If your product catalogue is anything more than a simple list of items, moving to Shopify can feel daunting. From ERPs that don't understand variants, to products with up to 5 options, to paint that's mixed to order, that's when real-world retail is complicated. But complex catalogues don't have to be a blocker. Here are 10 things to prepare before you migrate.
1. Audit How Your ERP or EPOS Sends Product Data
Shopify thinks in parents and variants. Your existing system may not. Some ERPs send individual SKUs with no concept of a parent product. No grouping, no hierarchy, just a flat list of items. Others have variant support but limit it to just two options (typically size and colour).
Before you start any migration, map out exactly how your system structures product data. This will determine how much transformation work is needed in the middle layer before products ever reach Shopify.
Ask yourself: Can my ERP send grouped products, or only flat SKUs? How many variant options does it support?
2. Know Shopify's 3-Variant Limit and Plan Around It
Out of the box, Shopify allows 3 variant options per product (e.g. Size, Colour, Material). If your catalogue has products with more than 3 dimensions of choice, i.e. shaft type, flex, grip size, loft, and hand orientation for a golf club, you'll need a workaround.
One proven approach is to combine two real options into a single Shopify option using a separator (e.g. a pipe character: "Shaft | Flex"). On the front end, these are split back apart and displayed as individual selectors, giving customers a seamless experience. When they add the product to cart, the correct combined variant is matched and the individual attributes are passed as order line item properties.
Practical note: This can be done without Shopify Plus, and the combined values can be reformatted in checkout, so customers never see the underlying pipe character.
3. Decide How You'll Group Products Before They Reach Shopify
If your source system sends flat SKUs, someone or something needs to group them into parent products before they land in Shopify. There are two main approaches:
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CSV-based grouping: Merchandise teams download a CSV of individual SKUs, map them to a parent code and define their option values (size, colour, etc.), then upload it all within the Shopify admin. The middleware reads this and creates the grouped product with their variants in Shopify.
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Automated grouping with rules: For higher-volume catalogues, you can flag products at the ERP level to be held in a staging table until a grouping instruction is given, with a preview step to confirm what's about to be created.
Either way, don't assume this will happen automatically. Have a plan and a workflow ready before go-live.
4. Plan for Products That Need to Look Connected But Live Separately
Many retailers sell the same product in different colourways or styles. They want customers to be able to switch between them on the product page. In Shopify, the cleanest solution is often to keep these as separate products (great for SEO, each getting its own URL as well as having their own image gallery) but connect them visually on the front end.
This is done using tags or metafields. A shared tag or a linked metafield tells the front end which products belong together so a colour swatch selector can appear on the PDP and clicking one brings the customer to the correct separate product. The implementation looks seamless and the architecture is clean.
SEO benefit: Separate product URLs mean each colour or style can rank independently in search, a significant advantage over forcing everything into one product with dozens of variants.
5. Identify Your Custom Product Configurations Early
Some products can't be expressed through standard variants at all. Custom-built furniture, for example, might have conditional logic meaning selecting one option changes what's available in another. Made-to-order paint involves selecting a colour (which maps to a tint code) and a finish (matte, silk, gloss), and the right base SKU is determined by the combination without showing this to the customer..
These configurations can be handled with JSON metafields or metaobjects on unlisted products or using the bundles app. The JSON holds all the options, conditional logic, and pricing. The front end reads it and renders a custom selector UI. When the customer adds to cart, the correct SKU and price are passed through. Some of the more complex pricing logic may require a Shopify plus plan to allow the FE to change pricing where required.
The key is identifying these products early in discovery. They require custom development and should not be treated like standard catalogue items.
6. Use Shopify Bundles for Multi-Unit and Kit Products
If you sell products in fixed multiples (e.g. a box of 12, a pack of 6) or as pre-defined bundles (e.g. a hamper with specific contents), the Shopify Bundles app is worth your attention. It lets you define a bundle product that, under the hood, is composed of individual units already in your catalogue.
The benefits for large catalogue retailers are significant:
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The bundle appears as a single product to the customer at checkout.
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When the order is sent back to your ERP or EPOS, it's broken down into its individual component SKUs so your back-office systems don't need any special handling.
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Pricing can be set explicitly on the bundle, or inherited automatically from the component products.
This approach works without Shopify Plus and avoids the need to create separate SKUs in your ERP for every bundle configuration. Something to watch out for here is that the pricing of the bundle needs to be managed manually should any of the components pricing get updated.
7. Think About How Events or Contexts Change Your Pricing
For some retailers, product pricing isn't static. It changes based on context. An exhibition stand company, for instance, might have the same physical products but different pricing for each event they run. A trade retailer might have tiered pricing based on customer type.
One elegant approach is to use base products and event-specific duplicates. A metaobject entry defines the event and its price adjustment; middleware reads this, duplicates the base products, applies the adjustment, and populates a separate collection for that event. Customers browsing that event only see event-specific products with the correct pricing.
Customer segments and Shopify discounts can also be used to give certain customers discounts on certain products/free shipping etc. Shopify has a powerful query builder for segments and can be based on tags, products ordered, metafields, address etc.
Without Shopify Plus: Price adjustments at checkout require server-side logic (middleware) to create the correctly-priced product variant before it's added to cart. On Shopify Plus, the Storefront API allows this on the front end directly.
8. Prepare Your Middleware Strategy
For any catalogue with real complexity, a middleware layer between your ERP and Shopify isn't optional. It's essential. This is the layer that handles product transformation, grouping, pricing logic, bundle handling, and order pass-back.
Good middleware should be:
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Fully owned or controlled by your agency, not a black-box SaaS tool you can't customise.
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Able to handle Shopify's variant limits through combination logic.
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Capable of staging products for manual review before they go live.
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Robust enough to handle order data flowing back to your ERP with the correct SKUs and pricing, even when bundles or custom products are involved.
The middleware conversation should happen at the very start of the project, not after you've discovered your ERP sends flat SKUs two weeks before launch.
9. Brief Your Merchandising Team on New Workflows
A Shopify migration is not just a technical project. Your merchandising team will likely have new responsibilities: downloading and adjusting CSVs to group products, reviewing grouping previews before approving them, managing swatches and colour hex values in metafields, and maintaining bundle definitions and pricing.
These workflows should be designed with the team in mind, not bolted on at the end. A clean Shopify admin app with clear steps and a preview confirmation screen makes the difference between a workflow your team adopts confidently and one they resent.
Pro tip: Run training sessions before go-live, not on the day. Give your team time to get comfortable with the new tools.
10. Build a Discovery Questionnaire for Catalogue Complexity
The earlier you surface catalogue complexity, the cheaper it is to solve. A structured intake questionnaire asked at the sales or pre-discovery stage can save significant development time downstream. Consider asking:
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How many variant options can a single product have? Are there products with more than 3?
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Does your ERP send grouped products or individual SKUs?
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Do you sell the same product in different colourways that need to be linked on the PDP?
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Do you have any made-to-order, configurable, or custom products?
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Do you sell products in bundles, kits, or fixed multiples?
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Does pricing change by event, customer type, or context?
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Which ERP or EPOS system are you using, and what integration does it support?
Getting clear answers to these questions early means your technical team can design the right solution from day one - rather than discovering a blocker two weeks before launch.
The Bottom Line
Complex catalogues are not a reason to avoid a migration or platform - they're a reason to plan carefully. With the right middleware, the right front-end approach, and a well-designed merchandising workflow, it's possible to handle everything from 6-variant golf clubs to made-to-order paint on Shopify, often without Shopify Plus.
The real issue arises when retailers discover their catalogue complexity late. We recommend to start with asking the hard questions. Want to talk through your catalogue setup? Get in touch.
Join Us at Next in Commerce This September
We are proud to be running two Shopify-sponsored "Next in Commerce" events this September. If you are struggling with complex product catalogues, ERP integration hurdles, or any other migration challenge, this is your opportunity to connect directly with the team.
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What to expect: A dedicated 1-on-1 session with the StudioForty9 and Shopify teams to dive deep into your specific retail challenges and map out a practical path forward.
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Next Steps: Spaces are limited. Visit our event landing page to request your spot today.
