Shop Circle KB

Appearance

Bulk import your locations ​

The bulk import feature lets you upload multiple locations at once using a CSV, XLSX, XLS, or ODS file (up to 1MB). Import only creates new locations — it does not update or merge with your existing ones. Import is a paid feature on eligible plans. This article covers how to prepare your file and complete the import process.

Step 1: File preparation ​

The instructions below are for CSV files. The same steps apply to all supported import file formats.

Preparing your spreadsheet ​

To prepare your spreadsheet, download the sample CSV file from the import screen, or create your own. Keep the following in mind:

  • Field names go in the top row and the values go in the rows underneath.
  • When you upload the file you'll map the fields to the proper columns, so don't worry about exact spelling.
  • If you are importing search tags or custom fields, they must already exist in Store Locator before the import. For example, before importing you would create the tags and custom fields referenced in your file — if they don't exist, the importer has nowhere to put the values.
  • For custom fields, you can enter any text that applies.
  • For search tags and location groups, enter a "Y" (for yes) if it applies to that location; otherwise leave the cell blank.

Saving as a UTF-8 CSV file ​

Once your spreadsheet is ready, save it as a UTF-8 CSV file:

  1. Save your spreadsheet as a CSV.
  2. Close the file.
  3. Find the file in its folder, right-click it, select Open With, and choose Notepad.
  4. In Notepad, go to File > Save As. Near the Save button there is a dropdown labelled Encoding — select UTF-8.
  5. Make sure there is a .csv extension after the file name.
  6. Click Save. Your file is now ready for import.

WARNING

  • Longitude and Latitude are not required fields, but including them speeds up the import — without them, each address is geocoded automatically via the Google Maps API, which takes longer.
  • Write City, State/Province, and Country in full — abbreviations are not accepted.
  • Populate all 6 mandatory fields: Name, Address Line 1, City, State/Province, Country, Postal Code.
  • We can import a maximum of 1,000 locations per day.

Step 2: Import ​

  1. Go to Apps > Store Locator > Locations.
  2. Click the Import button.
  3. Drag and drop your file, or click Add file to browse (CSV, XLSX, XLS, or ODS, up to 1MB).
  4. Optionally check Replace all existing locations to delete all current locations before the new ones are imported.
  5. Click Next.
  6. Match columns by relating column names from your file to the standardized fields used within Store Locator.
  7. Click the Import button to confirm.
  8. The modal closes and the import runs in the background — track progress on the locations table. Once complete you will receive a confirmation email. If it doesn't arrive, check your spam/junk folder.

WARNING

  • If you didn't map all mandatory fields to columns in your file, the bulk upload is prevented.
  • Rows missing a mandatory field, or that duplicate an existing location, are skipped — the rest of the file still imports, and the confirmation email reports what was skipped.
  • To remove all existing locations while importing new ones, check the Replace all existing locations option. Be aware this does not save an export of the existing locations first.
  • Sometimes Google fails to find a location and its pin appears in the middle of the ocean. This usually means the address isn't formatted the way Google expects. The email notification tells you which locations did not plot properly — drag those pins to the correct spots on the location editing page.