How many rows does the Shopify CSV support?

Around 100,000 rows per file. In practice, 5,000-row batches prevent timeouts and ease rollback on error.

Can I import partial updates only?

Yes. Shopify updates existing products (match by handle) and creates new ones. Careful: empty columns overwrite existing values for some fields.

What’s the difference with Matrixify?

Matrixify adds fine-grained metafields, complex variants, translations, and preview. Paid, but indispensable past 5,000 SKUs with metafields.

Why doesn’t Seegea offer CSV import?

Because our bet is real-time inline editing instead of CSV. You import once (native CSV or Matrixify) and then edit in the grid, with per-product rollback.

Shopify CSV import: format, limits and an inline alternative

CSV remains the universal tool to load a catalog. Shopify uses it reasonably — with a handful of known limits and recurring traps. This guide avoids both.

CSV import in practice

Official Shopify CSV format

Shopify CSV is UTF-8, comma-separated, double-quoted. One row = one variant (not one product). Products without variants have a single row. Products with variants have N rows sharing the same Handle.

Main columns

Handle — unique URL identifier
Title (only on the first row of the product)
Body (HTML), Vendor, Type, Tags
Published, Option1-3 Name/Value
Variant SKU, Variant Price, Variant Compare At Price
Variant Inventory Qty, Variant Weight
Image Src, Image Alt Text
SEO Title, SEO Description

Ideal case

1,000 simple listings, little to no metafields, 1-3 variants each. Native CSV is enough.

Hybrid case

Defined metafields, up to 10 variants. Matrixify or native CSV + Seegea updates.

Complex case

Metafields > 50 per product, translations, 50+ variants per SKU. Admin GraphQL API required.

Careful with empty columns: Shopify interprets them as "clear existing value" for some fields. For partial updates, export first, then modify only targeted columns before re-import.

The 5 recurring Shopify CSV traps

Excel corrupting UTF-8: open CSV in Google Sheets or Numbers, not Excel without precautions.
Commas in descriptions: escape with double quotes.
Uppercase handles: Shopify lowercases them but consistency is better from the start.
Wrong publish date format: strict ISO 8601.
European comma prices: Shopify CSV requires decimal dot (1299.00, not 1299,00).

Case	Native CSV	Matrixify	Seegea (editing)
Initial import 2,000 SKU	OK	OK	N/A
Update 50 prices	Heavy	Medium	Inline 2 min
Fix 200 descriptions	Heavy	Heavy	Inline + AI
Rollback on error	No	No	Versioned
Defined metafields	Partial	Full	Inline editing

When to keep CSV, when to drop it

Keep CSV for:

First import of 1,000+ listings
Monthly backup export
Marketplace/Google Shopping feed if no feed app

Switch to inline editing for:

Weekly updates of 50-500 prices
Fixing descriptions and metas
Editing metafields on the fly
Any action where you want to be able to undo

Stop the daily CSV roundtrip

30-min Google Meet · we show inline editing

Stop the daily CSV roundtrip

How long does it take?

To update 500 prices:

CSV: export (~5 min) + Excel edit (30 min) + import + QA (~20 min) = ~55 min.
Matrixify: same, +10-20 min for setup.
Seegea: filter, tabular edit, save = 3-5 minutes, with integrated rollback.

Created in France (Annecy – Chantilly) · Email & Google Meet support

FAQ

From Products > Import > Download a sample file. The template includes every Shopify-supported column.