Shopify CSV duplicate SKU error
Shopify treats SKU as a unique identifier per variant. When two rows share a SKU, Shopify doesn't create two products — it merges the second row into the first as another variant, silently dropping whatever made that row distinct (price, image, inventory). The import doesn't fail loudly; it just imports fewer products than your file had rows.
Example
Rejected: SKU-1001, Blue / M
SKU-1001, Blue / L
Fixed: SKU-1001-M, Blue / M
SKU-1001-L, Blue / L
How to fix it
- Sort your file by the SKU column and scan for repeats.
- Give each true variant (a different size or color of the same product) its own suffix rather than reusing the parent SKU.
- If two rows really are the same item from two supplier feeds, delete one rather than importing both.
Upload your file to Supplier Data Ops to catch this and every other row-level error automatically before you import.