Audit missing and duplicate Shopify variant SKUs

Build the public variant inventory

Start from the public product page and enumerate the variants the storefront exposes. Capture variant title, option values, SKU, price, compare-at price, availability and image association.

A public-page audit cannot prove what exists only in Shopify Admin, but it can verify the variant data delivered to buyers and storefront integrations.

Group the findings by repair action

• Missing SKU: flag the affected variants together instead of creating dozens of identical warnings.
• Duplicate SKU: show every variant sharing the value so operations can decide whether the reuse is intentional.
• Duplicate option combination: identify combinations that are indistinguishable to a shopper.
• Impossible compare-at price: flag values that are equal to or below the selling price.
• Missing variant image: separate an operational gap from a broken image request.

Use severity that respects merchant context

Not every business requires a SKU on every variant. Missing identifiers should be framed as an operational risk, not a universal policy violation. Duplicates become more urgent when they affect fulfillment, feed mapping or client handoff.

Export the evidence with the variant title and recommended repair, assign an owner, then recheck the same public URL after the catalog or theme change.