PRODUCTS
How to bulk edit Shopify products from a spreadsheet
Retagging a collection, renaming a vendor, or archiving last season's products are all the same job: change one or two fields on many products. A spreadsheet with the UPDATE command does it in one pass, and only touches the columns you fill in.
Step by step
Export the products you want to change
Export Products from BulkCSV. The file already has the Handle, ID and Command columns filled in, which saves building them by hand.
Edit only the fields you are changing
Change Title, Description HTML, Vendor, Product type, Tags or Status. Clear the cells you do not want to touch, or leave them as exported. Both are safe.
Load the file into BulkCSV
Open BulkCSV in your Shopify admin and drop the file onto the import area. CSV, XLS and XLSX files all work, and you can also paste the link to a public Google Sheet.
Validate and read the preview
BulkCSV checks every row before anything is sent to Shopify. Rows with problems are listed with the row number and the reason, so you can fix the spreadsheet and load it again. Nothing in your store changes at this stage.
Run the import
Each row updates its matching product. Results are logged per row in your import history.
Example file
Each row changes only the cells that have a value.
| Handle | Command | Vendor | Tags | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| classic-canvas-tote | UPDATE | Northfield Goods | ||
| weekend-duffel | UPDATE | Northfield Goods | duffel, travel, clearance | |
| summer-beach-bag | UPDATE | ARCHIVED |
Download this example as a CSV ↓
Good to know
- A blank cell never clears a field. To change a value you must put the new value in the cell.
- Tags are replaced as a set. Put the full list of tags you want the product to end up with, separated by commas.
- Status accepts ACTIVE, DRAFT, ARCHIVED or UNLISTED. This is the quickest way to publish or hide a batch of products.
- The find and replace tool in BulkCSV edits the loaded spreadsheet before import, which is handy for renaming a vendor across the whole file.
Try it on your own store
BulkCSV is free for your first 250 rows, with every feature included. No card needed.
Install BulkCSV free →Common questions
What is the difference between UPDATE and MERGE?
UPDATE changes a product that already exists and skips the row if no match is found. MERGE updates when the row has an ID or Handle, and creates a new product when it has neither.
Can I add one tag without retyping the others?
Export first, then add the new tag to the end of the existing Tags cell. The export gives you the current list to build on.
Can I change prices the same way?
Prices live on variants, so they use variant rows. See the guide on bulk updating prices.