Shopify created a new mystery location I didn't want when I imported inventory
You imported an inventory update and now there's stock sitting at a location you don't remember creating, while the location you meant to update didn't change. Shopify's inventory CSV assigns quantities by matching your file's location column headers against the Locations already configured in your store — and that match has to be exact. Drop your file into the free checker below to confirm your headers line up with real locations before you import again.
What you'll see
You open Products → Inventory after an import and there's a location listed that you don't recognize, carrying stock you meant to put somewhere else — while the location you actually wanted to update still shows the old numbers. Nothing in the import flow flagged this; the file uploaded and Shopify reported success.
The root cause: location names are matched by header text
Shopify's inventory CSV format reserves one column per fulfillment location for that location's quantity, and the header of each of those columns is expected to be the literal name of a Location as it's configured in your store, under Settings → Locations. When you build or edit that file in Excel or Google Sheets, the header row is just text like any other cell — nothing stops you from typing, pasting, or autocorrecting it into something that no longer matches a real Location name character-for-character.
The precise internal handling of a header that doesn't match an existing location isn't something to overstate here, so treat it plainly: the importer can't confidently attribute that column's quantities to the location you meant. The result merchants consistently report is stock landing at, or being tracked under, an unfamiliar location rather than the one they expected — not a rejected file, just a quiet mismatch.
How this typically gets introduced
- Retyping location headers by hand instead of copying them, introducing a typo or different capitalization.
- Reusing a template file that was originally built for a different store, or pulled from an older export, where the location names don't match your current store's setup.
- A trailing space picked up from copy-pasting a location name out of an email, a doc, or a prior spreadsheet.
How to check before you import
Before importing, open Settings → Locations in your Shopify admin and copy the exact location name(s) as Shopify has them stored — don't retype them. Use those exact strings as the column headers in your inventory CSV. After importing, check Products → Inventory, filtered or grouped by location, to confirm quantities landed where you expected rather than assuming success from the "import complete" message alone. The checker above will also flag columns whose header text doesn't look like it corresponds to a location you're using.