Our Shopify connector is the only one that allows for you to maintain multiple shopify locations and match these to retail express outlets. This allows you to use Shopify features like native click and collect.
The Core Concept
Shopify's inventory system is location-aware — meaning stock levels are tracked and displayed per location, not as a single global number. For a product's stock to appear at a given location in Shopify (e.g. Claremont), two things must be true:
- The product must be stocked at that location in Retail Express
- The product must be explicitly enabled/attached to that location in Shopify
If either of these is missing, Shopify will not show or update stock for that product at that location — even if Retail Express has quantity for it.
Why this matters
If you have a product that Retail Express shows stock for at your Claremont outlet. If that product has never been attached to the Claremont location in Shopify, our sync and Shopify will skip it entirely for that location. The stock won't appear, won't update, and from Shopify's perspective, it doesn't exist there.
This isn't a bug — it's Shopify enforcing that you deliberately opt a product into a location before it can be sold or fulfilled from there.
Why the Attachment Step Is Important
- Prevents phantom stock — products shouldn't appear as available somewhere they're not supposed to be sold from
- Controls fulfilment routing — Shopify uses location stock to determine where orders are fulfilled from; incorrect location attachment leads to fulfilment errors
- Affects online availability — Shopify can be configured to only show a product as available online if at least one attached location has stock
- POS behaviour — at the physical POS, only products attached to that outlet's location will appear as available to sell
How This Compares to "The Old Days"
| Behaviour | Old Shopify - Retail Express Connector | Modern Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Stock tracking | Single global inventory number | Per-location inventory |
| Product availability | One setting — available or not | Per-location — must be enabled per location |
| Sync behaviour | Push stock, it updates everywhere | Must push to each location explicitly |
| Product attachment | Not required | Required before stock can appear at a location |
| Imagery | Global, one set per product/variant | Moving toward location/variant-aware media |
| Fulfilment routing | Simple — one warehouse concept | Complex — routes by location priority and stock |
In the old Shopify, you pushed a stock / inventory number and it was there. Shopify expects you to manage a matrix of product × location, which is more powerful for multi-outlet retailers, but also far more unforgiving if the configuration isn't right.
Practical Implication for TranslatorHQ Integrations
When syncing Retail Express → Shopify, the connector :
- Check location attachment before attempting a stock update — if the product isn't attached to that Shopify location, the update will either fail silently or error
- Respect the enabled/disabled state of each location per product
- Not assume that because a product exists in Shopify and stock exists in Retail Express, the two are connected at a location level
This is why enabling and attaching locations correctly is a critical setup step. Not being attached results in incorrect or missing stock across your Shopify locations.
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