How to Split Combined Tags into Usable Columns?

Data and Analytics

Topic summary

A user is importing products from a supplier into Shopify, but all product metadata arrives in a single combined “Tags” column rather than structured fields.

Example tag string includes:

  • Product IDs and SKUs
  • Color, brand, and material
  • Multiple sizes (EU42/US9, EU45/US12, etc.)
  • Gender and category hierarchies
  • Condition status

Goal: Split this unstructured tag data into separate, usable columns (Gender, Category, Material, Size1, Size2, etc.) for better data management and Google Merchant Center integration.

Status: The user is seeking recommendations for tools, scripts, or workflows to parse and structure this comma-separated tag data. No solutions have been proposed yet.

Summarized with AI on October 25. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi everyone,

I’m importing products from a supplier into my Shopify store, and each product comes with a large number of tags — but they’re all combined into a single “Tags” column in the product export file.

Here’s an example of what one tag entry looks like:

10406, 107226038553, Black, Boots - Shoes, Category-Shoes, Dolce & Gabbana, EU42/US9, EU45/US12, EU46/US13, Gender-Men, Gender-Women, Lace-Up Boots - Boots - Shoes, Material: 100% Calf Leather, Men, New with tags, Shoes, Subcategory-Category-Shoes

As you can see, there’s a mix of information like:

  • Product ID / SKU
  • Color
  • Brand
  • Sizes
  • Gender
  • Material
  • Category / Subcategory
  • Condition

What I really need is a smart and feasible way to split these tags into structured columns (e.g. Gender, Category, Material, Size1, Size2, etc.) so I can use the data more efficiently — especially for syncing with Google Merchant Center.

Has anyone tackled a similar issue? Are there any tools, scripts, or workflows you’d recommend to parse and separate this kind of data?

Any tips would be highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

2

Hi @dgorsler

The most effective method is to use a bulk import/export app like Matrixify. You would export all your products, and in the exported spreadsheet, you can add new columns for your metafields (like Metafield: custom.gender or Metafield: custom.material). Then, in the spreadsheet, you can use formulas to find and extract the specific data (e.g., “Gender-Men”) from the main “Tags” column and place it into the new metafield columns.

Once you re-import that file, your products will be updated with clean, separate metafields for gender, material, and size. You can then map these new metafields directly to your Google Merchant Center feed, which will solve your problem permanently.

Hope this helps!