SKU Translations let you use a different SKU on a marketplace than the SKU your product has in your store. This is useful when a marketplace requires its own SKU format, or when you’re consolidating several marketplace listings under one product in your store.
Cart SKU vs. Channel SKU
- Cart SKU — the SKU your product uses in your store and in ChannelUnity.
- Channel SKU — the SKU that’s actually sent to, and received from, a specific marketplace.
For example, your store might use TSHIRT-BLU-M as the SKU, but you need Amazon to see it as AMZ-TS-BLU-M. A SKU Translation tells ChannelUnity to make that swap automatically:
- When you list or update the product, ChannelUnity sends the Channel SKU to the marketplace.
- When an order comes in from that marketplace, ChannelUnity translates the Channel SKU back to your Cart SKU, so the order is matched to the right product.
A single Cart SKU can map to more than one Channel SKU — useful if several marketplace SKUs should all point back to the same product in your store.
⚠️ A note on multiple Channel SKUs per Cart SKU: we don’t generally recommend this. It’s supported so that orders coming in under different marketplace SKUs can all be matched back to one product, but it does not create multiple listings. When ChannelUnity updates a listing (price, stock, etc.), it only uses one Cart SKU → Channel SKU mapping — not all of them. If a Cart SKU has several Channel SKU mappings on the same channel, only one is kept up to date; this is because marketplaces don’t generally allow duplicate listings of the same product. Use multiple mappings only for matching incoming orders, not as a way to list the same product multiple times.
Where to find it
Go to Setup → SKU Translations.
If you don’t see this option in your Setup menu, contact ChannelUnity support and we’ll enable it for your account.
Turning SKU Translations on
The first time you open the page, SKU Translations will be switched off. You’ll see an explanation of what turning it on does, and a Turn on SKU Translations button.
While it’s switched off, every channel uses your Cart SKU directly, and no translations are applied — even if you’ve already set some up.
Choosing a channel
Once switched on, use the Channel dropdown at the top to pick which marketplace you want to manage translations for. This list shows each connected channel type once — for example, if you have two Amazon US stores connected, they will share the same set of Amazon US translations.
Adding, editing and deleting translations
With a channel selected, use the buttons above the table:
- New — add a translation. Enter the Cart SKU and the Channel SKU.
- Edit — select a row, then update its Cart SKU or Channel SKU.
- Delete — select one or more rows and remove them.
Both fields are required, and you can’t create two identical translations (same Cart SKU and Channel SKU) on the same channel.
Amazon SKU length: Amazon limits its SKUs to 40 characters. If you select an Amazon channel, this limit is enforced automatically when adding or editing a translation.
Searching
Use the search box above the table to filter by Cart SKU or Channel SKU. On large lists, search results appear shortly after you stop typing rather than on every keystroke — this is expected and keeps things running smoothly.
Bulk export
Click Export all to download an Excel (.xlsx) file containing every SKU translation across all your connected channels, with three columns: Cart SKU, Channel SKU and Channel.
This file is also the easiest starting point for a bulk import — export first, edit the file, then import it back.
Bulk import
Click Import to upload an Excel (.xlsx) file of translations. The file should have a header row and the same three columns as the export: Cart SKU, Channel SKU and Channel (the channel code, e.g. CU_AMZ_UK).
There are two import modes:
- Add only (default) — adds any translations from the file that don’t already exist, and leaves everything else untouched. Importing the same file twice is safe — it won’t create duplicates or make any changes the second time.
- Full replace — tick this checkbox to make the file the source of truth for the channels it contains. Any existing translation for those channels that isn’t in the file will be removed. You’ll be asked to confirm before this runs, since it can delete translations.
Rows missing a Cart SKU, Channel SKU or Channel are skipped, as are Amazon Channel SKUs over 40 characters. A summary is shown after the import completes (e.g. “12 added, 40 already present, 3 removed”).
Turning SKU Translations off
Click the Turn off button (next to Help/Export/Import, or below the page if no channels are connected yet). You’ll be asked to confirm, since this affects listing and order import across every channel.
Turning it off does not delete your saved translations — it only stops them being used. You can turn it back on at any time and pick up where you left off.
FAQ
Does turning SKU Translations off delete my data? No. Your translations stay saved; they’re just not applied while the setting is off.
Can one Cart SKU map to more than one Channel SKU on the same channel? Yes, and it’s useful for matching orders that come in under different marketplace SKUs back to the same product. However, we don’t recommend relying on this for everyday use: when updating a listing, ChannelUnity only keeps one of those mappings current — it won’t update every Channel SKU, since marketplaces don’t generally support duplicate listings of the same product.
What happens if I import the same file twice? Nothing changes the second time (unless Full replace is ticked) — the import is safe to repeat.
My Amazon Channel SKU won’t save — why? Amazon SKUs are limited to 40 characters. Shorten the Channel SKU and try again.