This guide walks through importing data from a Google Sheets spreadsheet you already have into Shopify using eCommix One-Way Import. This is the right sync direction when your data starts life in a spreadsheet - a supplier catalog, a price list, a stock count, or an export from another system - and you want to push it into your store.
One-Way Import is different from the other two sync directions:
- One-Way: Export pulls Shopify data into Google Sheets. See How to Export Shopify Data to Google Sheets.
- Two-Way exports your Shopify data into a sheet first, you edit it there, and your edits are pushed back. See How to Bulk Update Shopify Data from Google Sheets.
- One-Way: Import - this tutorial - never exports anything. It reads a spreadsheet you already built and writes it into Shopify.
Because eCommix does not create the sheet for you, there is no template step and no styling step: your spreadsheet's own columns are the starting point, and you tell eCommix what each one means.
1. Navigate to Configure Spreadsheet
From the home page, click Configure Spreadsheet in the top right to open the configurator.
2. Choose sync direction
In the first step, select One-Way: Import. This means data flows in one direction only: from Google Sheets into your Shopify store. Nothing in your spreadsheet is overwritten by Shopify data.
3. Choose your Google Sheets source
Next, tell eCommix which spreadsheet to read from. Unlike the export flows, this step comes before formatting your data - eCommix needs to see your columns before you can map them.
You can pick a spreadsheet from Google Drive using one of your connected Google Accounts, or choose Public Link and paste the full URL of a shared spreadsheet. For the Public Link option the spreadsheet must be shared with Anyone with the link and have Editor permissions, so eCommix can write status results back into the sheet.
You also need to set the Sheet Name (the tab inside the spreadsheet) to read from. In One-Way Import the tab must already exist - eCommix will not create it, since it is reading your data rather than writing a new export. Once you select a spreadsheet, eCommix reads its metadata and fills in the first tab name and the display name for you automatically.
Your sheet needs a header row - a first row naming each column. That header row is what eCommix maps to Shopify fields in the next step. If no headers are found, eCommix will tell you rather than guessing.
4. Format your data: map columns to Shopify fields
This is the heart of the import flow. eCommix reads your spreadsheet and shows a preview of your columns with the first 10 rows of real data, so you can see exactly what you are mapping.
Click any column to choose the Shopify field it should sync with. Fields are grouped by resource - Product, Variant, Inventory, Customer, metafields, and more - so you can search or browse to find the right one.
Rather than mapping every column by hand, click Map automatically. eCommix matches your header names against Shopify fields and fills in the mapping it can infer; you then only need to correct or fill the ones it could not work out.
Any column you do not want to import can be left unmapped, or explicitly set to Ignore Column from the column menu. Ignored columns are neither read nor written by eCommix, so notes, formulas, and working columns in your sheet are left completely untouched.
You need at least one mapped column to save the configuration. Remember to include whichever field identifies the record you are importing - for example a product handle or ID, or a variant SKU - so eCommix knows whether each row should create a new record or update an existing one.
Info. If you later rename or reorder the headers in your spreadsheet, eCommix will notice that the headers used for mapping have changed and ask you to review the mapping again before importing. Click Preview in the Format Data step to refresh it.
5. Set a refresh schedule
Set a schedule if you want the import to run automatically. Choose Hourly, Daily, or Weekly, and eCommix will read the spreadsheet and import it into Shopify on that cadence; upcoming run times are shown before you save.
If you would rather stay in control of exactly when data reaches your store, leave automatic refresh off and run the import manually from the Sync modal.
6. Save your spreadsheet
Once every step is configured, click Save in the top bar to save the configuration.
7. Validate before importing
Go to the main page and click the Sync button next to your spreadsheet, then click Validate first. Validation reads your sheet and checks every row against Shopify without changing anything in your store - it is a safe, read-only step that shows exactly what the import would do.
When validation finishes, open the Google Sheet and check the STATUS column that eCommix writes back. Each row shows what will happen - for example that a product will be created or updated - along with any errors to fix, such as a missing required value or an identifier that does not match anything in your store.
8. Import into Shopify
Once the validation results look right, go back to eCommix and click Import. eCommix reads the spreadsheet and writes the data into your Shopify store.
After the import finishes, the STATUS column updates again - rows saved successfully in Shopify show CREATED or UPDATED, so you can confirm at a glance which rows are live in your store and follow up on any that reported an error.
PRO TIP: You can also run validate and import directly from Google Sheets using the eCommix Sheets Add-On, without switching back to the app: Install the Sheets Add-On.
FAQ
Do I need to use an eCommix template to import a spreadsheet?
No. One-Way Import skips template selection entirely; it works from your spreadsheet's own header row. You map each of your columns to the Shopify field it corresponds to, so a sheet built by a supplier or exported from another system can be imported as-is.
Will importing overwrite my spreadsheet?
No. One-Way Import only reads your data. The one thing eCommix writes back is the STATUS column, so you can see the result of each row after validating or importing.
What happens to columns I do not map?
Nothing. Unmapped and ignored columns are skipped during import, so notes, formulas, and internal working columns stay exactly as they are.
How do I know a row will not break my store before importing?
Run Validate first. It checks every row against Shopify without writing anything, and reports the outcome per row in the STATUS column, so you can fix problems in the sheet before any data reaches your store.
Should I use One-Way Import or Two-Way Sync?
Use One-Way Import when the data originates in a spreadsheet you already have. Use Two-Way Sync when you want to start from your existing Shopify data, edit it in Google Sheets, and push the edits back - see How to Bulk Update Shopify Data from Google Sheets.
