Adding products to Shopify manually is slow. For every item, you’re researching the product name, writing a description, finding images, figuring out a price, and entering it all by hand. If you’re adding a handful of products a week, it’s manageable. If you’re a reseller, dropshipper, or wholesale buyer adding dozens — it becomes a real bottleneck.
Barcode scanning solves this. Scan any UPC code and the product data comes to you automatically. Here’s exactly how to set it up in Shopify.
What you need
- A Shopify store (any plan)
- A barcode scanner — either a USB/Bluetooth HID scanner or just your phone camera
- The Scan-Z app installed from the Shopify App Store
That’s it. No CSV templates, no third-party databases to manually configure, no developer required.
Step 1: Install Scan-Z from the Shopify App Store
Go to the Shopify App Store and install Scan-Z. There’s a 3-day free trial — no credit card required to get started.
Once installed, the app opens directly inside your Shopify admin. You’ll see a search field ready for a barcode input.
Step 2: Connect your barcode scanner (or use your phone camera)
USB or Bluetooth scanner: Plug in or pair your scanner. Most HID-compatible scanners (the standard type used in retail and warehouses) work immediately — no drivers needed. The scanner sends input like a keyboard, so Scan-Z picks it up automatically when the search field is focused.
Phone camera: If you don’t have a scanner, use your phone or tablet. Scan-Z has a built-in camera scanning option — tap the camera icon in the app and point it at any barcode.
Step 3: Scan the barcode
Point your scanner at any UPC barcode on a product. Scan-Z immediately queries a product database and returns:
- Product title
- Description
- Brand
- Category
- Live market prices — lowest, average, and highest current selling price
This takes about a second. You’re now looking at a pre-filled product form with real market data attached.
Step 4: Set your price
The market price data is where Scan-Z earns its keep for resellers. You can see at a glance what the product is selling for across the market — so you can decide whether to undercut, match, or position at the higher end.
For example, if a product shows:
- Lowest: $12.99
- Average: $18.50
- Highest: $24.99
You know immediately that pricing at $16.99 makes you competitive while maintaining margin.
Set your price in the form, adjust any fields you want to customize, and you’re ready.
Step 5: Create the product
Hit Submit. Scan-Z creates the product directly in your Shopify store via the Shopify API. No copy-pasting, no separate window, no importing — the product appears in your catalog in seconds.
Tips for high-volume listing
Use a countertop USB scanner for speed. Camera scanning is convenient in the field, but a dedicated USB scanner is faster when you’re working through a pile of items at home or in a warehouse. Scanners like the Honeywell Voyager or any basic USB HID model work out of the box.
Scan while you receive. If you’re a wholesale buyer or running a thrift operation, scan items as you handle them during intake. By the time you’re done processing a batch, your Shopify catalog is already updated.
Use the price data as a buying filter. If you’re sourcing at thrift stores or estate sales, scan before you buy. If the market price doesn’t justify the purchase price plus your margin target, leave it on the shelf. Scan-Z turns your phone into a profitability calculator at the point of sourcing.
Scan first, edit later. For fast-moving inventory, scan everything first and batch-create listings, then go back to polish descriptions or add photos. Scan-Z gives you the skeleton — complete it when you have time.
What types of barcodes does it work with?
Scan-Z supports the formats found on virtually all retail products:
- UPC-A — the standard 12-digit barcode on most North American products
- UPC-E — the 8-digit compressed variant
- EAN-13 — the European and international standard
- EAN-8 — the short-form European variant
If a product has a barcode and was sold through retail channels, it almost certainly has a UPC that Scan-Z can look up.
What if a barcode doesn’t return results?
Some products — particularly older items, handmade goods, or products from very small manufacturers — may not be in the UPC database. In that case, Scan-Z will return no results for that code. You’ll need to add those products manually. This is uncommon for mainstream retail products but worth knowing for niche inventory.
The bottom line
Manual product entry costs real time. A product that takes 8 minutes to research and enter manually takes under a minute with barcode scanning. For merchants adding 20+ products a week, that’s hours back every month.
If you sell physical products on Shopify and aren’t scanning barcodes yet, Scan-Z’s free trial takes two minutes to set up.
Scan a barcode.
Product created.
Add products to your Shopify store in seconds — with automatic data lookup and live market prices.
Add to Shopify — 3 days free