Import Strategy in Simple CSV: Choose the Right CSV Import Settings

This guide explains the Import strategy step in the Simple CSV Shopify app.

When you upload a CSV file, Simple CSV asks how you want to import your products. This step decides whether you add new products or update existing ones and how rows in your CSV should be treated.

If your file matches a known format, Simple CSV usually selects the right options automatically. If your file is matched to Generic fields, you may need to review and adjust the settings yourself.

Install Simple CSV Shopify app

What the Import strategy step does

This step controls three things:

• Whether you want to add new products or update products already in Shopify
• Whether each row in your CSV is a separate product or part of a multi-row product with variants
• How Simple CSV should identify or group rows when needed

Choosing the right settings here helps prevent skipped rows, wrong product grouping, or updates to the wrong product.

Choose between adding new products and updating existing products

The first choice is whether you want to create new products or change products that already exist in your Shopify store.

Add new products

Choose this option when your CSV contains products you want to create in Shopify.

This is the right choice if:

• You are importing these products for the first time
• You do not want to update products that already exist

When you choose this option, Simple CSV treats the file as a new product import.

Change products you already have

Choose this option when your CSV is meant to update products that already exist in Shopify.

This is the right choice if you want to update fields like title, price, stock, description, barcode, or other product data for products already in your store.

To do this, Simple CSV needs a way to match each row in your file to an existing Shopify product or variant.

Important to know:

• If no matching product or variant is found, the row is skipped
• If more than one match exists, Simple CSV updates the first match returned by Shopify
• It does not create a new product when a match is not found

Because of this, your matching column should be as clean and unique as possible.

Choose how products are structured in your CSV file

The next choice is about how your products are stored in the CSV.

Each row is a separate product

Choose this when every row in your file represents one complete product.

This is usually correct when:

• Your products do not have variants
• Each row stands on its own
• No product appears on multiple rows

Some products use multiple rows (variants)

Choose this when the same product appears on multiple rows, usually because it has variants such as size or color.

For example, one T-shirt may appear on several rows:

• One row for size S
• One row for size M
• One row for size L

In this case, Simple CSV needs to know which rows belong to the same product.

How Simple CSV combines rows for variant products

If you choose Some products use multiple rows (variants), you will also need to choose the column that contains the shared value.

This is the value that repeats across all rows for the same product.

Common examples include:

• Handle
• A product group ID
• Another column that stays the same for every variant of one product

Simple CSV groups rows using only the column you select here.

It does not automatically figure out variant groups from several columns at once.

That means the grouping column is very important.

If the grouping column is correct, all matching rows are combined into one product with variants.

If the grouping column is wrong or inconsistent:

• Rows that should stay separate may be merged into one product
• Rows that belong together may be split into separate products
• Blank values may cause rows to be treated as separate items

For most Shopify-style CSV files, Handle is usually the correct choice.

How Simple CSV matches existing products when updating

If you choose Change products you already have, you also need to tell Simple CSV how to find the correct product or variant in Shopify.

The most common matching options are:

• SKU
• Barcode / EAN / GTIN / ISBN
• Product handle
• Shopify Product GID
• Shopify Variant GID

Best options for most stores

For most merchants, the best choices are:

• SKU if each product or variant has a unique SKU
• Barcode / EAN / GTIN / ISBN if barcode values are unique and reliable
• Product handle for product-level updates when your handles are correct and unique

Important limitation when matching by handle

If you match by Product handle, Simple CSV updates product-level data only.

It does not update variant-level data in that case.

The same applies to Shopify Product GID. These are product-level identifiers.

If you need exact variant-level updates, use:

• SKU
• Barcode
• Shopify Variant GID

Advanced matching options

Shopify Product GID and Shopify Variant GID are mainly for advanced users, app exports, or API-generated CSV files.

They are useful when your file already contains Shopify IDs and you want very exact matching.

For normal manual spreadsheets, SKU, barcode, or handle are usually the better choices.

When you usually do not need to change anything

If Simple CSV recognizes your file format, it often pre-selects the correct settings for you.

For example, if you upload a Shopify-format CSV or another known format, the app may already choose the correct structure and grouping options.

In that case, you usually do not need to change anything unless the detection looks wrong.

If the message says your file was matched to Generic fields, review each option more carefully before continuing.

Best practices for this step

• Choose Add new products when importing products for the first time
• Choose Change products you already have only when your file contains a reliable identifier for matching
• Use Each row is a separate product when products do not span multiple rows
• Use Some products use multiple rows only when variants are spread across several rows
• Use a grouping column that stays exactly the same for all rows of the same product
• Prefer SKU or barcode for variant-level updates

Common mistakes to avoid

• Choosing update mode when your CSV is actually meant to create new products
• Using a matching column with duplicate values
• Using handle when you expect variant-level updates
• Choosing the wrong grouping column for multi-row products
• Changing auto-detected settings even though the file was correctly recognized

What to choose if you are not sure

If you are unsure, start with these simple rules:

• If the products do not exist in Shopify yet, choose Add new products
• If every row is one product, choose Each row is a separate product
• If one product appears on several rows because of variants, choose Some products use multiple rows and select the repeated shared column, usually Handle
• If you want to update existing products, use the most reliable unique identifier in your file, usually SKU

If your file was matched to Shopify fields automatically, the safest option is usually to leave the detected settings as they are.