Import Flow: All 12 Steps Explained
When you import products, Importier walks you through up to 12 steps. Each step is optional and can be skipped if it does not apply to your data.
1. Upload
Upload a CSV, Excel (.xlsx/.xls), TSV, or PDF invoice. You can drag and drop files directly onto the upload area or click to browse your computer. For marketplace imports, you can paste product URLs from Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Walmart, or Etsy instead of uploading a file. The upload step also supports manual entry where you type product details directly into a form. Supported CSV files should use UTF-8 encoding for best results. Excel files with multiple sheets will use the first sheet by default.
2. Header Select
If your file has metadata rows above the actual column headers (supplier info, invoice dates, company addresses, etc.), this step lets you choose which row contains your actual column names. A preview table shows the first several rows of your file so you can visually identify the correct header row. Once selected, everything above the header row is ignored. Files with standard headers in the first row skip this step automatically. This is particularly useful for supplier invoices that include company details and payment terms above the product data.
3. Column Mapping
Confirm which CSV columns map to which Shopify fields. Importier auto-detects common headers like Title, SKU, Price, Cost, Description, Barcode, Weight, Image URL, Tags, Vendor, Type, Category, HS Code, and Country of Origin. You can map to 40+ Shopify fields including variant-specific fields like Option 1/2/3 Name and Value. Columns set to "Skip / Do Not Import" are ignored entirely. Always map at least Title and Variant SKU. Country names are automatically converted to 2-letter ISO codes. If your CSV has weight values with units embedded like "0.5 kg" or "500g", Importier parses both the number and unit automatically.
4. Tax
Adjust product costs based on whether your supplier prices include or exclude tax. Quick-select from 15+ country presets including Australia (10% GST), New Zealand (15% GST), United Kingdom (20% VAT), Canada (5% GST), Singapore (9% GST), India (18% GST), and EU countries (19-25% VAT). A live preview table shows original and adjusted costs side by side so you can verify the calculations before proceeding. You can also enter a custom tax rate for countries not in the preset list. If tax does not apply to your products, click Continue to skip this step entirely.
5. Variants
AI analyses product titles to detect variant attributes like size, colour, material, capacity, voltage, and flavour using 150+ regex patterns across 30+ industries. Products listed as separate CSV rows are grouped into single Shopify products with proper variants. Each suggested grouping includes a confidence score. High-confidence groupings are pre-selected while low-confidence suggestions are shown but not pre-selected. You can manually group or ungroup products, change option names, and edit option values. On this step you can also enable Variant Descriptions if your plan supports it (Scale or Enterprise). Unicode characters like the multiplication sign are normalised, and short acronyms like ZT, ED, HD, and USB are preserved in their original case.
6. Barcode Lookup
AI searches online databases to find missing UPC/EAN/GTIN barcodes and manufacturer data. A dashboard shows how many products already have barcodes and how many are missing them. Importier uses three search strategies: Route A looks up existing barcodes to retrieve manufacturer data and images, Route B uses AI product info search for products without barcodes, and Route C searches for barcodes by product title for variants. Found barcodes are automatically filled in along with manufacturer data such as weight, category, material, dimensions, and images. Click the green Approve All Found button to accept all results at once. Products with brand names in the title produce significantly better search results.
7. AI Descriptions
Generate unique, SEO-optimised HTML descriptions for every product using your chosen description style, persona, and tone. You need a saved preset before generating. The AI creates a full HTML description with headings, bullet points, specs table, and FAQ, plus an SEO title and meta description if enabled. Each product can be generated individually or as a batch. Descriptions can be viewed in HTML source mode or rendered Preview mode. When Variant Descriptions are enabled, each variant also gets its own unique description generated from its specific barcode data, SKU, and option values. An Approve All Variants button at the page level lets you accept all variant descriptions at once.
8. Data Enrichment
AI fills in missing weight, product type, category, HS code, and country of origin. A dashboard shows how many products are missing each field. Use the radio button filter to view all products, only products with generated enrichment data, or only products still missing data. You can provide an enrichment context hint for ambiguous products. All enriched weights use your master weight unit. Every change creates a snapshot allowing you to revert individual products or revert all enrichment changes at once. Enriched data is estimated based on typical values so always review before importing, especially shipping-critical fields.
9. Category Metafields
Automatically match products to Shopify taxonomy attributes like Color, Material, Size, and Age Group. This step requires Industry Packs to be installed in Settings and products to have a category ID assigned. Phase 1 uses text matching against your product title, description, tags, and variant options. Phase 2 uses AI matching for attributes that could not be matched via text. The AI only selects from valid taxonomy values ensuring accuracy. After matching completes, each product shows its assigned metafields. In the Review step, category metafield columns have dropdown selectors populated with all valid taxonomy values for manual correction.
10. Import Options
Configure pricing strategy (Importier imports variant prices from your file by default), product status (Active, Draft, or Archived), inventory tracking, stock locations, and sales channels. The status you choose sets the default but each product stores its own status independently. You can choose to publish to all sales channels or select specific ones. Inventory tracking can be enabled or disabled. If your store has multiple locations, you can assign stock to all or specific locations. Currency conversion uses real-time approximate exchange rates.
11. Review
Full-screen bulk editor table with every product field as a column. The editor takes over the full viewport with a fixed position layout. Every cell is editable including variant-level fields like SKU, Cost, Price, Compare At, Barcode, Quantity, Weight, and Options. Description, Meta Description, and Variant Description cells open a rich text popup editor with a toolbar featuring Bold, Italic, Underline, Link, Image, Emoji, Table, Lists, and HTML source toggle. Category metafield columns display dropdown selectors. Column headers wrap naturally for readability. Use checkboxes to deselect products you want to exclude from import. Click Export CSV to save a backup before importing.
12. Confirm
Final summary showing product count, variant count, status, sales channels, and any warnings. Importier surfaces warnings for products without weight, without descriptions, and duplicate SKUs. A variant throttle warning appears if your store is approaching Shopify's 50,000 variant threshold. Click Import to Shopify to push products. After import, you see success count, error count with detailed messages, View Product links that open directly in your Shopify admin, and a Download Import Report button for XLSX/CSV results. An import snapshot is created automatically for undo purposes.