Shopify Barcode Labels from CSV: A Step-by-Step Guide

Shopify does not print Avery 5160 barcode labels natively. Its built-in barcode feature generates individual labels within the admin, which works for printing one or two labels for a specific variant. For printing labels across your full product catalog or a large inventory batch, you need to work from the CSV export.

This guide explains what the Shopify export contains, which columns to use, and how to turn that CSV into a print-ready barcode label PDF.

What the Shopify product export CSV contains

When you export products from Shopify, you get a flat CSV where each row represents one product variant. A product with three sizes will appear as three rows, each sharing the same title but with a different Variant SKU and Variant Barcode.

The columns that matter most for barcode labels:

Column	What it contains	When to use it
Variant SKU	Your internal stock-keeping unit	Best for internal inventory labels
Variant Barcode	Barcode value entered in Shopify (if any)	If you already have barcodes in Shopify
Title	Product name	Use as label text, not as the barcode value
Handle	URL slug for the product	Rarely useful for labels

For most internal labeling workflows, Variant SKU is the right column. If Variant SKU is blank for some products, those rows will produce blank labels, so fill them in or filter them out before pasting.

Step 1: Export your products from Shopify

In your Shopify admin, go to Products > All products. Click Export in the top right.

In the export dialog:

• Choose which products to include: all products, the current page, or selected items
• Select "CSV for Excel, Numbers, or other spreadsheet applications"
• Click Export products

Shopify will email you a download link for the CSV file.

Step 2: Decide how to handle variants

Shopify exports one row per variant. A product with Small, Medium, and Large options appears as three rows. Before pasting, decide what you actually need:

One label per variant: paste the export as-is. Each variant gets its own label. This is right if your picking and labeling process is variant-specific.

One label per product: open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets, filter to one row per product (for example, delete duplicate rows where the title matches), and save as CSV. This works when your SKUs are product-level identifiers rather than variant-level ones.

Step 3: Clean up the export

A few things commonly need fixing before pasting:

• Remove rows where Variant SKU is blank, or fill in the missing SKUs first
• Delete the second header row if Shopify included column descriptions below the headers
• If you only want labels for specific products, filter the CSV to those rows

Step 4: Paste the CSV and preview labels

Go to Shopify barcode labels and paste your cleaned CSV.

Select Variant SKU as the barcode column. The live preview shows you the full Avery 5160 label sheet immediately. Each row produces one Code 128 barcode label. If you want the product title printed on the label alongside the barcode, you can include the Title column as label text.

Step 5: Export the PDF

Once the preview looks correct, export to PDF and print on Avery 5160 label sheets using US Letter paper.

SKU labels versus retail barcodes

Barcode labels generated from Shopify SKUs are for internal use. They work for warehouse shelves, storage bins, pick-and-pack workflows, and internal tracking.

If you sell through retail channels that require official UPC or GTIN barcodes on product packaging, those identifiers must come from GS1. Your Shopify SKU field is not a GS1 identifier.

This tool does not connect to Shopify

This tool reads CSV data you paste into it. It does not sync with your Shopify store, read your inventory levels, or install into your Shopify admin. The workflow is entirely local: export from Shopify, paste the CSV, generate labels.

That limitation is also its strength: no OAuth approval, no app permissions, no ongoing access to your store data.

FAQ

My Shopify SKUs contain special characters. Will they encode correctly?

Code 128 supports letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, and most standard characters used in SKU formats. Paste a small test batch first and confirm the preview looks correct before printing your full run.

My export has hundreds of variants. Do I need a label for every one?

No. Open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets, delete the rows you do not need, save as CSV, and paste the filtered version. Targeting specific products or variants is always an option.

Can I include both the SKU and the product name on each label?

Yes. Select Variant SKU as the barcode column and include Title as label text. Check the preview to confirm both fit within the Avery 5160 label boundary, which is 2.625 by 1 inch.

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For general shelf and bin labeling, see How to print SKU labels for inventory shelves. For labeling products by internal ID, see Barcode labels for internal product IDs.