"Shopify is ignoring my inventory quantity column" — multi-location stores / wrong CSV file used

Why one location works and the rest silently don't

Shopify's inventory-only import expects the quantity for each location to sit in its own column, and that column's header must be the location's name exactly as it appears in Settings → Locations. A single-location store just has one such column and everything works. Once you add a second location, Shopify's exported template grows a new column per location — but a lot of people keep editing the same single-column file they always used, or rename a header by hand and get the location's display name slightly wrong (extra space, different capitalization, an abbreviation instead of the full name).

When that happens, Shopify's importer doesn't reject the file or warn you — a column it doesn't recognize as a location is simply not read for inventory purposes. The rest of the import (product match by SKU or handle) can complete "successfully" while every number in that column is discarded.

The other common trigger: wrong CSV entirely

Shopify has separate CSV shapes for products vs. inventory. The products export/import includes a single Variant Inventory Qty column that only ever writes to your store's default location. If you're on multi-location and upload a products-format file expecting it to update stock everywhere, it only ever touches the default location — the other locations aren't ignored by a bug, they were never addressed by that file's format in the first place.

How to fix it

Re-export your current inventory directly from Shopify (Products → Inventory → Export) so the location column headers are generated by Shopify itself, edit the quantities in place, and re-upload that exact file rather than a hand-built or older template. Upload your file above first and the checker will show you which of its column headers actually match a location on your store, and which ones it can't place anywhere.