Inventory values deleted from .csv upload

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A Shopify merchant edited product variant option names and values in a CSV file (changing Arabic “size” to English “Size” and standardizing values like “X-Large” to “XL”). Despite Shopify’s message that inventory values wouldn’t change and the inventory quantity column being excluded from the export/import, all inventory values for 1500+ items across multiple locations were deleted.

Key Issue:

  • Modifying option values in CSV imports causes Shopify to treat variants as new entries, deleting previous variants and their inventory data
  • This occurs even when SKUs, handles, and other identifiers remain unchanged

Shopify Support Response:

  • No data recovery possible as Shopify doesn’t backup store data
  • System interprets changed option values as new variants, removing old ones when “overwrite” is selected during import
  • Recommendation: Keep option values unchanged to preserve inventory levels

Status: Multiple users report the same issue with no known solution beyond manual inventory recounting. The discussion remains unresolved regarding data recovery methods.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I exported all my products to .csv file and edited the option name for all clothes because the store was missing some functionality due to the option name (size) being in Arabic, and shopify/theme built the infrastructure around understanding English “Size”.

Anyways, I changed the option name to the English “Size” and changed some of the variants option value for example: X-Large changed it to XL - for all products.

I was comforted by the fact that while exporting and re-importing my .csv file shopify always announced that inventory values will not be changed, I was further comforted by the fact that “inventory qty” column was not included in the exported nor the imported. No changes were made to SKUs or handles or any other data besides option name and value.

To my surprise this change deleted ALL inventory values of clothing items 1500+ in both locations I manage. I’m devastated and worried that I won’t be able to restore my inventory values. I fully blame shopify for not thinking that this could happen regardless of uploading the .csv file from the products.

I contacted Shopify’s support and waiting to hear back.

Has anyone faced a similar issue? Any suggestions for fixes that do not include counting the entire inventory?

Thanks

2 Likes
2

Did you every find a solution to this? Same thing happened to me.

3

Sadly, the same thing happened to me and contacted shopify support but they said nothing can be done as they do not backup your store’s data.

4

The exact same thing happened to me, still trying to figure out a solution but this was the support person’s response:

“It looks like the issue you’re experiencing is related to how the import process manages changes in option values. When you modify option values, like Option1 Value or Option2 Value, during the import, the system sees this as creating new variants. Consequently, the previous variants and their inventory are removed. This usually occurs when you change the option values, the import creates new variants based on those updates, and you choose to overwrite existing products during the import. To avoid this in the future, it’s best to keep the option values unchanged if you want to keep the current inventory levels for those products.”