How to enable Single-SKU bundle content inventory sync without order edits

Single-SKU is a method that keeps a bundle as a single line item throughout the order process, rather than breaking it down into its individual components. It has a few common uses: preventing bundle components from appearing to customers (useful for mystery boxes or simplifying order confirmations), avoiding duplicate or associated orders on third-party sales channels where Cart Transform can't run, and keeping orders simple for external systems like 3PLs, ERPs, or marketplaces that don't need to see itemized components.

How Single-SKU works

By default, Simple Bundles 2.0 uses Shopify's Cart Transform API to break a bundle down into its individual components at checkout, so only the components (not the parent bundle) appear on the order. Single-SKU changes this: instead of breaking the bundle down, only the parent bundle product appears on the order, and none of its components are added as separate line items.

To enable it:

1. Go to Simple Bundles > Settings > Advanced Settings > Cart Transform and Order Editing Fallbacks.
2. Disable Cart Transform.
3. Set your fallback method to Single-SKU.

Important: This setting applies store-wide, not per bundle. Once enabled, all of your bundles will stop breaking down into their components at checkout, not just a specific one you may be trying to change. If you have other bundles where itemized component breakdown is important (for customers, for reporting, or for fulfillment), weigh this trade-off carefully before switching, since Single-SKU cannot be applied selectively to only some bundles.

What happens when a bundle is purchased with Single-SKU enabled

When a customer purchases a bundle with Single-SKU enabled:

• No components are added to the order, at checkout, in the cart, in the order confirmation email, or on the order status page. Only the parent bundle product line appears.
• Inventory for the bundle's components is still decremented correctly behind the scenes, by the appropriate quantity for each component, even though they never appear as separate line items on the order.
• The bundle's own displayed quantity continues to be calculated based on the available inventory of its components (the same calculation method used across Simple Bundles 2.0).

For example, when this bundle is purchased with Single-SKU enabled, no components are added to the order, and the parent bundle appears as the only line item. Behind the scenes, each component's inventory is adjusted (an inventory correction) to reflect the quantity sold as part of the bundle.

Showing itemized contents for fulfillment (optional)

If you still want your fulfillment team to see what's inside a Single-SKU bundle for picking and packing, you can display the bundle's contents on your packing slips, without exposing them anywhere the customer can see. See: Single-SKU bundle: Show itemized bundle contents on Shopify packing slips.

Returns and restocking

Bundle contents for Single-SKU bundles are not automatically restocked if an order is returned. This is because the components were never added to the order in the first place (unlike Cart Transform bundles, where the components are real line items that Shopify can restock). Since a Single-SKU bundle's displayed quantity is calculated from its components' available inventory, that quantity also won't adjust automatically from a return, you'll need to manually restock the returned components' inventory in Shopify if applicable.

When to use Single-SKU

Single-SKU is commonly used for:

• Preventing associated/duplicated orders on third-party sales channels. When an order comes from a channel or app where Shopify marks the order as uneditable (common with marketplaces like TikTok Shop, Amazon, or other third-party integrations), Cart Transform can't run, and the app would normally fall back to Order Editing, creating a separate associated order to hold the components. Single-SKU avoids this entirely: since the bundle isn't broken down at all, there's no associated order created, and no risk of duplicate fulfillment from your WMS or 3PL.
• Mystery boxes, where contents shouldn't be revealed to the customer. See How to create a mystery box in Simple Bundles.
• Preventing bundle components from cluttering customer-facing pages (cart, checkout, order confirmation, order status), especially now that Shopify's new Thank You and Order Status pages (Checkout Extensibility) no longer support script-based hiding methods. See How can I hide bundle contents on customer orders? and How can I hide "Simple Bundle" discount tags on customer orders?.
• Simplifying orders sent to third-party systems (3PL, ERP, marketplaces) that don't need to see itemized bundle components.

Need help?

Let us know if you'd like help deciding whether Single-SKU is the right fit for your use case!