What happened to the variant SKU UI? It disappeared from product pages

[shoptube56]

It seems like the last update broke or intentionally removed the SKU fields from the product page variant editor.  How do I restore this functionality as I can no longer create or edit product variant SKUs.

[shoptube56]

 

[shoptube56]

there used to be a SKU field inline to the product page that is now gone. 

[shoptube56]

previous UI screen shot from earlier today

[avamia01]

If an update has affected SKU fields in the product variant editor, check the platform's release notes for any information on this change.

[shoptube56]

hrm, not sure how this helps.  https://changelog.shopify.com/ is like a catch-all for everything.  When I try to filter by Product or SKU, there's only old posts.  How do I determine what is the proper release note to read for this section of the UI?

[shoptube56]

shopify has acknowledged the issue and working on a fix

[hpwhite11]

Thank you for the update. It has been extremely annoying to have to open the bulk editor just to enter SKUs when building new products or making changes to old ones.

[shoptube56]

absolutely!  It takes a lot longer now to edit and enter variant SKUs.

[shoptube56]

It seems shopify is dedicated to keeping the slower more inefficient SKU variant UI according to my last message to shopify support.  They then tried to upsell my on some Shopify expert services lol.  Now its 50% slower to edit SKUs as it requires 10 operations instead of 5 to edit the SKU variants.  ☹️

[Angelfab]

Such a shame! Sometimes it's hard to say if we are on Shopify or Etsy with all those unrequested changes that just mess with our workflow!
I hope it will soon be fixed!

[shoptube56]

Yes, they keep changing everything so frequently it's very hard to automate or have a predictable workflow for employees.  Shopify does way too much A/B testing in production business accounts.  e.g. they constantly move the preview button from product pages it's so annoying.  

[Angelfab]

And it seems like there is no official answer about it! Sometimes you feel like the people in charge of the functionalities and ergonomic are completely disconnected from the reality of the business. I really don't understand how you can remove things without giving a second thought about their purpose. Or sometimes you just feel like, their business model is more on taking a commission on app fees than on our subscriptions and selling fees.

[shoptube56]

aye, Shopify Support basically said "we know changes impact everyone differently, too bad this is better for us" and then they pitched me on Shopify professional services lol.  

[Erin]

Hi, there! Thank you all for raising this in the Shopify Community and sharing your experience. I can understand how a change like this could impact your workflow.

I won't have more information on this here myself, but for more help I'd recommend you report this to our support team through the Help Center here. If you've already reached out then please continue working with the support team on your current ticket. Reaching out through the Help Center will allow us to review this with you in more detail and better note the effect this is having on merchant's businesses.

[shoptube56]

yes, i already reported it but it didn't do any good.  See my previous response.  

[Mac]

Hi, @shoptube56!

Thanks for sharing your concern.

I have shared your feedback with the appropriate team and our developers will have a chance to review this request. As a workaround, you can head over to the bulk editor, and select "SKU" to add it as a Column. From there, you will be able to edit the necessary fields as needed. 

[ne15]

This is a pretty unacceptable change and shortsighted. If I were starting my site over today, it would have taken me 5x as long to enter in product and I probably would have headed to a competitor. I shouldn't have to go through "a procedure" to add a sku to a variant that is right there. I used to be able to duplicate a product and replace SKU's in seconds (w/same weight) without having to go through multiple steps each SKU. Now I have to save the product, then go to the bulk editor and enter in SKU, save variant...go to the next and enter in SKU, save variant...go to the next and enter in SKU, save variant...go to the next and enter in SKU, save variant...go to the next and enter in SKU, save variant.......

[Alex_9999]

Absolutely! Implementing such significant changes without consulting their users or clients is unacceptable. It's particularly disappointing when done without any prior announcement, explanation, or indication of when the issue will be resolved. If we desired such poor treatment, we would be selling on Etsy*!

*that's exactly what Etsy keeps on doing all the time. Likewise, it's frustrating to witness those platforms continually making changes without regard for their users. Whether it's a trend in management or user interface evolution, the lack of consideration is undeniable. It's truly a shame to see such disregard for user experience and feedback.

[Alex_9999]

Any news from them? an ETA?

[Blair]

Hi @Alex_Jarde,

Thanks for the prompt response! 

While we have gone ahead and shared this feedback with our Developers, we would not have any insight on when/if this change will be made. For the time being, the best thing you can do is utilize the workaround Mac has shared with you! 

Take care. 

[hpwhite11]

I have little faith that this will ever revert. It's a shame and costing customers double the time to create products correctly. Why are there never surveys, or email notifications or updates when crucial changes like this are made? Shopify plus already costs enough and now they have the nerve to increase by 5k? 😂 For what? So we can continue to be inconvenienced? Unacceptable...

[NerdBrewSam]

Hello, it's July. Is this fixed yet? I'm still just straight up missing the SKU fields when trying to update variants.

[Wayv]

I had the same problem. If you click on the box left on where you can input the price; you go to an other screen. There you can add a SKU per variant.