What you’ll learn in this section

We work closely with Loncom because they understand the importance of data structure that takes advantage of Shopify’s capabilities, not fights against them.

• Why data migration is the foundation of any successful Shopify project
• Why “copy it across as-is” is the fastest route to operational problems
• How clean, structured, correctly mapped data unlocks Shopify’s full capabilities
• The critical data categories that must be handled during migration
• Loncom’s personalised approach to mapping, cleaning and transforming legacy data
• The essential steps and checks brands must follow to avoid downstream issues

Why data migration makes or breaks Shopify projects

Migrating to Shopify is an opportunity to scale but only if your data comes with you correctly.

Data migration is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood components of a replatforming project. If mishandled, it leads to:

• broken product structures
• inconsistent inventory
• missing customer profiles
• unusable historical orders
• failed integrations
• inaccurate reporting
• problems that surface after go-live, when it’s too late

Loncom specialise in ensuring this doesn’t happen.

They treat data migration as the foundation on which the entire Shopify build stands.
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Why personalisation matters (there is no one-size-fits-all)

Every business holds and structures data differently.

This means:

A templated migration script will not work.

It will miss nuance, break logic, and fail to align with your operational processes.

Loncom takes a personalised approach because:

• product structures vary
• SKU logic varies
• customer data varies
• order data varies
• fulfilment models vary
• integrations vary

And migrating “as-is” simply carries the old problems into your new Shopify environment.

Instead, their approach ensures the new structure takes advantage of Shopify’s capabilities, not fights against them.
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Key areas you must migrate

These are the data types that must be mapped correctly so your business can operate from day one:

1. Products & Variants

Mapped and cleaned so Shopify can manage inventory, variants, and merchandising effectively.

2. Collections

Rebuilt to reflect Shopify’s catalog structure, improving navigation and CX.

3. Customers

Properly structured customer profiles enable segmentation, personalisation and CRM integration.

4. Orders (Historical)

Gives customer service full visibility and unlocks accurate reporting.

5. Gift Cards & Redirects

Critical for customer continuity and SEO health.

Any gaps here lead to real operational pain.
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How Loncom ensures a smooth, accurate data migration

1. Tailored Data Mapping

They translate legacy data structures into Shopify formats with precision — not just “field-to-field”, but context-to-context.

2. Data Quality Enhancement

Unclean or inconsistent data breaks Shopify workflows.

Loncom cleans, enriches and restructures data before it ever touches the new store.

3. Customised Data Transformation

Shopify may require rethinking how attributes, relationships and hierarchies are organised.

Loncom ensures your data follows Shopify best practices so you can use:

• Shopify reporting
• Shopify automation
• Shopify inventory management
• CRM segmentation
• App ecosystem features

4. Full End-to-End Testing

Data is migrated, validated, tested, and verified before cutover.

Their approach reduces risk dramatically.

The importance of clean data

Clean data = clean operations.

Clean data unlocks:

• accurate reporting
• effective forecasting
• reliable CRM and automations
• smooth fulfilment
• confident customer service
• meaningful insights
  
  

Unclean data, on the other hand, compounds problems across:

• inventory accuracy
• customer profiles
• marketing segmentation
• product discoverability
• workflows across connected systems

Loncom’s priority is ensuring your Shopify store launches with data that works for you, not against you.
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Loncom’s data migration checklist

Before Migration

• Perform a full data audit
• Clean and restructure legacy datasets
• Map all data to Shopify’s model

During Migration

• Align customer segmentation logic
• Rebuild product groupings and collections
• Prepare historical orders for import
• Transfer gift card balances
• Map URL redirects and test SEO continuity

Post-Migration

• Verify accuracy of all migrated data
• Validate integrations (ERP, CRM, service tools)
• Ensure reporting and dashboards function correctly
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About Loncom Consulting

Loncom Consulting specialise in personalised, precision-led data migration for Shopify.

Their expertise spans:

• data mapping
• transformation
• CRM development
• forecasting
• reporting
• custom integrations

They work closely with brands to deliver clean, structured, migration-ready data that aligns with Shopify’s best practices and the realities of day-to-day operations.