Bulk Inventory Edit

Bulk Inventory Edit dialog

The Bulk Inventory Edit feature allows you to adjust inventory levels for multiple products and variants simultaneously.

Opening Bulk Inventory Edit

  1. Select one or more products in the grid
  2. Open using one of these methods:
    • Click Targeted Bulk Edit > Inventory in the toolbar
    • Right-click and select Bulk Inventory Edit

Inventory Operations

Operation Description Example
Set to Set inventory to a specific value Set to 100 units
Increase by Add a fixed amount Add 50 units
Decrease by Subtract a fixed amount Remove 25 units
Increase by % Add percentage of current +20%: 100 → 120
Decrease by % Subtract percentage -10%: 100 → 90

Location Selection

If you have multiple inventory locations:

  1. Select the target location from the dropdown
  2. Changes apply only to that location
  3. Other locations remain unchanged

All Locations

Select "All Locations" to apply changes across all inventory locations.

Preview Changes

Always preview before applying:

  1. Configure your operation and value
  2. Select the location
  3. Click Preview
  4. Review the calculated changes

The preview shows:

Column Description
Product/Variant Item being modified
Location Inventory location
Current Current inventory level
New Calculated new level
Change Difference (+/-)

Applying Changes

  1. Review the preview carefully
  2. Click Apply
  3. Confirm when prompted
  4. Wait for changes to sync

Note: Inventory backups are created automatically before applying changes.

Scope Options

Choose which variants to modify:

  • Selected products only - All variants of selected products
  • Specific variants - Choose individual variants
  • Out of stock only - Only variants with 0 inventory
  • Low stock only - Below specified threshold

Inventory Tracking

Tracked vs Untracked

  • Tracked inventory - Shopify manages stock levels
  • Untracked inventory - Unlimited availability

Bulk inventory edit only affects tracked variants.

Products Without Tracking

Products with inventory tracking disabled will:

  • Appear in the list with "Not tracked" status
  • Be skipped during the apply operation
  • Show a note in the results

Negative Inventory

Shopify allows negative inventory in some cases:

  • Overselling enabled - Can go negative
  • Overselling disabled - Stops at 0

The preview shows warnings if operations would result in negative values.

Best Practices

  1. Preview first - Always review changes before applying
  2. Work by location - Update one location at a time for accuracy
  3. Regular counts - Schedule periodic inventory reconciliation
  4. Use adjustments - Increase/decrease is safer than "Set to"
  5. Check backups - Know how to restore if needed

Common Scenarios

Restocking

After receiving inventory:

  1. Select products that were restocked
  2. Choose "Increase by" operation
  3. Enter the quantity received
  4. Preview and apply

Stocktake Adjustment

After a physical inventory count:

  1. Select products to update
  2. Choose "Set to" operation
  3. Enter actual count
  4. Preview and apply

Seasonal Reduction

Reducing inventory for end-of-season:

  1. Select seasonal products
  2. Choose "Decrease by" operation
  3. Enter reduction amount
  4. Preview and apply

Restoring from Backup

If you need to undo changes:

  1. Go to Tools > Backup Manager
  2. Filter by "Inventory" type
  3. Find the backup by date/time
  4. Click Restore
  5. Confirm the restoration

Multi-Location Workflow

For stores with multiple locations:

  1. Start with primary location
  2. Apply changes
  3. Switch to next location
  4. Repeat as needed

Or use "All Locations" for uniform changes.

Troubleshooting

"No products selected"

Select at least one product in the grid before opening Bulk Inventory Edit.

"Some variants skipped"

Variants may be skipped if:

  • Inventory tracking is disabled
  • Variant is managed by another app
  • Insufficient permissions

"Inventory not updating"

Check for:

  • Products managed by inventory apps (Stocky, etc.)
  • Location-specific restrictions
  • API rate limiting (wait and retry)

"Negative inventory warning"

If "Set to" or "Decrease by" would result in negative inventory:

  • Review the affected items
  • Adjust the operation value
  • Or enable overselling in Shopify

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Enter Apply focused operation
Escape Close dialog
Tab Move between fields

See Also