Whether you are managing a small boutique or a large online store, keeping your product catalog up-to-date can be time-consuming. Luckily, there are BigCommerce bulk edit tools available to streamline the work of product managing talk.

This post explores how to use BigCommerce’s bulk editing features to efficiently manage your products, saving you valuable time and reducing errors. Learn how to update prices, descriptions, and more across multiple items simultaneously.

When you need to bulk edit products

For newcomers to eCommerce, product and inventory management seems to be a daunting work. Meanwhile, regardless of your store’s size or product range, mastering BigCommerce bulk edit features can be invaluable.

Consider a clothing retailer, you might want to add a sizing chart to all jackets or introduce new color options for T-shirts. With numerous items, bulk updates for sizes and colors can significantly reduce time spent on individual edits.

Even without product variations, you may need to adjust stock levels or prices. For example, restocking each mug with five additional units or applying a ten percent discount across your jewelry collection.

It’s worth noting that bulk editing isn’t limited to modifying your entire inventory simultaneously. You can also update specific product categories as needed.

How to Implement BigCommerce Bulk Editing

Edit with the Control Panel

Step 1: Access the Products section:

• Go to Products and select View.

Step 2: Initiate Bulk Edit:

• Click on Bulk Edit.
• Select the products you wish to modify.
• Choose Bulk Edit from the dropdown menu and confirm.
• You’ll see products in rows and their attributes in columns.

Step 3: Manage product variations:

• Expand variants by clicking the (+) symbol.
• Edit by clicking on individual cells.
• To revert changes, use the Discard button.
• Commit changes by clicking Save.

Important notes:

• Editable but unspecified variation details (e.g., price, stock) appear grayed out.
• Unspecified variation prices inherit the base product’s price; stock defaults to 0.
• Some attributes (like category and brand) can’t be edited at the variation level and appear grayed out.

Edit with CSV

Step 1: Exporting Products:

• Navigate to the Control Panel
• Go to Products > Export
• Click on “Bulk Edit”

Step 2: Export Settings:

• File Format: Choose CSV (strongly recommended over XML)
• Storage Option: Consider “Save to the server for later download” if exporting over 1000 products
• Click “Export my Products to a CSV file” in the popup window

Step 3: Downloading the Export:

• Wait for the export process to complete
• Click “Download my Products file” when available
• Save the CSV file to your computer

Step 4: Editing the Spreadsheet:

• Open the CSV file in a spreadsheet program (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets)
• Make your desired changes. You can add or modify categories, update product options, change product images (by adjusting image URLs), or modify prices, descriptions, SKUs, etc.

Important: Create a backup copy of the original export before making changes

Step 5: Preparing for Import:

• Go back to BigCommerce Control Panel
• Navigate to Products > Import

Step 6: Uploading the CSV:

• Click “Select File” or drag and drop your edited CSV
• Ensure the file is recognized by BigCommerce

Step 7: Configuring Import Options:

• File Type: Select “File was exported using the ‘Bulk Edit’ template”
• Overwrite existing products: Check this box (crucial for updates)
• Delete existing images: Use with caution, typically leave unchecked
• Delete existing downloads: Again, use with caution
• Detect product categories from CSV: Check if you’ve added/modified categories
• Ignore blank values during import: Recommended to leave checked
• Default Option Type: Set only if not specified in your CSV

Step 8: Data Mapping:

• Review how CSV columns map to BigCommerce fields
• Adjust any mismatched fields

Note: This step is skipped for Bulk Edit Re-imports

Step 9: Initiating the Import:

• Click “Start Import”
• Wait for the process to complete (time varies based on product count)

Step 10: Reviewing the Import:

• Examine the import summary
• Click “More information” to view any warnings or errors
• Address any issues noted in the summary

Additional Tips:

• Encoding: Ensure your CSV is UTF-8 encoded to prevent character issues
• Large Files: For very large catalogs, consider splitting the CSV into smaller files
• Variants: Pay special attention when editing product variants
• Custom Fields: Ensure custom fields are correctly formatted in your CSV
• Regular Backups: Perform regular exports as a safeguard against data loss

Possible Problems During Editing Products in Bulk

The whole product list is easy to get messy

BigCommerce bulk edit via CSV is powerful but risky. Small mistakes can cause big problems for your product list or website. There’s no preview before changes go live, so errors can instantly affect your store. To stay safe, double-check everything, follow instructions carefully, and consider backing up your data first. It’s crucial to be patient and precise when using this method to protect your online store.

Price Display Issue with Variant Sales

After bulk editing, you might notice that the Default Price Strikethrough doesn’t appear for some product variants with sale prices. This strikethrough only shows up when all options have the same default and sale prices. It won’t display if only certain variants are discounted. If you encounter this issue, reach out to BigCommerce support for specific guidance on fixing it in your store.

Zero-Stock Products Not Automatically Set as Pre-Order

The system does not automatically mark out-of-stock items as available for pre-order. To address this, you will need to use the Backorder app from the BigCommerce Marketplace. This app is currently the only solution that can automatically set products with zero inventory as pre-order items, saving you the trouble of manually updating each product’s status.

Unexpected Code in Exported CSV Files

When exporting your product inventory to CSV, you might occasionally find long strings of code appearing in random cells of your spreadsheet. These unexpected entries can disrupt your bulk editing process and make it difficult to manage your product data. If you encounter this issue while exporting your inventory, it’s best to reach out to BigCommerce’s support team. 

How to Effortlessly Do BigCommerce Bulk Edit with BackOrder

BigCommerce BackOrder streamlines inventory management on BigCommerce and enhances conversion rates through automated processes. The app allows you to set custom stock thresholds, automatically placing products on backorder when inventory dips below these levels. Alternatively, you can manually assign items to backorder status directly from BigCommerce’s dashboard.

BackOrder displays customizable labels for in-stock and out-of-stock items, clearly communicating product availability to potential buyers and potentially improving cart rates. The app also sends automatic notifications when products are assigned to or removed from backorder status based on your predefined thresholds.

To Conclude

Mastering BigCommerce bulk edit tools can significantly streamline your eCommerce operations, saving you time and reducing errors in managing your product catalog. Whether you are using the Control Panel, CSV imports, or third-party apps like BackOrder from GritGlobal, these methods offer powerful ways to keep your store up-to-date efficiently.

Don’t let product management hold you back. Contact us today for personalized guidance on implementing these bulk edit strategies and optimizing your eCommerce operations!