Integrating Shopify Customs Fields for Faster International Shipping

One of our clients, a growing Shopify store shipping internationally, faced a familiar headache: completing customs forms for each order. Every order meant another customs form to complete – and each product needed its own “Customs Description”, a mandatory field for all items sent internationally in order to meet customs requirements. 

With no way to store this data at the product level in Shopify, it couldn’t be automatically pulled through to customs forms when shipping. 

If you’ve encountered the same issue, our help guide: Importing Customs Descriptions from Shopify walks you through how to set this up in your own Zenstores account. Here’s how we helped one ecommerce store solve it.

The Challenge: Missing Shopify Customs Descriptions Slowing Down International Shipping

When setting up products in Shopify, certain customs fields, like HS/Tariff Codes can be entered. This data can then be imported into Zenstores and automatically added to customs forms. But with no equivalent field for “Customs Descriptions,” that final piece of automation was missing.

We’d already introduced settings that let users apply default values, but for a business shipping a wide variety of products, this one-size-fits-all data wasn’t ideal.

The Solution: Using Shopify Variant Meta Fields to Automate Customs Descriptions

To combat this challenge, we worked with Shopify to make use of a Variant Meta Field – a field stored on each product that can be populated in the Shopify admin with the correct Customs Description.

Because this field is available via the Shopify API, Zenstores can now automatically import the Customs Description for every product. This ensures that customs data flows seamlessly from Shopify to shipping, with no manual data entry required.

Now, when an international order is processed:

• The correct Customs Description is pulled automatically from Shopify.
• Staff no longer need to manually enter any customs data.
• Customs forms are accurate and ready to go with zero extra effort.

The Results: Faster, Error-Free International Shipping from Shopify

With the Customs Description now fully automated, international shipping in Zenstores is as streamlined as domestic shipping. For businesses that ship globally, this has saved significant time and reduced friction in their shipping process.

International shipping no longer holds them back. By automating customs data, Shopify stores can save time, reduce costly errors, and focus on growing their business.

Ready to streamline your international shipping? See how Zenstores can help your brand ship smarter.

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Additional Resources: 

Help Guide: Importing Customs Descriptions from Shopify