How to Import Products to Shopify (2026 Guide)

Before creating your own product CSV, download Shopify's sample product CSV file from the official help center. Open it in a spreadsheet program like Google Sheets or Excel and review the column headers so you understand the expected format. Delete the sample product rows before adding your own data.

Tip: Keep the sample file as a reference. The column order does not matter, but column names must match exactly.

Enter your product information into the CSV template. Each row represents a product or variant. Fill in required fields like Handle and Title first, then add prices, inventory quantities, images, and variant options. Use the Handle column to group variants that belong to the same product.

Tip: For products with multiple variants, repeat the same Handle on each row and change only the variant-specific columns like Option1 Value and Variant Price.

When your data is complete, save or export the spreadsheet as a CSV file with UTF-8 encoding. This encoding is critical because without it, special characters like accented letters or currency symbols may break during import. In Google Sheets, use File > Download > Comma-separated values.

Warning: Do not save as XLSX or XLS. Shopify only accepts CSV files for product import.

Log in to your Shopify admin panel. From the left sidebar, click Products. On the Products page, click the Import button in the top-right area. A dialog box will appear where you can upload your CSV file.

In the import dialog, click Choose File and select your prepared CSV file from your computer. If you want to update existing products that share the same Handle, check the Overwrite existing products option. Then click Upload and continue.

Tip: If you only want to add new products and leave existing ones unchanged, do not check the overwrite option.

Shopify will display a preview of the data it found in your CSV, including the number of products and variants detected. Review this summary carefully to ensure the counts match your expectations. Check that the first product looks correct.

Click Import Products to begin the process. Shopify will process your file in the background. You can navigate away from the page while the import runs. Shopify sends a confirmation email to your store's admin email address when the import finishes.

Once the import completes, go to Products in your Shopify admin and browse through the imported items. Spot-check a few products to confirm that titles, prices, images, and variants all imported correctly. Fix any issues directly in the Shopify admin or by re-importing a corrected CSV.

Tip: If images did not import, verify that the Image Src URLs are publicly accessible and not behind authentication.