Articles on: Shopify

Inventory Policy (Continue Selling) Field

The Inventory Policy field controls whether customers can purchase products when their inventory level reaches zero. By mapping this field, you can automatically enable or disable overselling (continue selling when out of stock) based on the specific indicators provided in your supplier feed.


Available on: ✔️ Add | ✔️ Update | ✔️ Export



Watch the Inventory Policy Walkthrough


Learn how to configure the Inventory Policy field and map continue/deny selling indicators.




How to Set Up Inventory Policy Mapping


Go to App → Feed Settings → Step 2: Matching Column


  1. Add Field Mapping: Locate or add the Inventory Policy (Continue Selling) field in Step 2.
  2. Select Feed Column: Map the column from your feed file that contains your selling policy or inventory data.
  3. Configure Smart Settings: Click the gear icon on the mapped field to open the indicator settings.
  4. Set Indicators: Define the specific text, wildcards, or blank values that represent "Continue" or "Deny" in your feed file.
  5. Save Mapping: Click Update to apply your changes.


Inventory Policy settings overview



Inventory Policy Smart Settings Breakdown


1. Enable Continue Selling

This setting defines the specific words or values in your feed that tell Shopify to enable selling when out of stock.


  • The default indicator is continue.
  • You can change this to match your feed file (e.g., true, Yes, or any other custom string).
  • This field supports wildcard matching *.


Enable continue selling setting


Example: If your feed uses "Yes" to allow backorders, enter Yes as the indicator.

Yes indicator example


Example: If an empty cell in your feed means continue selling, enter <blank> to map empty values.

Blank indicator example


2. Disable Continue Selling

This setting defines the words or values in your feed that tell Shopify to disable selling when out of stock.


  • The default indicator is deny.
  • You can change this to match your feed file (e.g., false, No, or any other custom string).
  • This field supports wildcard matching *.


Disable continue selling setting


Example: If your feed uses "No" to prevent backorders, enter No as the indicator.

No indicator example


Example: You can use the wildcard * to capture any other variation or text that should trigger a deny action.

Wildcard indicator example


3. Update Policy Based on Quantity

If your feed does not explicitly state "Yes" or "No" for backorders but provides inventory quantities, you can still map the Inventory Policy field directly to the quantity column.


Condition (Feed Quantity)

Store Policy Result

Explanation

0

Deny

When the feed quantity is 0, the policy automatically disables out-of-stock selling.

1 (or any number > 0)

Continue

When the feed quantity is 1 or greater, the policy automatically enables out-of-stock selling.


4. Apply a Fixed Value

If your feed file does not contain an inventory policy or quantity column, but you want to apply the exact same setting to all products, use a Fixed Value.


  • Select Fixed Value in the field dropdown.
  • Enter Continue to enable overselling for all products.
  • Enter Deny to disable overselling for all products.


Fixed Value animation



Key Rules & Technical Details


  • Wildcard Priority: When using wildcards (e.g., *), be careful not to create conflicting indicators between the "Enable" and "Disable" fields. Make sure explicit indicators are processed correctly.
  • Empty Values: If your feed uses completely empty cells to represent a rule, you must explicitly type <blank> into the indicator field for the system to recognize it.



Troubleshooting Steps


  • Issue: Products are not switching to "Continue Selling" even though the feed says "True" → Solution: Check the Smart Settings in Step 2. Make sure you have entered True in the Enable Continue selling indicator field. Case sensitivity may apply depending on your feed formatting.
  • Issue: Feed uses multiple different words for out-of-stock behavior → Solution: Use the Find and Replace feature on the column to standardize the words into a single indicator (like continue or deny) before the indicator logic applies.



Good Articles to Continue


Updated on: 27/10/2026

Was this article helpful?

Share your feedback

Cancel

Thank you!