Inventory import says “updated successfully” but nothing changes after using XLOOKUP in Excel

Technical Q&A
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1

Hi everyone,
I’m having a problem with bulk updating inventory in Shopify.

Here’s what I did step by step:

  1. I went to Products > Inventory and exported all my products.

  2. In Excel, I used XLOOKUP to get the latest stock numbers from another file using the SKU as a reference.

  3. Once the numbers were updated, I copied the results and used CTRL + SHIFT + V to paste only the pure numbers (so no formulas stay in the sheet).

  4. Then I saved the file and imported it back into Shopify.

After importing, Shopify even sends me an email saying “Inventory updated successfully”, but when I check the store, nothing actually changes. The inventory numbers remain the same.

I didn’t change anything other than the inventory quantities, and the SKUs are exactly the same as the ones I exported.

Can anyone please tell me why the inventory is not updating even though Shopify says the import was successful?

Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate your help.

2

It’s difficult to know exactly what’s happening in your particular case without seeing the spreadsheet and how the store is configured. That said, here’s a checklist that can help you identify the issue. Additionally, I recommend reviewing the Setting up your product inventory article in Shopify help section.

1. Make sure you edited the right column for your export type

  • If you exported All states (recommended), the only editable quantity is On hand (new). Columns like Available, Committed, and Incoming are not editable. Changing them won’t do anything on import (you can get a “success” message but see no updates).

  • If you exported the simpler Available format (location names as column headers), then update the numbers under each location column instead.

2. Watch out for the safety validation
When your CSV has both On hand (current) and On hand (new), Shopify compares them to prevent overwriting newer stock. If anything changed in your store after export (sales, adjustments), those rows are ignored and you’ll get an email noting validation failures. If you must override (use with caution), clear the On hand (current) values and only provide On hand (new).

3. Multi-location specifics

  • Each variant needs a row per location you’re updating, and the Location name must match your Shopify location name exactly (case-sensitive). If you updated Warehouse A but are looking at Retail B in the admin, it’ll look like nothing changed.

4. Confirm the variants actually track inventory
If Track quantity is off for a product/variant, changing counts via CSV won’t affect storefront availability. Open one of the affected variants and ensure Track quantity is enabled.

Quick “reset and re-import” steps

  1. Re-export from Products → Inventory, pick All states (recommended).

  2. In Excel/Sheets, update only On hand (new) (integers only). Don’t touch Available or On hand (current).

  3. Verify rows exist for the exact location(s) you intend to change and that the location names match exactly.

  4. Save as CSV and import. If you still get “success” with no visible changes, check the import email for any validation-failed rows; if needed (use with caution), clear On hand (current) and re-import to bypass the safety check.

  5. Spot-check a variant to confirm Track quantity is on.

If you share your CSV or a small snippet, especially the SKU, Location, On hand (current), On hand (new) columns, others here can sanity-check the structure.