Same boat over here! - However, Shopify support is telling me they won’t install that feature. Can you kindly let us know if you asked for that feature before December 2022?
Topic summary
Merchants are struggling with Shopify’s inability to automatically limit inventory display and fulfillment based on warehouse locations assigned to specific markets or shipping zones.
Core Problem:
- Multiple warehouses stock the same products but serve different geographic regions
- Shopify displays combined inventory across all locations regardless of customer’s market
- Customers can purchase items even when their assigned warehouse has zero stock, leading to overselling
- Orders may incorrectly pull from warehouses not configured to ship to that region
Current Workarounds:
Official Solution (Limited Access):
- Shopify offers a “Markets inventory and fulfillment” feature that properly assigns stock to markets
- Only available to selected merchants or by special request to support
- Some users report success requesting activation (pre-December 2022), while others are denied
- Feature has limitations: stock checks fail if customers switch delivery country during checkout
Alternative Approaches:
- Manual product exclusion from specific markets (tedious, not scalable)
- Custom app development (~$2,000 USD quoted)
- Custom shipping methods linked to specific location origins
- Server-side integration using Shopify Admin API to query location-specific stock
- Third-party apps now emerging to address this gap
Community Sentiment:
Widespread frustration that this “basic” multi-warehouse functionality isn’t standard, even on Shopify Plus ($24k/year). Merchants view location-based inventory management as fundamental for global operations.