Exports Are Harder Than Shopify

Shopify has polished, one-click CSV exports built in. WooCommerce doesn't.

The WooCommerce Reality:

• Native exports are basic (missing custom fields, meta data)
• Most exports require installing plugins
• Plugin exports vary wildly in quality
• Custom fields need manual configuration
• Product variations export messily
• Order meta data (shipping methods, custom checkout fields) often missing
• UTF-8 encoding breaks international characters

But you can get clean, automated WooCommerce exports with the right approach.

Option 1: Built-in WooCommerce Export (Orders Only)

WooCommerce has a simple built-in exporter for orders - but it's limited.

What You Get:

• Order number, date, status
• Customer name, email
• Product names, quantities
• Order total, shipping, tax

What You DON'T Get:

• Custom order meta fields
• Detailed payment method info
• Shipping method details
• Product SKUs in line items
• Custom checkout fields
• Order notes

How to Use It:

1. WooCommerce → Orders
2. Click "Export" button at top
3. Select date range
4. Choose "All columns" or custom columns
5. Click "Generate CSV"
6. Import to Excel using Text Import Wizard (see our CSV import guide)

Good for: Quick one-time exports, basic order lists

Not good for: Detailed analysis, custom fields, automated reporting

Option 2: Export Plugins (Best for Manual Exports)

Several quality plugins make WooCommerce exports much better:

WooCommerce Customer / Order / Coupon Export (by SkyVerge)

What we like:

• Exports orders, customers, coupons
• Includes custom fields and order meta
• Scheduled automated exports
• Export to CSV, XML, or direct to Excel
• Can filter by date range, status, products

What's missing:

• Product exports require separate plugin
• Free version is limited

Product Import Export for WooCommerce (by WebToffee)

What we like:

• Exports products with variations
• Includes product meta, custom fields, categories
• Exports images (URLs)
• Can filter by category, type, status

What's missing:

• Order exports require different plugin
• Variations export in multiple rows (needs cleanup)

All-In-One WP Migration (for full backups)

What we like:

• Complete site export including all data
• Database included
• Good for disaster recovery

What's missing:

• Not designed for analytics
• Data is in raw database format, not Excel-friendly

Handling WooCommerce Data Quirks

Issue 1: Product Variations Export as Multiple Rows

Problem:
Order #1001 has 2 line items (Red Shirt - Small, Blue Shirt - Large). Plugin exports 2 rows, both with Order #1001.

Solution:
Use Excel CONCATENATE or Power Query to merge line items by Order ID:

=TEXTJOIN(", ", TRUE, IF($A$2:$A$100=A2, $C$2:$C$100, ""))

Or use Power Query:

1. Select data → Power Query
2. Group by Order ID
3. Aggregate line items as concatenated text

Issue 2: Custom Fields Don't Export

Problem:
You have custom checkout fields (Gift Message, Delivery Instructions) but they're not in the export.

Solution:
Most plugins have "Custom Fields" section. You need to manually add:

1. Field name (exactly as stored in database, usually _gift_message)
2. Display name (what you want in Excel: "Gift Message")

Check WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → Custom Fields to find field names.

Issue 3: Order Meta is Ugly

Problem:
Shipping method exports as flat_rate:3 instead of "Standard Shipping - $10".

Solution:
Use VLOOKUP table to translate codes:

Then: =VLOOKUP(A2, TranslationTable, 2, FALSE)

Issue 4: International Characters Break

Problem:
Customer name "José García" exports as "José García".

Solution:
This is UTF-8 encoding issue. When importing CSV to Excel:

• File → Import → Text File
• File Origin: "65001: Unicode (UTF-8)"
• NOT the default "Windows (ANSI)"

Exporting Products with Variations

Product exports are trickier because variations create complex structures.

Simple Products (No Variations):

Export includes:

• Product ID, Name, SKU
• Price, Sale Price
• Stock quantity
• Categories, Tags
• Short description, long description
• Image URLs

Variable Products (With Variations):

Two export formats:

Format 1: Parent + Child Rows

Row 1: T-Shirt (Parent) - No price, no SKU
Row 2:   └─ T-Shirt - Small - Red (Variation) - SKU: TSHIRT-SM-RED, Price: $20
Row 3:   └─ T-Shirt - Medium - Red (Variation) - SKU: TSHIRT-MD-RED, Price: $22
Row 4:   └─ T-Shirt - Large - Blue (Variation) - SKU: TSHIRT-LG-BLU, Price: $24

Format 2: Flattened (One Row Per Variation)

Row 1: TSHIRT-SM-RED, T-Shirt, Small, Red, $20, 10
Row 2: TSHIRT-MD-RED, T-Shirt, Medium, Red, $22, 15
Row 3: TSHIRT-LG-BLU, T-Shirt, Large, Blue, $24, 8

For analysis, Format 2 is better. Most plugins let you choose.

Option 3: Automated API Exports (Best Long-Term)

If you export WooCommerce data regularly, manual plugin exports get tedious.

API Export Advantages:

• Fully automated (no logging in, clicking buttons)
• Scheduled (daily, weekly, monthly)
• Direct to Excel format
• Can combine multiple data sources (orders + products + analytics)
• Handles custom fields automatically
• No plugin maintenance

How It Works:

1. Connect WooCommerce via REST API (view-only - cannot modify your store)
2. Set export schedule (e.g., every Monday at 9 AM)
3. Receive formatted Excel file via email or cloud storage
4. Open and analyze - no import/cleanup needed

Setting Up API Access:

1. WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → REST API
2. Click "Add Key"
3. Description: "Spreadsheet Broccoli" (or your tool)
4. User: Select admin user
5. Permissions: Read (never Write unless explicitly needed)
6. Generate API Key
7. Copy Consumer Key and Consumer Secret - share with integration tool