The products CSV lets you work on your catalogue in a spreadsheet: export your products, change prices, stock, titles or tags in Excel or Google Sheets, and import the file back. You can also add new products in bulk. The file has one row for each variant, and every row is checked before anything changes, so a mistake in row 214 never half-updates your store. Export and import are on the Products List: EXPORT and IMPORT at the top (on a phone, in the header's ⋯ menu).
Anyone who can see products can export. Importing needs the right to edit products (the owner, admins and the Catalog Editor); changing stock through an import also needs the right to edit inventory.
Exporting
- EXPORT saves every product the list matches right now: the open tab, filters and search. With nothing filtered, that is your whole catalogue.
- To export some products only, tick them and press EXPORT CSV in the selection bar.
The file is called products-yourstore.csv. Products come newest first, one row per variant, up to 10,000 rows. The message says how many rows were saved: "312 rows exported, one for each variant." With nothing to export: "No product matches, so there is nothing to export."
The file opens cleanly in Excel and Google Sheets, Indian rupee symbols and Hindi text included. A cell that looks like a formula is saved with an apostrophe in front, so a spreadsheet never runs it; the apostrophe is taken off again on import.
The Columns
The column names are fixed, small-letter keys, the same in every language, so a file made by Mercayo always comes back in unchanged.
| Column | What It Holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
handle | The product's web address. Says which product the row belongs to. Required on every row. | banarasi-silk-saree |
title | The product's title | Banarasi Silk Saree |
status | active, draft or archived | active |
description | The description as plain text | Handwoven in Varanasi… |
hsn | The HSN code, 4 to 8 digits. Empty clears it. | 5007 |
tags | Tags, separated by commas | festive, silk, wedding |
categories | Category names, separated by semicolons | Sarees; Silk Sarees |
collections | Collection titles, separated by semicolons | Wedding Edit; New In |
option1_name, option1_value | The first option and this variant's value | Colour, Maroon |
option2_name, option2_value | The second option, if any | |
option3_name, option3_value | The third option, if any | |
sku | The variant's SKU | BSS-MRN |
barcode | The variant's barcode | 8901234567890 |
price | The price in rupees | 4999 or 4,999.00 |
compare_at_price | The MRP or "was" price; empty clears it | 6499 |
cost | What it costs you; empty clears it | 2800 |
track_stock | yes or no (also y/n, true/false, 1/0) | yes |
stock | Units in stock, a whole number | 12 |
weight_grams | The weight in whole grams | 650 |
A product's own columns (title to collections) can be on every row of the product or only on its first row; Mercayo reads the first value it finds. A row with only handle, the option values and a few variant columns is fine.
How Rows Are Read
- The handle decides the product. "The handle (the product's web address, in small letters and dashes) says which product a row belongs to." Rows with the same handle are one product.
- A handle the store has updates that product: "only the columns in the file change." Leave out a column and that field stays as it is. A file with just
handle,skuandpricechanges prices and nothing else. - A new handle makes a new product, as a draft unless the file gives a
status. A new product needs atitleand apriceon every variant. - Variants are matched by SKU, else by their option values. "New variants of a product are added in its editor": a row for a variant the product does not have is refused.
- Categories and collections must exist. A name the store does not have is refused; add it on Categories or Collections first.
- Tags are saved in small letters.
- Columns Mercayo does not know are reported and left alone: "These columns are not read (they are left as they are)".
- Each product succeeds or fails on its own: one product with a problem never stops the others.
How to Update Prices in Bulk
Example: a Jaipur phone-case brand raising every case by ₹50 before Diwali.
- On Products, filter to the products to change (for example the Cases category) and press EXPORT.
- Open the file in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Change the
pricecolumn. You can delete every column excepthandle,sku, the option columns andprice, to keep the import small and safe. - Save as CSV (in Google Sheets: File › Download › Comma-separated values).
- On Products, press IMPORT and choose the file (below).
How to Import
- Press IMPORT. Import Products opens: "Bring in a spreadsheet saved as CSV, one row for each variant. Every row is checked first; nothing changes until you import."
- Press Choose a CSV File ("Up to 5 MB and 10,000 rows. Export first to see the columns."). To start from nothing, press DOWNLOAD EMPTY TEMPLATE for a file with just the column names.
- Mercayo reads the file ("Checking products.csv…"), then runs the real rules in a preview that changes nothing.
- Read the result: "Rows read: 312. Ready to import: new products 4, updates 148." and, if there are problems, "3 problems: those products are left out" with a table of Row, Handle and Problem ("And 12 more in the report."). DOWNLOAD REPORT saves every problem as a CSV.
- Press IMPORT 152 PRODUCTS to import the products without problems, or CHOOSE ANOTHER FILE to fix the file first.
- The result says "Imported: 4 new products (as drafts unless the file said otherwise) and 148 updated." Press DONE.
Problems and What They Mean
| Problem | What to Do |
|---|---|
| The file is empty. | Choose the right file. |
| The first row needs the column names, with a handle column. | Keep the header row; it must include handle. |
| The file has more rows than one import takes | Split it: up to 10,000 rows. |
| The file is larger than 5 MB. / The file has more than 1,000 products. | Split it into smaller files. |
| The row has no handle. | Fill in handle on every row. |
| A handle uses small letters, digits and dashes only | Fix the handle, like silk-saree-maroon. |
| Another product has this handle. | Use a different handle for the new product. |
| A new product needs a title. | Add title on its first row. |
| Each variant of a new product needs a price. | Fill price on every row of the new product. |
| A price is a number of rupees, like 499 or 499.50 | Remove letters; ₹ and commas are fine. |
| A compare-at price must be more than the price. | Raise it or empty it. |
| The status is active, draft or archived | Fix the spelling. |
| An HSN code has 4 to 8 digits | Fix or empty the code. |
| This needs a whole number | Fix stock or weight_grams. |
| Use yes or no | Fix track_stock. |
| Every row of a product needs the same option names | Make the option names match on every row of the product. |
| The product has no variant with this SKU or these option values | Check the SKU or values; new variants are added in the editor. |
| Another variant in the store has this SKU. / …this barcode. | SKUs and barcodes are unique across your store. |
| No category has this name… / No collection has this name… | Make it first, or fix the spelling. |
| Stock was not changed: your role cannot change stock. | The rest of the row is imported; ask someone with the inventory right to change stock. |
| Your role cannot make this change. | Ask the store owner. |
When importing without the right to edit inventory, the dialog also says "Your role cannot change stock, so a stock column is reported, not applied."
Good to Know
- Up to 5 MB, 10,000 rows and 1,000 products in one file; exports up to 10,000 rows.
- Prices are in rupees in the file (499.50), and kept to the paisa.
- The import uses the same rules as the product editor, so anything the editor refuses, the import refuses too.
- Up to 30 imports (each check counts) and 20 exports can be run from one internet address in ten minutes, so a script cannot flood the store; normal use never meets the limit.
- The
descriptioncolumn is plain text. If you change it, the product's formatted description (subheadings, bold, lists, links) is replaced by your plain text. A description you leave as exported keeps its formatting. - Changes made by imports are recorded in the Activity Log.
- Photos are not part of this file. Add them in the product editor, or use Settings › Import and Export, whose products file can carry picture links.
Questions
Can I add new variants (a new size) by import?
No. Add new option values in the product editor; then you can set their prices and stock by import.
Can I delete products by import?
No. Set their status to archived by import, or delete them on the products list.
My file came from Excel and the rupee symbol looks wrong. What happened?
Save it as CSV UTF-8 in Excel. Mercayo's own exports are already in that format.
Will an import change products I left out of the file?
No. Only the products whose handles are in the file are touched, and only the columns in the file.
Why are my new products not on the store?
Imported products are drafts unless the file sets status to active. Make them active on the products list.
Can I import stock for one location?
The products CSV sets stock at your store's main stock place. Use Inventory to adjust stock at another location.