Importing Locations in Bulk

If you have many store locations, importing them via CSV is much faster than adding them one by one. This guide shows you how to prepare and upload your location data.

Download the Template

Start with our CSV template to ensure your data is formatted correctly:

1. Go to Locations in the OptimizedStoreFinder dashboard
2. Click Import in the top right
3. Click Download Template to get the CSV file

The template includes all available columns with example data.

Required Columns

Your CSV must include these columns:

Column	Description	Example
name	Store name	Downtown Chicago
address	Street address	123 Michigan Ave
city	City name	Chicago
state	State/province	IL
postal_code	ZIP/postal code	60601
country	Country code	US

Optional Columns

Add more detail with these optional columns:

Column	Description	Example
phone	Phone number	+1-312-555-1234
email	Email address	chicago@store.com
description	Store description	Our flagship location…
hours_mon	Monday hours	9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
hours_tue	Tuesday hours	9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
…	(similar for each day)
latitude	Latitude coordinate	41.8781
longitude	Longitude coordinate	-87.6298
category	Category slug	flagship
tags	Comma-separated tags	parking, wheelchair

Formatting Tips

Addresses

• Use full street addresses
• Avoid abbreviations where possible
• If you don’t include coordinates, we’ll geocode addresses automatically

Phone Numbers

• Include country code for international numbers
• Use a consistent format across all locations

Hours

• Use 12-hour format with AM/PM
• For closed days, leave the cell empty or enter “Closed”
• For 24-hour locations, enter “Open 24 Hours”

Uploading Your File

1. Go to Locations > Import
2. Click Choose File and select your CSV
3. Review the column mapping preview
4. Click Import Locations

The import will process in the background. You’ll see a progress indicator and notification when complete.

Handling Errors

If some rows fail to import:

1. Download the error report
2. Review the specific issues for each row
3. Fix the problems in your CSV
4. Re-import only the failed rows

Common issues:

• Missing required fields
• Invalid address format
• Duplicate location names

Updating Existing Locations

To update locations via import:

1. Include a slug column with the existing location slug
2. Matching slugs will update instead of creating new locations
3. Non-matching slugs will create new locations

This is useful for bulk updates to hours or contact info.

Next Steps

After importing, verify your locations:

• Check the storefront widget to ensure all pins appear correctly
• Visit a few location pages to confirm details
• Test the search functionality