Importing and exporting products allows you to view and manage a variety of product attributes. In this chapter, we’ve included a table of all fields that are exportable and importable via CSV file, using the modern Import/Export experience.
If a field is not in the list below (such as bulk pricing), it cannot be imported, exported, or created manually in the CSV file. Fields in bold are required or recommended. For a complete list of the minimum required fields for creating a new product or variant, see Importing Your Catalog from Scratch.
Unless otherwise indicated, do not leave blank values in the CSV file. Remove any columns you don't need in order to prevent import errors.
Table of Supported Fields
| Field | Description | Format / Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Item | Defines the item type as a product or a complex attribute like a variant or image |
Type in Product for products, Variant for product variants, Image for product images, and Video for YouTube videos. Note that the item value determines which fields can be edited in that row, such Options in variant rows or Image URL for image rows. |
| ID | The system-generated product identifier; cannot be created manually | This field is required for updating existing item rows, but must be blank for creating new products or complex attributes. |
| Name | The name of your product | Note that product names must be unique. |
| Type | Defines whether the product is physical or digital | Type in Physical for physical products, and Digital for digital products. |
| SKU | Stock-keeping unit number you use for inventory | This field supports alphanumeric characters only, and is required for creating new variants. |
| Options | Defines a variant's behavior and appearance | Content in this field must use a set formulaic format. |
| Inventory Tracking | Enable or disable inventory tracking on the product. If enabled, track by variants or by product | Type in none to disable inventory tracking entirely, product to track inventory on the product level, or variant to track inventory on the variant level. |
| Current Stock | Number of units in stock (only applies if tracking inventory) | Use numbers only. |
| Low Stock | Inventory level at which you are sent a notification to restock (only applies if tracking inventory) | Use numbers only. |
| Price | Your product's base price | Use numbers only (such as 24.99), but no units. Note: Pricing changes can take up to 10 minutes to appear on the storefront. See our FAQ on price changes for more information. |
| Cost Price | The cost of the product for you | Use numbers only; no units. This field is used for accounting purposes only. |
| Retail Price | The retail price (MSRP); if entered, it will appear next to your base or sale price | Use numbers only; no units. Note: Pricing changes can take up to 10 minutes to appear on the storefront. See our FAQ on price changes for more information. |
| Sale Price | The sale price; if entered, it will replace the base price | Use numbers only; no units. Note: Pricing changes can take up to 10 minutes to appear on the storefront. See our FAQ on price changes for more information. |
| Brand ID | The brand or manufacturer of a product |
A brand’s ID can be found in the address bar when viewing the brand in your control panel, or via the API. Example: https://store-abc123.mybigcommerce.com/manage/products/brands/102/edit |
| Channels | The storefront channel IDs assigned to a product |
Your default storefront will always have a channel ID of 1, while additional storefronts have a system-generated ID located in the storefront's permanent address. Separate each channel ID with a semicolon (;). Example: 1;12345678;98765432 |
| Categories | The IDs of categories and subcategories applied to product |
Type in the category’s ID only, not its name. You can locate a category’s ID in your browser’s address bar when viewing it in the control panel, or you can get a list of all categories and their IDs via the API. Separate each category ID with a semicolon (;). Example: https://store-abc123.mybigcommerce.com/manage/products/categories/1/edit/1249 |
| Description | A description of your product | This field can contain text or HTML. |
| Custom Fields | Additional product information that appears outside of the product’s description. Note that new and existing custom fields use JSON formatting in CSV files. |
Creating new custom fields: [{"name":"custom field name 1","value":"custom field value 1"},{"name":"custom field name 2","value":"custom field value 2"}] Updating existing custom fields: [{"id":#,"name":"custom field name 1","value":"custom field value 1"},{"id":#,"name":"custom field name 2","value":"custom field value 2"}] See Importing Complex Attributes for additional formatting requirements. |
| Page Title | Your product's page title on your storefront and in browser search results | |
| Product URL | The relative path of your product's URL on your store |
Use this format: /new-relative-url/. Maximum 1,024 characters. |
| Meta Description | Short product description in search results; if left blank, it will default to the description entered in the store’s homepage SEO fields | Maximum 65,535 characters. |
| Search Keywords | Keywords for your store's search | Keywords must be separated by commas. Maximum 65,535 characters. |
| Meta Keywords | Keywords that describe the content on your product page; if left blank, it will default to the keywords entered in the store's homepage SEO fields |
Keywords must be separated by commas. Maximum of 65,535 characters. This field is strictly optional, as keywords have been deprecated by all major search engines. |
| Bin Picking Number | Identifies where the item is physically located in a warehouse | Maximum of 255 characters. |
| UPC/EAN | Product's Universal Product Code (UPC) or European Article Number (EAN) | Maximum of 32 characters. Use numbers only. |
| Global Trade Number | The GTIN for the product; required for Google Shopping if the item is not a custom product | Use numbers only. |
| Manufacturer Part Number | The Manufacturer Part Number; required for Google Shopping if the item is not a custom product | |
| Free Shipping | Your product will ship for free; if enabled, this intentionally overrides any other shipping settings | Type in TRUE to enable free shipping, or FALSE to disable free shipping on the product level. |
| Fixed Shipping Cost | The price to ship one unit of your product; the product will ship at that price internationally, regardless of all other shipping settings | Use numbers only; no units. |
| Weight | Product weight (physical only) | Use numbers only; no units. |
| Width | Your product's width for calculating shipping | Use numbers only; no units. |
| Height | Your product's height for calculating shipping | Use numbers only; no units. |
| Depth | Your product's depth for calculating shipping | Use numbers only; no units. |
| Is Visible | Allows the product to be visible in your store | Type in TRUE to allow the product to be visible on the storefront, and FALSE to disable product visibility. |
| Is Featured | Allows the product to display as a featured product | Type in TRUE to set the product as featured on the storefront, and FALSE to omit it from the featured products list. |
| Warranty | Product warranty information | This field can contain text or HTML. Maximum 65,535 characters. |
| Tax Class | The ID of the tax class applied to a product | Use numbers only. Maximum 255 characters. |
| Product Condition | Product condition for Google Shopping | Type in New, Used, or Refurbished. |
| Show Product Condition | Show the product condition on your product page | Type in TRUE to display the product condition field on the product page, or FALSE to not display that field. |
| Sort Order | The order in which a product appears on a category page relative to other products; default value is 0 | Use whole numbers only. You can use negative numbers. |
| Shipping Groups | The product’s unique ShipperHQ shipping group; only available if ShipperHQ is enabled |
Separate multiple shipping groups with semicolons (;) Example: Free Shipping;Store Pickup;Large |
| Origin Locations | The product’s unique ShipperHQ origin group; only available if ShipperHQ is enabled |
Separate multiple origin locations with semicolons (;) Example: Cleveland;VancouverCA |
| Dimensional Rules | The product’s unique ShipperHQ dimensional rule group; only available if ShipperHQ is enabled |
Separate multiple dimensional rules with semicolons (;) Example: Board Printing Boxes;Wooden Specialty Box |
| Variant Image URL | The URL for an image associated with a variant | Only 1 image per variant can be used. Maximum URL length 1,024 characters. |
| Internal Image URL (Export) | The image path URL for an image already associated with a product | This is a read-only field that displays an image’s URL in the CSV export file. This field is ignored during CSV importing. Maximum URL length is 1,024 characters. |
| Image URL (Import) | The image path URL for adding an image to a product | This field is used to add or replace images during import. Maximum URL length is 1,024 characters. |
| Image Description | The alt tag for the product image | Maximum of 255 characters. |
| Image is Thumbnail | If there is more than one image for the product, specify one to be the thumbnail | Type in TRUE to select this image to be used as the product thumbnail, or FALSE to deselect the image. You can only select one image per product. |
| Image Sort Order | If there is more than one image for the product, specify which order they should appear in (lower numbers appear earlier) | Use whole numbers only. If left blank, the field will be set to “0”. |
| YouTube ID | The ID of the YouTube video |
Type in the video's ID only, not the video's URL. For example, if the video’s URL is https://youtube.com/watch?v=Vx0OmcMSWGQ, you would enter Vx0OmcMSWGQ. Maximum 25 characters. |
| Video Title | The title of the video | Maximum 255 characters. |
| Video Description | A description of the video | |
| Video Sort Order | If there is more than one video for the product, specify which order they should appear in (lower numbers appear earlier) | Use whole numbers only. If left blank, the field will be set to “0”. |
