Updating Product Details

Learn how HotWax Commerce identifies product updates between Shopify and the order management system (OMS).

Merchants use Shopify to update product information such as names, images, tags, and weight. HotWax Commerce identifies these changes as part of the product download.

Identify updates with diff computation

Instead of comparing every individual field during every sync, HotWax uses diff computation to find exactly what changed. The system groups product data and computes a unique digital signature (SHA-256 hash) for each group.

HotWax compares the incoming hashes against the baseline stored in the ProductUpdateHistory table. If the hashes match, no changes occurred and the system skips that data. If the hashes differ, the system identifies the exact delta (what was added, removed, or changed) and applies only those specific updates to the database.

Product field mapping

HotWax maps the fields from the Shopify JSON to the internal product entities. The following table outlines how these fields are synchronized:

Shopify JSON field	HotWax field	Description
id (GID)	Shopify Product ID	A unique ID used to identify the product.
title	Product Name	The name shown for the product.
handle	Internal Name	Used in the product’s URL and for internal use.
vendor	Brand	The brand or company that makes the product.
category	Category	The category the product belongs to.
tags	Keywords	Tags used to search and organize products.
variants.sku	SKU	A unique code to track the product.
variants.barcode	UPCA/GTIN	Barcode used for scanning the product.
variants.price	Price	The selling price of the product.
variants.weight	Weight	The product’s weight, used for shipping.