Understanding the symptom
A feed import failure manifests as one of three problems: an import run fails to complete at all, stalls partway through, or finishes but reports an unexpectedly high count of errors or skipped rows. You may notice this when you check your source's recent activity log, receive an automated alert, or observe that product data has not updated as expected.
The specific failure message, error count, and skipped row total are your first diagnostic clues. Before you troubleshoot, gather these details from your source's status page.
Diagnosis checklist
Work through this checklist to identify the root cause. Most feed import failures fall into one of four categories.
File source issues (CSV, XML, JSON, or other file uploads)
- Is the file structure malformed? Check for: wrong delimiter (comma vs. pipe vs. tab), inconsistent column count across rows, or missing header row.
- Is the file encoding correct? Non-ASCII characters (accented letters, currency symbols, emoji) can fail if the file is saved as ANSI instead of UTF-8.
- Does the file size exceed the platform limit? Most platforms reject files larger than a specified threshold.
- Is the file path or URL still valid? For cloud-hosted files, confirm the source location has not moved or been deleted.
Platform source issues (direct connections to Shopify, WooCommerce, or other stores)
- Have the OAuth credentials expired or been revoked? Check your Connected Accounts section for a warning badge or reauthorisation prompt.
- Was the app or integration uninstalled from your store? Reconnecting restores the link.
- Has the platform's API changed? Some integrations fail silently after a platform update.
Field mapping issues
- Did you recently change your store's export format or product field names? If the source schema has changed, the field mapping no longer matches.
- Are required fields (such as title, price, or link) mapped to columns that now contain different data?
- Did you add or remove columns in your export, leaving the mapping out of sync?
Source health degradation
- Is the source marked with a degraded health status? Repeated recent failures trigger this flag automatically.
- How many consecutive import runs have failed or reported high error counts? A pattern of decline suggests an underlying issue.
How to fix a failing import
Follow these steps in order. Stop and verify success after each step before moving to the next.
Step 1: Check the source health status and recent import log
Open your source's detail page and locate the Health Status panel. Read the most recent import log entry. The log should state whether the run failed, stalled, or completed with errors, and may include a specific error message. Common messages include: 'delimiter mismatch', 'encoding error', 'OAuth token expired', 'field not found', 'row skipped: missing required field', or 'connection timeout'.
If the error message points to a specific issue (such as 'OAuth token expired'), skip to the relevant step below. If the message is generic or unclear, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2: For file sources, re-export and re-validate the file
Return to your source system (your spreadsheet, e-commerce platform, or data warehouse) and export a fresh copy of the file.
Before uploading, open the file in a text editor (not a spreadsheet application) and check:
- The first row contains your expected column headers.
- Every row uses the same delimiter (comma, pipe, or tab).
- Every row has the same number of columns.
- The file is saved as UTF-8 encoding, not ANSI or another encoding.
If you find structural issues, correct them in the source system and re-export. Then upload the corrected file to your feed source.
Step 3: For platform sources, reconnect or reauthorise the connection
Navigate to Connected Accounts or Integrations in your settings. Locate the account that corresponds to your failing feed source. If a reauthorisation prompt appears, click it and complete the OAuth flow. If no prompt appears but the connection is old, disconnect and reconnect the account from scratch.
After reconnecting, return to your source detail page and confirm that the connection status changes from 'expired' or 'revoked' to 'active'.
Step 4: Correct the field mapping if the source schema has changed
Open your source's field mapping editor. Compare each mapped field to the actual columns in your most recent export or store configuration. If a column name has changed or a column has been removed, update the mapping to match the current schema.
Pay special attention to required fields (title, price, link, availability). If a required field is mapped to an empty or wrong column, the import will skip those rows.
Save the corrected mapping.
Step 5: Trigger a manual re-import and confirm completion
On your source detail page, locate the manual import or 'Run now' button. Click it. Wait for the import to complete. Check the import log for the result.
A successful import shows a status of 'completed' with a row count and an error or skipped row count of zero or near-zero. If the skipped row count is still high, review the log for a pattern (for example, all rows with a blank price field are skipped), and return to Step 4 to adjust the mapping.
Prevention: maintain source health
Feed import failures are often preventable with routine attention.
Respond promptly to reauthorisation notifications
When your platform connection requires reauthorisation (typically every 12 months for OAuth tokens, or after a password change), you will receive an email or in-app notification. Do not ignore it. Reauthorise within a few days to avoid a lapsed connection. Mark your calendar for annual reauthorisation if your platform requires it.
Review the quality dashboard periodically
Many platforms provide a quality or health dashboard that shows import success rate, error trends, and skipped row patterns over time. Check this dashboard weekly or monthly. If you notice a rising error rate or skipped row count, investigate the cause before the source fails outright. A small degradation in data quality often signals a field mapping drift or a change in your source system that can be corrected quickly.
Test exports after store configuration changes
If you add, rename, or remove product fields in your store settings, or if you update your export format, run a test import immediately. Do not wait for the next scheduled import. Catching a mapping mismatch early means a quick fix rather than days of missed data.
Keep file sources in a stable location
If you upload CSV or XML files, store them in a consistent, backed-up location (such as a cloud folder or SFTP server). Avoid moving or deleting the file without updating the source URL. If you must change the file location, update the source configuration to point to the new URL.
By following this checklist and prevention routine, you can resolve most feed import failures within minutes and reduce the likelihood of future failures.