I do not have inventory. My products are digital and unlimited. Does this not work for me then?
Topic summary
Users are unable to bulk edit variant metafields in Shopify, unlike product metafields. The original poster also reports that variant metafields don’t appear as storefront filters.
Partial Workaround Discovered:
- The Inventory bulk editor (not Product bulk editor) allows editing variant metafields for products with inventory tracking enabled
- This solution doesn’t work for digital/non-inventory products
- For non-inventory items, users can bulk edit variants within individual product pages, though still product-by-product
- Advanced users suggest manually constructing bulk edit URLs using metafield namespace/key parameters
Ongoing Frustrations:
- Multiple users express significant frustration over the 6+ month timeline without official resolution
- Merchants with thousands of products report spending excessive time on manual editing (one user mentions 30+ hours)
- Shopify staff repeatedly acknowledge the feedback and promise to forward it to developers, but provide no timeline for implementation
- CSV import/export and third-party apps (Matrixify, Ablestar) suggested as alternatives
- Native storefront filters only support product metafields, not variant metafields
The discussion remains open with strong demand for native bulk editing functionality across all product types.
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