How to Choose Between Add Feeds and Update Feeds

An Add Feed is used exclusively to import new products into your Shopify store, while an Update Feed modifies data for products that already exist. Using both feed types together ensures your store's inventory, pricing, and product details remain perfectly synchronized without overwriting or duplicating items.

Add Feed vs. Update Feed Breakdown

To maintain an accurate store catalog, you will often need to use both feed types depending on what data you are syncing.

1. Add Feed (Create New Products)

An Add Feed creates products that do not yet exist in your store. It processes your data source and generates entirely new product listings.

2. Update Feed (Sync Existing Products)

An Update Feed pulls data such as stock levels, pricing, or other fields from your source file and updates the matching SKUs already in your store.

How to Set Up a Complete Sync Workflow

If your supplier provides separate files or if you need to add new products while keeping existing stock and prices updated, you should create separate feeds.

Go to App → New Setup → [Setup Path]

1. Create an Add Feed: Go to New Setup → Add new products to store. Map the supplier's unique product identifier, Product Title, Brand, Description, Price, Variants, and Product Images.
2. Create an Inventory Update Feed: Go to New Setup → Update existing products in store. Map the same product identifier to Shopify's SKU, map the supplier quantity to Quantity, and select the correct Inventory Location.
3. Create an Image Update Feed (Optional): If images come from a separate source, create an Update Feed mapping the identifier and image URL to Product Images. Use the Skip existing images, import new images setting to only add missing media.
4. Create a Price Update Feed (Optional): If pricing is maintained separately, map the identifier and supplier price to the appropriate price field.
5. Configure Feed Connections: If multiple feeds use the same FTP source, enter identical FTP connection details in each feed and select the appropriate file. Do the same for URL, Dropbox, Google Sheets, email, or API sources.
6. Test and Schedule: Test each feed with a small sample. Once mappings are verified, schedule your Update Feeds according to your supplier's update frequency.

Key Rules & Technical Details

• Mandatory Add Feed Fields: Product Title and Price are strictly required when setting up an Add Feed. You cannot skip them.
• Skipping Fields Workaround: If you do not have Title or Price data for an Add Feed but still need to run it, you must map a fixed value or insert a placeholder text/number. You can only truly skip these fields when using an Update Feed.
• Subscription Billing: Your monthly subscription plan applies to the scheduling and processing limits of the Update Feed.

Troubleshooting Steps

• Issue: A new item from the supplier is not being created in Shopify. → Solution: Ensure you are using an Add Product Feed. Update Feeds cannot create new items.
• Issue: The item exists in Shopify, but its stock is not updating. → Solution: Verify the product identifier mapping matches exactly. Confirm the feed quantity column is mapped to Quantity and not Inventory tracked.
• Issue: Specific existing products are being skipped during an update. → Solution: Check your feed filters and required product tags. Any product excluded by a required tag filter will not be updated.
• Issue: Cannot proceed with an Add Feed because Title and Price are missing. → Solution: Map a fixed or placeholder value to the Product Title and Price fields to bypass the mandatory requirement.

Good Articles to Continue

• [How to Set Up Quantity Rules] → Learn how to convert text-based supplier availability into numerical Shopify inventory.
• [How to Filter Products by Tags] → Understand how to include or exclude specific products during a feed sync.

Updated on: 21/10/2026