ConsignCloud integrates with Shopify, one of the most popular and effective eCommerce platforms online. We like Shopify because it is easy to use and provides a world-class set of tools for stores to maintain an effective online presence. ConsignCloud's integration automatically syncs inventory between the two systems and makes it much easier to run your physical and online stores side by side.
In this article we'll explore briefly how ConsignCloud's Shopify integration works, how ConsignCloud charges for this service, and how to get your own store set up.
Getting set up
Integrating your ConsignCloud and Shopify stores takes less than 5 minutes.
Go to Menu » Settings » Apps and find the Shopify eCommerce app. Enable it and click through to the settings page.
Click "Install App" to install the ConsignCloud integration for your store. Read over the details if you'd like, and click Install near the bottom of the screen.
After returning to ConsignCloud, activate the integration by filling out and saving the settings form.
How it Works
ConsignCloud will sync your data in a few key ways:
Automatic listings. ConsignCloud will automatically list any inventory you specify in your Shopify store. To mark an item for eCommerce syncing, toggle List on Shopify when you are entering the item. If the item has already been created, edit it and select List on Shopify. ConsignCloud will automatically add this item to your Shopify inventory and keep the information synced between the two systems as long as it is active. If you make edits to the item in ConsignCloud, those edits will be synced to Shopify as well.
If your Track Product Changes setting is enabled, ConsignCloud will copy product updates made on Shopify's end.
Sold items. If an item is sold in either ConsignCloud or Shopify, ConsignCloud will automatically sync the inventory to reduce the chance of a double sale. Because of how Shopify's integration tools work, syncing isn't instant, but it's fast enough to eliminate double sales in all but a few very rare cases. If an item does happen to double-sell, first consider keeping the brick-and-mortar sale in ConsignCloud. Shopify has a fulfillment step that makes it easy to cancel online orders.
Consignor balances. If an item is sold in Shopify, it will be marked as sold in ConsignCloud and the consignor's balance history will be updated.
Account data. To comply with Shopify's Terms of Service, ConsignCloud takes a conservative approach to data syncing. Once you activate your integration, ConsignCloud will sync all new customer data created in ConsignCloud to Shopify. We are as strict about this as possible — we only sync customer (not consignor or supplier) data with Shopify, and we only sync data added after your integration is turned on. This kind of approach is required by Shopify so that other features they have, like marketing and transactional emails, work properly. Syncing is only one-way — no account activity that happens in Shopify will be synced back to or tracked by ConsignCloud.
ConsignCloud will only sync Inventory and Account Balances between the systems. If you sell an item online, it will be marked in ConsignCloud as sold too, and if we can associate the sale with an account in ConsignCloud we'll update the account history as well. Any consignor split will be calculated automatically like you'd expect.
Pricing and payment
Shopify itself costs $29/mo, which is in addition to your regular ConsignCloud subscription. You'll be billed separately for your Shopify subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Which item fields are synchronized to Shopify products?
For details on how individual items fields get synchronized to Shopify, see below. In most cases, we will only re-sync a field if its value has changed.
Title, Tags, SKU*, Images, Weight, and Weight Unit are synchronized directly across between items and products.
Tax Exempt is synchronized to the Taxable field in Shopify.
Tag Price is synchronized to the Price field.
Category Name is synchronized to Product Type.
Details becomes Description, and retains all rich text formatting.
An item's SKU may also be synchronized to your products' Barcode field, depending on your Sync SKU as Barcode setting.
Account or Brand will be synchronized to you products' Vendor field, depending on your Vendor Field setting.
Brand, Color, Size, and any custom fields can optionally by synchronized to a product's variant options.
*Note that changes to the SKU won't be synced back from Shopify except for at the point of item creation.
How do I import existing products from Shopify into ConsignCloud?
The process for copying products listed in Shopify to ConsignCloud is quite simple. First, enable your Track Product Changes setting. Once that's on, go to Shopify and add the "ConsignCloud" tag to all products you want copied to ConsignCloud, using Shopify's bulk editor.
Note that since Shopify doesn't support consignment accounts, everything will be synchronized as retail items with no account associated. You'll need to edit synced items to add consignor and split information yourself. Once an item is linked to a product, the two cannot be un-linked.
Items aren't listed on my store, or available in Shopify POS.
By default, we publish your items to all available sales channels. But if they're being published in "Draft" status, they won't actually show up there. You can control the default in your Shopify settings, and update it on Shopify's end as needed.
If your inventory isn't getting synchronized to Shopify at all, make sure you've marked on the items themselves that they should be listed — this value in settings is only a default. If you have a bunch of existing inventory that needs to be synchronized to Shopify, we recommend using imports to update them all at once.
How do I list some items with a different fulfillment location?
If your Shopify store has multiple fulfillment services or locations, you can use Shelves to manage what inventory gets listed where — just select a fulfillment location on the shelf form, and all items assigned to that shelf will be listed to the selected fulfillment location.
How do I hide items on Shopify that have been sold?
ConsignCloud does not remove sold inventory from Shopify; instead, it reduces its available quantity to zero. In order to hide out-of-stock items from your Shopify store, you'll need to create a collection that matches all out of stock inventory, and un-list those items from your online store. More information on how to do that here.
Do you support variants?
Yes and no. While ConsignCloud does not have an interface for creating and editing variants, we do respect the variants you set up on Shopify's end. Simply create an item with the total quantity of all variants, then open it in Shopify to fill out variant details on their end. When you edit quantity on ConsignCloud's end, we'll make our best guess as to which variant should be adjusted, and when an item sells online, the correct variant stock will be reduced.
We also have a way to select certain fields on an item that should be initially synchronized to variant options, which you can configure from you Shopify settings within ConsignCloud. There's no way to manage multiple variants from ConsignCloud's end, but this can be a good way to populate fields you want to include in your online store's filters.
Sales on Shopify aren't carrying over to ConsignCloud!
A common mistake people often make is assuming that because a product (or line item) in Shopify shares a SKU with an item within ConsignCloud, those two things are automatically linked. This is not the case, items are linked not by SKU, but by product id, which is created when an item is synchronized with Shopify. Be sure to use the process described above to make sure your inventory is correctly linked up.