Shopify CSV recovery: broken UTF-8 text and missing SKU zeros are different problems

Compare the file with an intact source

A product title that displays incorrectly and an SKU that has lost its leading zeros can appear in the same CSV, but they need different repairs. Shopify identifies incorrect encoding as one possible cause of unexpected characters after import. Spreadsheet software may also transform identifiers into numbers or dates while opening the file.

Keep the downloaded source, the edited spreadsheet and the proposed upload as separate files. Inspect a known accented title, a leading-zero SKU and a long barcode in each version. This comparison tells you where damage first appeared. Do not repeatedly open and save the only copy while trying different export menus.

Expected title: Crème mug
Expected SKU: 000742
Expected identifier: 123456789012345678

Check each value at three points:
original export → spreadsheet preview → saved CSV

A repaired file must match the original strings, not merely look tidy.

Shopify Help: importing products and encoding problems ↗

Recover characters from known bytes or the original export

If the original is readable but the spreadsheet is not, import a fresh copy using the correct encoding rather than editing each garbled character. Preview accented and non-English text before accepting the import. Save the repaired copy in the UTF-8 format required by the destination, then reopen it in a viewer that does not silently change column types.

If replacement symbols were already written into the saved file, choosing UTF-8 afterward cannot infer the original letters. Return to a clean export or another trustworthy source. Broad search-and-replace rules can damage legitimate text, especially when the file contains several languages. Keep a short before-and-after comparison for the affected rows.

Treat identifiers as text before spreadsheet conversion

Microsoft documents automatic conversions that can remove leading zeros, change long numbers and interpret text as dates. Import SKU and barcode columns as text before the conversion occurs. A custom display format that shows extra zeros is not a recovery method when the original identifier length is unknown.

Use an explicit source of truth for each repaired identifier. If 000742 became 742, padding every SKU to six digits is only valid when the catalog specification actually requires six digits. A long identifier whose digits were rounded cannot be reconstructed by widening the cell. Re-export it from the original system and compare the exact string.

Microsoft Support: preserving leading zeros and large numbers ↗

Validate structure and rehearse one small import

Run the repaired copy through KitForma’s Shopify CSV checker and review the proposed changes. The checker can flag local structural problems; it cannot prove that your remote images, store settings or catalog relationships are correct. Keep variant rows and dependent columns together. Shopify warns that removing required option information can change variant behavior.

Do not replace your production catalog as a test. Prepare a small, deliberately selected import with a backup and inspect Shopify’s own preview. After importing, verify the product title, SKU, barcode, options and images in the destination; then export that small result again and compare the identifiers with the source.

A successful rehearsal is evidence for that sample, not a guarantee for every row. Group the remaining records by the kinds of problems you found and check representative examples. Keep a change log with row identifiers and reasons so that an unexpected result can be traced without guessing which version was uploaded.

1. Preserve the untouched source.
2. Find where characters or identifiers first changed.
3. Reimport with deliberate encoding and text column types.
4. Review local CSV corrections.
5. Test a backed-up, small import.
6. Verify the destination and an exported sample.

Shopify Help: product CSV format and dependencies ↗