Shopify Integration Information & Understanding Navigation
This article explains what data is exported from Retailer and what field it will appear as within Shopify.
To configure the Tower Web Connect (TWC) link please see: Setting up a new Webstore
Understanding Shopify Collections, Filters & Navigation
What are Collections?
Shopify uses ‘Collections’ to group products. Collections are standalone product ranges used to create main navigation links and showcase products throughout your site. Collections can display product filters based on available stock data.
Collection Setup
Save time by using Retailer structure!
- Retailer & TWC Managed (Recommended): Sync Departments and Categories as main Collections. Retailer stock changes update synced Collections automatically. Extend ranges in Shopify as needed.
- Shopify Managed: Ignore Retailer structure completely & use stock data to manage collections in Shopify. Collections need to be established & stock data maintained.
Examples of extending or creating online product ranges
Ongoing ranges to create interest: e.g. Sale, Gifts Ideas, Gifts under $50
Limited time offerings: e.g. Mother's Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, Brand/Range on Sale
Further group collections for large menus: e.g. Outdoors, Home, Pet
Some ways to collect products:
- Use keywords in product title or product type to collect products.
- Use sale price or price to collect products
- Use tag or metafield to collect products.
Learn more here - Shopify Help Center | Examples of smart collections
Navigation Links & Collections
While web products are sent through at one level, you can easily create up to 3 levels of menu links based on stock data. An example of 2-level menu is one where Department collections are main links and Categories are dropdowns. If you have a larger catalogue or wish to highlight product ranges, you can take
Stock Item Data
Retailer stock items that have 'Webstore' ticked can be sent to Shopify with the following information:
Key Data
| Retailer | Shopify |
Description | Product Title |
Web Description | Product Description |
Retail or Web Price | Price |
Barcode | SKU and/or Barcode |
Images | Product Images |
Quantity On Hand OR Static Quantity | Available Stock on Hand OR Continue selling when out of stock |
Extra Product Details
| Retailer | Shopify |
| Variants | Variants Required customer choice. e.g. Size, Colour, Style |
Classifications | Metafields Optional product info used for website product filters e.g. product specs. |
Tags | Tags Optional product info used for website product filters & another way to create product ranges |
Tag starting with "Brand_" | Vendor (a.k.a. Brand) Assign one brand to a product. Used for SEO product discovery, website product filters and product ranges. |
Weight | Weight Calculated Shipping or Flat rate shipping based on weight |
Kits | Product Bundle Allow customers to mix and match products |
Stock Item Catalogue Price | Compare at Price (a.k.a. Sale Price) Show SALE Product badges. RRP (Web or Retail Price) & Sale Price |
Product Ranges
| Retailer | Shopify |
| Department | Collection, Product Type or Metafield Product ranges, website product filters. |
| Category | Collection, Product Type, Metafield or Tag Product ranges, website product filters. |
See all settings: Setting up a new Webstore > Check Your Sync Settings
Tips - Before you load lots of stock
- Ensure Department & Category names make sense by themselves - Think unique & SEO Friendly.
e.g. Pet store selling Cat and Dog products
❌ "Dry Food" - will mix both Cat and Dog dry food products
✅ "Dry Dog Food" - ensures there is a separate range is defined for Dogs
Webstore advice: How to write Product & Collection descriptions that are SEO friendly & informative for customers - Avoid loading stock data with missing or incomplete data.Product and Collections handles (the URL of the website page) will use the first title synced. While you can amend this later, loading it right the first time will save you time.❌"Guardian Angel" → /product/guardian-angel✅"Willow Tree - Guardian Angel" → /product/willow-tree-guardian-angel✅"Willow Tree Guardian Angel Figurine → /product/willow-tree-guardian-angel-figurine
- Check your site as you make changes.
When starting off - Work on varied items & ensure they're working as expected. Then, continue to load stock.
When your site is live - Continue to review menu links or featured product ranges - Keep it consistent & get everyone on the same page.
Once you're happy with how things are looking, have products that staff members can refer to. Consider writing up a short guide.
Additional for Variants
Variants allow you to give customers up to 3 options within one product.
While the setup may require extra effort, it significantly improves the customer’s online experience.
Tip: Be sure to check important Variant info below before you get startedImportant things to consider for Variants
Enter web information in the main variant item only. Shopify does not offer descriptions and tags per variant. Only images.
Tip: If your product has specs, include dimensions in variant names or simply list within the parent web description.
One image per variant allowed. While the main variant can have multiple images (including the ones from the other variants), the other individual variants can only have one image attached.
Variant Groups. Shopify allows for 3 variant groups, with a total limit of 250 images and 2,048 combinations per product.
Variant sort order. Due to the nature of the connection, variant types will be ordered by the length of the variant name.
If you want to maintain the original order, you can change the variant names to be more descriptive (make some longer).
| Colour |
| Shirt Size |
| Fashion Style |
No blank variant values. In Retailer, any variant ticked as Webstore cannot have a blank variant value.
All variants available in a variant group will be available for webstore.
Unpublishing behaviour for variants. When all items of a variant group have run out of stock - the unpublish option in TWC won't hide or unpublish the variants, as this is not the expected Shopify behaviour & causes issues with the variant sync.
Changing already synced stock items to variants requires changes in Shopify too. To change/convert an existing item already on the website, from a normal stock item to a variant, the item must be deleted off the website and then re-created by the link.
View advice sheet here - Variants (Colour, Size and Style)
Additional for Classifications
If you're looking to enhance product visibility by highlighting products specs or additional website filters, Classifications are a great way to sync Shopify Metafields. Alternately, you can manage Metafields direct in Shopify.
View advice sheet here - Stock Classification
Customer Data
There are Shopify plan limitations & other factors that restrict Customer data import functions
- Customer information isn't uploaded or synced from Retailer to Shopify.
- Most customer information recorded on the sale in Shopify, will be added to Retailer when the sale imports into Retailer. This will generally be names, addresses and contact details. This is plan dependent.
- The customer will be added as new, if the email address against the sale is not recorded in Retailer.
- The loyalty program, discount voucher, gift voucher and discount profiles information, is not synced or tracked with Shopify.
Kits
Kit Items can sync to Shopify as a Product Bundle.
Selling Fractional or Decimal Quantities
Shopify does not support selling Decimal Quantities. For example, selling items by weight or measure (eg per kilo, per metre etc).
The Quantity field in Shopify only supports whole numbers. There is no setting to enable decimal quantities and this limitation applies on every Shopify plan.
There are a few workarounds for this limitation. Contact Tower Support if you need suggestions on what will work best for your scenario.
Redefine the Unit
The simplest workaround is to redefine what one unit means. Rather than selling products by the metre, sell by the centimetre. This allows whole number quantities while still updating QOH from Retailer.
Shopify will show whole units only. If Retailer holds a part unit (for example 33.2), Shopify will show 33.
Manufactured Goods
Manufactured Goods allow creating a product that uses up a component product when sold. This lets you sell the same stock in different sizes. There are two ways to set it up. Which one suits you depends on whether you need Shopify to show how much stock is left.
Option 1: The smaller unit holds the stock (recommended)
Use this if you want Shopify to show how much stock is left. The smaller unit is the real stock item and is the one sold on your website. The original item becomes the Manufactured Good, so staff can keep selling it in store.
Shopify receives the quantity on hand of the item that is ticked as a Web Store Item. Because the smaller unit holds the real stock, Shopify always shows the correct amount.
Example: fabric sold per metre in store and in 25 cm lots online
- Create a new stock item for the smaller unit. For example, Cotton Print 25 cm. Give it its own barcode and set the price for 25 cm (for example $10). Tick Webstore.
- Enter the quantity on hand in 25 cm units. A 10 metre roll is 40.
- On the main screen of Retailer, click Stock → Stock Screen. Click the magnifying glass and select the original per metre item (for example Cotton Print per metre, $40).
- Click the MFG button, then click Yes to confirm.
- In Scan Barcode, enter the barcode of the 25 cm item. In Qty Required, enter 4 (four 25 cm units make one metre). Press Enter.
- Set Make Method to Always Auto Make, then click Save.
- If the per metre item is already on your website, untick Webstore on it so that only the 25 cm item shows. Retailer does not delete the product on Shopify. It is archived, so it no longer shows to customers. Ticking Webstore again reactivates it if it still exists on Shopify. If it has been deleted from Shopify, it is created again as a new product.
Both items now take their stock from the same place:
- Selling 1.2 metres of the per metre item in store uses 4.8 of the 25 cm units.
- A Shopify order for 2 of the 25 cm item uses 2 units.
- With 8.3 metres left, Retailer holds 33.2 units and Shopify shows 33.
Example: loose tea sold per kg in store and in 250 g bags online
Create the 250 g item as the stock item with Webstore ticked. Make the per kg item a Manufactured Good with the 250 g item as the component and a Qty Required of 4. Enter the quantity on hand in 250 g units. A 10 kg bulk bag is 40.
The same method works for any item sold by length, weight or volume, such as ribbon, elastic, vinyl, trim, nuts or bulk goods. Use the smallest amount customers will buy online as the smaller unit.
Things to know before you set up Option 1
- The original item will always show 0 on hand. This is normal with Always Auto Make. Check your stock and enter arrivals on the smaller unit item.
- Refunds. Refunding a sale of the original item does not put the stock back. After the refund, undo the item to return the quantity to the smaller unit item. See Refunding a Manufactured Goods Stock Item.
- Converting existing stock. If you already hold stock on the original item, multiply the quantity on hand by the number of smaller units in one (4 in the examples above) for the new item, and divide the cost price by the same number. Retailer cannot multiply quantities in bulk, so set them by quantity on hand.
- Keeping the original item on your website. You can leave it ticked as a Web Store Item, but Shopify will show it with no stock because Retailer sends its own quantity on hand, which is 0. Set it to continue selling when out of stock. Each sale will still use up the smaller unit item, but Shopify cannot stop you overselling that listing.
- Try one item first. Set up one item, sell some in store and online, and check the quantities before you change the rest of your range.
Option 2: The larger unit holds the stock
Use this if you do not need Shopify to show how much stock is left. Create a Manufactured Good for the size you want to sell online, with the stock item you already have as the component. For example, a 0.5 kg product that adjusts a per kg stock item when sold. The per kg product is used in Retailer and the 0.5 kg product is used on Shopify.
Note with this approach, the available inventory can no longer be tracked on Shopify. Retailer sends the quantity on hand of the 0.5 kg product, which is 0, so set it to continue selling when out of stock. Shopify cannot stop you overselling.
Variants for preset size options
If customers typically purchase the same size option, Variants can be setup in those size options. Eg 0.5 kg, 1 kg and 1.5 kg.
The customer selects the desired size from a list rather than entering a decimal quantity.
Note with this approach, the available inventory is tracked separately for each size option and cannot be inferred from a per kg product.