Uploading a Store List

Use this page when you want stores on your locator that we are not already pulling in through a retailer integration: independent and mom-and-pop accounts, a chain we do not integrate with yet, or a launch where the retailer has not published product pages yet.

What we need#

Two columns are required:

• Store Name

• Address

Products is optional. If you include it, we associate those specific products with those specific stores. If you leave it out, we create a single catch-all product and associate it with every location on the list. See Call For Availability Products.

Export the finished file as CSV or XLSX.

Example Layouts#

These are non-exhaustive examples. Please send your list in the format you already have, granted, these columns exist. Distributor reports and store lists come in many shapes and sizes, we accept them all and can work with that data. If we need more info, we will let you know.

Option 1. Full address in one cell, one row per product per store

Option 2. Address split into columns, one row per product per store

Option 3. Full address in one cell, products comma-separated

Option 4. Address split into columns, products comma-separated

One row per product per store is our preference, since it maps directly to how we store the association. If that is awkward to produce, comma-separated products in a single cell is fine.

Rules that decide whether a row can be processed#

Almost every held-up list comes down to one of the following.

Every location needs a Google Business Profile#

We match each row against Google Business Profile data to place the pin and to pull the store's hours and phone number. A location without a profile cannot be added.

If a store on your list has no profile, we will flag it by name. You can either ask the retailer to set one up, or leave the store on future lists and we will keep checking for it.

This is also why store hours and phone numbers are not fields you can edit. They come from the retailer's own profile. If a store's hours look wrong or missing on your locator, the retailer needs to update their profile.

Store names are required, not just addresses#

An address on its own is not enough. Our geocoding will latch onto a neighbouring business, and a gas station or body shop ends up on your locator in place of your actual account.

No residential addresses or personal names#

We cannot process a row whose address is someone's home, and we cannot display a person's name as a storefront. A public store locator would be advertising where that person lives.

This comes up most often with lists of independent professionals such as stylists, estheticians, or independent sellers at farmer's markets. If they operate from a commercial space with its own Google Business Profile, send that address. If they work from home, we have to skip the row.

What happens after you send it#

1. We audit the list against the rules above and against your existing integrations.

2. We upload the remaining locations and associate the products.

3. We confirm back with a store count and a sample location so you can spot-check the result.

Row count is not store count#

If your file uses one row per product per store, a store carrying five products occupies five rows. The number of unique stores will be lower than the number of lines in the file. We always report the unique store count, which is why it can look lower than you expect.

Two suites in the same building may also collapse into a single pin, since the underlying street address is identical.

Keeping the list current#

Once your initial list is loaded, it may be easier for you to send changes rather than the whole list again:

• Additions: new stores to add, as their own file

• Removals: stores to drop, as their own file

Send them at whatever cadence suits you. Monthly or quarterly is typical, and monthly keeps the map tightest if you have a high volume of wholesale orders.

For one-off additions you can skip the email entirely and add stores yourself in the Locations tab of the StoreLocators Shopify app.

Expiry dates#

If your product has a shelf life, we can set a start and end date on manually added stores so they drop off the map automatically instead of going stale.

Removing stores in bulk#

There is no one-click filter for this. Two options:

1. Remove the locations yourself in the Locations tab.

2. We clear the uploaded list, you tidy the sheet on your side, and send it back for re-upload.

If the cleanup is extensive, option 2 is usually less work.

Getting a list from your distributor#

If you do not maintain a store list yourself, a distributor report can produce one. See Import KeHE to StoreLocators and Import UNFI to StoreLocators.

For Faire, open the Faire Brand Portal, tick the top box to select all customers, then More actions → Export. Filter down to customers who have actually ordered before exporting, so non-buying contacts do not end up on your map.