Data-only migration engagements concentrate on the migration workstream that most often breaks replatforming — the data work. The engagement scope is narrower than full-service: catalog, customer, order, metafield, and subscription migration, with theme and app re-implementation handled separately by an in-house team or a different partner.
The right brand profile for data-only is specific. Brands with strong in-house product and design capacity benefit from the split (data partner does what is hard, internal team does what they are good at). Brands without that internal capacity end up worse off with split engagements because the coordination falls on them.
This page describes what a data-only engagement covers, who it fits, and how it interacts with the rest of the replatforming work. Use it to recognise when this shape is the right call.
What it includes
In scope
Data-focused discovery (1-2 weeks)
Source data audit, field mapping, custom-field inventory, order-history depth decision, B2B data structure assessment. Output is a data dictionary that becomes the contract for the migration.
Catalog migration
Products, variants, options, metafields, images. Includes Matrixify reconciliation for custom fields beyond what the automated migration platforms handle natively.
Customer and order migration
Customer records (minus passwords), order history to the brand's chosen depth, customer tags, customer groups. Includes the customer-comms plan for the unavoidable password reset.
Subscription state migration (if applicable)
Migration to the chosen Shopify subscription app (Recharge, Skio, Bold) with cycle-aligned cutover sequencing to prevent double-billing.
B2B data migration (if applicable)
Company hierarchies, location structures, price lists, customer-specific pricing, exemption certificates. Shopify Plus B2B configuration to receive the data.
Data validation and reconciliation
Pre-launch verification against source totals, finance-led reconciliation of revenue and tax data, post-launch data quality monitoring in the first two weeks.
What it does not include
Out of scope
Theme rebuild or design work
Out of scope by design. The in-house team or a separate theme partner handles storefront work in parallel.
App re-implementation beyond subscriptions
Loyalty, reviews, search, and other non-data apps are out of scope. The in-house team or a different partner configures these.
SEO migration audit
Often handled by a dedicated SEO migration specialist rather than the data-migration partner. Some data partners offer it as an add-on; others do not.
Launch coordination and stabilisation
Data-only partners typically end engagement at data handoff. Launch coordination and incident response sit with the brand or a project-management partner.
Brand fit
Who this engagement fits
Fits well
Brands with strong internal product and design teams
Brands that can run theme and app work internally benefit most. The data work is the hard part to do well; the rest the internal team handles.
Brands with complex data needs but simple storefront needs
Heavy B2B, deep custom-field complexity, or significant subscription tenure but a relatively standard storefront. The data work justifies a specialist; the storefront does not.
Brands re-using an existing Shopify theme
Some brands consolidate onto an existing Shopify Plus store rather than launching a new one. In that case, the theme is already built and only data migration is needed.
Does not fit
Brands without internal product or design capacity
The coordination burden of split engagements falls on the brand. Without internal capacity to own that coordination, full-service is the safer shape.
Brands wanting concentrated accountability
Split engagements distribute accountability across partners. When something breaks at the integration seams, ownership is harder to pin. Full-service concentrates it.
Brands with simple data but complex design needs
Inverted scope. If data is simple and storefront is complex, a theme-focused engagement is the right shape; the data work fits inside it.