- Overview
- Defining Variant Groups
- Preparing Your Data
- Uploading Your Data
- Mapping Data and Importing
- Monitoring the Import Process
Overview
Importing product variants allows you to efficiently manage large sets of variant options for your products. This article walks through the steps to prepare your data, define variant groups, and complete the import process using a CSV file.
Defining Variant Groups
Variant Groups must be defined before you can import product variants. If you already have variant groups set up, you can skip this step. To begin, go to Catalog > Variant Groups. You can choose to Edit a variant group, or click the New button to begin a new group. To learn more about variant groups, see our Variant Overview Article.
Preparing Your Data
Before importing variants, you need to ensure your data is formatted correctly.
- If you are adding new variants, download the Sample File as a reference.
- Navigate to Tools > Data Import > Product Variant and click the link to download the sample file.
- Review the Field Definitions to understand the available data points for this import type.
- If you are updating existing variants, export your current variants first.
- Navigate to Tools > Data Export and export your Product Variants data.
- Modify this file as needed to prevent incorrect data overwrites.
Ensure that all columns are formatted correctly before proceeding with the import.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| VariantID | System generated identifier - leave empty to create new variants |
| ItemNumber | (text-freeform) The pointer to the product this variant should be applied to, the item number field of the product. |
| VariantGroup | (text-ListItem) The variant group for this product such as Color or Size. |
| VariantName | (text-ListItem) The variant name in the specified variant group such as Blue or Large. |
| PriceOffset | (decimal) The surcharge, discount, or price override to apply to the product when this variant is selected. |
| PriceOffsetType | (text-ListItem) The type of surcharge or discount to apply. Valid values are: "total", "+ dollars", "+ percent", "- dollars", "- percent", "+ dollars once", "- dollars once". |
| ItemNumberExtension | (text-freeform) The extension to apply to the product's item number when this variant is selected. |
| ItemNumberExtensionSortOrder | (number-no decimals) The order in which to apply the item number extension to the product's item number. |
| WeightOffset | (decimal) The weight to add to the product's weight, or override the product's weight with when this variant is selected. |
| WeightOffsetType | (text-ListItem) The type of weight offset to apply. Valid values are + or =. |
| SortOrder | (number-no decimals) The order in which to display this variant. |
| Hide | (true/false) Whether or not to hide this variant. |
| DeleteVariant | (true/false) WARNING: THIS CAN NOT BE UNDONE. When set to true, the particular variant and related variant inventory if applicable will be deleted. |
| PackageDefault | (true/false) Indicates that this product is the default selection when this product is configured to use a variant package. |
| DefaultSelection | |
| SwatchFile | (text-file path) The path to the swatch image file. |
| SwatchThumb | (text-file path) The path to the swatch thumbnail image file. |
| SwatchThumbColor | (text-freeform) Hex code for the color of swatch thumbnail image. |
| Attribute | (text-freeform) The attibute name to assign to this variant. |
| ManufacturerName | (read only) The manufacturer name associated with the product. |
Uploading Your Data
To begin the import process:
- Navigate to Tools > Data Import > Product Variant.
- Select your CSV file and ensure it is correctly formatted.
Mapping Data and Importing
After selecting your file, the system will prompt you to map columns:
- If you used the Sample File or export format, mappings should already be correct.
- If using a custom format, select Start A New Data Map and manually map columns.
- Optionally, save the mapping for future imports.
- Click Validate to test the data before import.
- Click Import to finalize the process.
Monitoring the Import Process
Once the import starts, you can track progress in Background Jobs, located under Notifications in the top-right of the admin dashboard.