Before moving from another ecommerce platform to Shopify, decide which product, customer, and order data to migrate, which records to retain elsewhere, and which data to transform before importing. Define the date range, record counts, owners, and exceptions so that you can choose a migration method and plan the switch.
An imported file is only part of the work. You need to be able to sell products, find the customer information you need, and answer questions about old orders. This guide covers the data decisions that ecommerce teams can make before moving from another platform.
Decide what you need before moving everything
Start with what you want to do, and where, after the move. Looking up old orders for customer support and letting customers view those orders in their accounts can require different migration scopes.
| Treatment | Examples | Decisions to make |
|---|---|---|
| Migrate | Products you will keep selling, customer information you need, orders from a chosen period | Fields needed for the work after migration, and the date range |
| Retain | Original order records, past support records, original data exports | Storage location, access permissions, search method, and retention period |
| Transform | Product categories, address and phone formats, customer groups | Field mappings, conversion rules, and how to handle unclear values |
Retaining records does not necessarily mean keeping a subscription to the old platform. You may be able to export what you need and keep it in storage with controlled access. Data in the “transform” group can include information that will be imported into Shopify after conversion.
List owners, periods, counts, and exceptions
For each data set, name the person preparing it and the person checking the result. Even if a partner handles the import, the store team still needs to decide whether to retain discontinued products or how to handle customers who share an email address.
| Data | Example reviewers | Period or point in time | Counting units and example exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products and inventory | Ecommerce and product teams | Products you will keep selling; record when prices and inventory were exported | Product and variant counts; duplicate item codes, missing images, discontinued items |
| Customers | CRM and customer support teams | Criteria for inclusion and the export time | Customer count; duplicates, missing email addresses, unclear marketing consent |
| Orders | Order processing, fulfillment, and finance teams | Start and end dates of the orders to migrate | Order and line-item counts; unfulfilled, partly returned or refunded, and canceled orders |
Alongside the source total, count the records planned for migration, excluded records, and records awaiting a decision. Compare the planned count with the result and keep the reasons for exclusions. Compare products with products and variants with variants; apply the same distinction to orders and line items.
For example, if you reorganize product categories for Shopify, create a mapping table. Decide in advance whether products without a clear destination go into a temporary category or remain on hold for review.
Products, customers, and orders need different methods
Shopify advises importing products first, then customers, then historical orders so that the orders can be linked to products and customers. Standard CSV imports do not cover every data type. Shopify lists migration apps and APIs as methods for historical orders. An API is a way for systems to exchange data. (Shopify migration guide)
Products: map the fields before importing
A CSV exported from another platform needs to match Shopify's format. Map item codes, colors and sizes, prices, images, and inventory as well as product names. Keep the original export separate from conversion files and import files so that you can check the source values. (Importing products by CSV)
If another system will continue updating inventory, decide which system supplies the authoritative value. A successful product import still needs to be followed by checks of availability on the intended sales channels and inventory settings. (Shopify migration checklist)
Customers: separate customer records from sign-in
Customer CSV files cannot transfer passwords or order information from the old platform. Total Spent and Total Orders are not imported as customer fields either. Plan basic customer records separately from historical purchase data. Preserve the meaning of existing marketing consent; do not turn every imported customer into a subscriber. (Customer CSV specifications)
The standard sign-in method for new customer accounts uses a code sent by email and does not need a password. Customers with a profile can use its associated email address to sign in. Explain the method you choose instead of telling everyone that they must register again. (Current customer account behavior) Our customer account migration guide covers the account options within Shopify.
Orders: separate historical records from work in progress
Choose how much order history you need and where it must be available. Check how the chosen method handles old order numbers, customer associations, amounts, and payment, fulfillment, and refund states. Keep a reference that lets support staff find an order using its old number.
Decide separately who will handle unfulfilled orders and refunds in progress, and in which system. Shopify also warns that importing historical orders sends new-order emails to staff subscribed to those notifications. Review notification settings and check the effects on fulfillment integrations and customer-facing messages for the method you choose. (Historical order imports and notifications)
Test a small sample that includes exceptions
Before importing everything, test a small, related set of products, customers, and orders that includes both normal records and exceptions. Useful examples include product variants, customers without email addresses, and orders with discounts or partial refunds.
Check prices, order amounts, customer associations, support searches, and storefront display as well as counts. For unsuccessful records, decide whether to correct the source, change the conversion, or exclude the record for now. Assign an owner to each decision.
Test additions and updates separately. When overwriting products by CSV, a blank optional field included in the file can clear an existing value. Before a full import, check that running the process again will not create duplicates or overwrite data unintentionally. (Product overwrite behavior)
Plan subsequent changes and the final pause
If the old store keeps trading, orders, inventory, and customer information will change after the first export. Bringing those later additions and updates across is an incremental migration. The following is a planning example, not a process Shopify automatically performs.
- Record the baseline time. Keep the export time, covered period, and time zone.
- Decide how to capture changes. Include decisions about cancellations and refunds on existing orders, address changes, and inventory updates as well as new orders. Distinguish new records from updates and confirm how duplicate order imports will be prevented.
- Set the final working window and reopening criteria. Decide when to stop accepting orders or updating data in the old store, who imports the final changes, and who checks inventory and outstanding orders.
Base the pause on the data volume, migration method, and time measured during the trial. Name the person who can postpone the switch if exceptions remain unresolved. Include the owner of pause and reopening notices and the customer support contact in the plan.
Keep old orders accessible after the switch
Tell support staff where to find orders placed before the move, where to process returns and refunds, and what to check when someone cannot sign in. If the order history shown in customer accounts will change, prepare an explanation for customers too.
Assign responsibility for retained data, its access permissions, and its retention period. Before canceling the old platform, confirm that the records you need remain readable. If product or information-page URLs change, map important old URLs to their new destinations and prepare redirects. (Migration checklist)
What your team can decide, and when to get help
Your ecommerce team can define the purpose, date range, counts, owners, exceptions, and way of retrieving old records. Share that inventory with the people involved before handling the actual migration data.
Complex field transformations, many unfinished orders, inventory updated by several systems, or a move that must accommodate ongoing trading call for planning the migration method and switch together. You can start a discussion with the name of your current platform, the data types you want to move, and approximate counts. Discuss your Shopify data migration with Popaz.
