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How to import items into each Customer's Product Favorites Lists or export Favorites Lists?

Updated

This article explains how to use the Favorites Import to create or remove customer Favorites List items in bulk. Product Favorites allow customers to maintain multiple personalized Favorite Lists, each containing products they may want to purchase later.

Important Distinction: Favorites and Wish Lists behave differently.

  • Favorites do not remove an item when it is added to the cart. Items remain saved.
  • Wish Lists remove the item from the list once added to cart.
  • Favorites allow customers to create multiple Favorite groups (folders) and choose which list to save into.

See: What are the differences between Product Favorites and Wish Lists? 

Recommended Approach: If you are importing data for the first time, it is recommended to enter the first 10 Favorites records manually using the Favorites functions in the storefront or Admin Panel, then export Favorites and use that export as a model while preparing your import file.

Use the Favorites Import when you need to:

  • Add new Favorite items for customers (Insert mode)
  • Remove existing Favorite items (Delete mode)
  • Create new Favorites Lists (Folders) automatically during insert operations

The import supports inserting and deleting Favorite items only. It does not update existing Favorites items — to modify a Favorite, delete and re-insert it. 

Identification Rules:

  • Customer Email must match an existing customer account.
  • For Insert (I), the system uses:
    • Customer Email
    • Favorites Folder Name (folder is created if it doesn’t exist)
    • SKU
  • For Delete (D), the system requires the Favorites ID, which uniquely identifies the Favorites Item to be removed.

The Favorites Export uses the same format as the Favorites Import and is the recommended way to generate a baseline file for bulk Favorites updates.

Use the Favorites Export to:

  • Create a backup before performing a Favorites Import
  • Validate results after running a Favorites Import
  • Build a baseline template before preparing a Favorites Import file
  • Support marketing and customer-preference analysis
Why this matters: Delete (D) operations require the Favorites ID, which is most reliably obtained by exporting existing Favorites data first.

Where to run the Favorites Export

1 Navigate to Import/Export > Export in the Admin Panel.

2 Locate the Favorites Export option.

3 Enter any filter criteria you want to apply (for example, Customer, Email, SKU, or Favorites Folder Name).

4 Click Generate Export File.

Best practice: Export Favorites immediately before and after large imports to support validation and rollback planning.

Download the Template and Legend

1 Navigate to Import/Export > Import in the Admin Panel.

2 Locate the Favorites Import row.

3 Click Download default Template to get the CSV file.

4 Click Legend to download the field definitions.

Download Import Templates:

Right-click and “Save As” if the file opens in your browser.

Prepare Your Import File

5 Open the CSV template in Excel, Google Sheets, or a text editor.

6 Populate your Favorites data following the legend. The import allows you to include only the required columns for the chosen action.

Required Fields by Action Type:

Insert (I): Required

  • Customer Email* – Valid customer email.
  • Favorites Folder Name* – Name of the Favorites List (created automatically if needed).
  • SKU* – SKU to add to the Favorites List.
  • Action* – Must be I for insert.

Delete (D): Required

  • Favorites ID* – Favorite record ID (required for delete).
  • Customer Email* – Used to validate list ownership.
  • Action* – Must be D for delete.

Optional Fields (ignored during import for both actions):

  • Product Name – Export-only; ignored on import.
  • Customer Price – Export-only; ignored on import.

Additional Notes:

  • Items with Personalization or Questions are not supported.
  • Bundle products cannot be imported.
  • Matrix child SKUs are supported for import.

Key Field Definitions

Field Name Description Import Behavior
Favorites ID Unique ID of a Favorites Item. Required only for Delete (D). Identifies the record to remove.
Customer Email* Email associated with the Favorites List. Required for both Insert and Delete. Validates list ownership.
Favorites Folder Name Name of the Favorites List. Required for Insert (I). Optional for Delete. If the folder does not exist, it will be created automatically.
SKU Product SKU to be added to Favorites. Required for Insert (I). Optional for Delete. Supports matrix child SKUs; excludes bundle items and items requiring personalization/questions.
Quantity Quantity to assign to the Favorite item. Optional. If omitted, system default quantity is applied.
Action* Operation to perform. Must be I (insert) or D (delete). No other values permitted.

Upload and Process the Import

7 Save the completed file as a CSV.

8 Return to Import/Export > Import.

9 Select the radio button next to Favorites Import.

10 Click Choose File and select your CSV file.

11 Click Import to begin processing.

Processing Time: Favorites imports are lightweight and generally process quickly. However, if inserting or deleting large volumes (hundreds or thousands of records), consider testing with a small subset first.

Verify the Import

12 Sign in as a test customer or use Admin tools to view Favorites Lists.

13 Verify:

  • Inserted items appear in the correct Favorites Folder.
  • New Favorites Folders were created when needed.
  • Deleted items were successfully removed using their Favorites ID.

14 If results are not as expected, review the import file for incorrect Action values, invalid Customer Emails, or missing Favorites IDs for delete operations.

Data integrity warning: Imports apply changes in bulk. Keep a backup copy of your CSV and consider exporting Favorites before and after import to confirm outcomes and support rollback planning.

 

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