Magento 2 product feed management

What is a Magento 2 product feed?

OK, so what exactly are we talking about on this page? Let’s identify what a Magento 2 product feed is and how Magento businesses can use their product feed to sell online.

Let’s define a Magento 2 product feed as “a digital file containing a string of information for multiple products”. Simply put it’s a file containing information about the products you are selling (e.g. brand, description, stock, price, etc.). These files can come in many formats such as (CSV, Sheets, TXT, JSON, etc), but most commonly come as a XML file. The product feed is then connected to your advertizing channels like (Google Shopping, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) Which in turn are connected to your eCommerce shop. Simple as that!

How to generate product feeds from a Magento 2 shop?

1. Feed export

We mentioned XML files above, Magento offers a standard XML and other file export functions. However, this contains all of your raw data and is not optimal to use as a source for your product feed. So it is not always suitable or recommended to directly use this file type of export with marketing channels, because it’s just too much unorganized data.

2. API Magento marketplace integration

Your Magento 2 eCommerce shop is built with the option to connect to various marketing channels through a direct API (e.g. Google Merchant Center). What that specifically means is, when connected, Magento will send your product data directly to each marketing channel in real-time. That is very convenient if your stock information changes frequently or is sold across multiple channels.

This can obviously sound very attractive, but there is some information you need to be aware of. Like export feeds, direct API Magento marketplace integrations also only allow you to send product information unfiltered. Meaning that each channel will receive the exact same raw information without any customization or optimization. Which is obviously not ideal or recommended. Another thing with Magento marketplace integrations is that it is not just plug-and-play. Setting up Magento marketplace integrations usually requires a bit more technical skills than just uploading a feed.

3. 3rd party solutions

Another option is when you want to take more control of your product feed. Using a 3rd party solution will not only enable you to create or send a feed, but it will also enable you to optimize and enrich your data according to the requirements of the different channels you want to sell or advertise on. Also tooling like channable does not only allow you to export data to marketplaces but to import orders back into your Magento shop. This will give you more control and flexibility, and it will provide you with a greater chance for success and ease of use across all your marketing channels. In eCommerce, you have multiple providers that specialize in feed management. Channable is one of them and could be the perfect fit for your needs.

What are some of the common challenges with a Magento 2 product feed?

If your goal is to start selling or advertizing your products on multiple marketing channels simultaneously, you might run into some logistical challenges along the way. One of the most common issues is related to the specific feed requirements of each individual marketing channel. As almost every major marketing channel has unique requirements when it comes to product information, it is not as simple as uploading your Magento 2 product feed or API with all your general product information to the channel, and you are good to go.

Best practice tells us to provide customized product feed catering to each channel ensuring relevancy and the highest percentage of successful ads possible. Building customized feeds is not something you can do with a direct Magento marketplace or feed integration. A feed management solution like Channable is needed to advertise on multiple platforms simultaneously with close to a 100% success rate.

What are the benefits of using Channable for your Magento 2 product feed management?

There are multiple benefits when implementing Channable for your Magento 2 product feed management. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest ones:

1. Channable offers full integration with Magento using our Magento connection and order plugin. The Magento plugin is used to import your product data feed directly into Channable.

2. This enables you to optimize and export to over +2500 price comparison sites, affiliate platforms, and marketplaces, including Google Shopping, Facebook, Amazon, and eBay. Using a feed template, you can automatically ensure you meet the requirements of each marketing channel.

3. Utilize Channable’s intuitive rules to optimize, enrich and filter your product information. With Channable you have the power to ensure that your product information not only meets the channel requirements but also excels in quality and relevance. For instance, use the rules to tell your potential customers when you are having a SALE or when you run out of stock.

4. If marketplaces are where you want to advertise Channable has got you connected. Amazon and eBay are just a few examples of marketplaces you can advertise on with your Magento online shop.

5. We can also sync orders to the backend of your webshop. Want to automate even more of the online selling process? Add order connections and sync orders from all your marketplaces directly to your Magento store. With order connections, handle all incoming orders in your webshop, with no need to login to multiple merchant centers. With Channable’s real-time marketplace and order connections never sell or advertise on out-of-stock products again.
   How are my Magento marketplace integration orders displayed?
   Magento connection orders will appear as normal orders. When you open an order from Channable you will see channel details in the order log.
   

   

6. Finally, with Channable you also have access to our free unlimited technical support. This way you can get up to speed in no time.

If you are a Magento user searching for an easy connection with Google Shopping, check out the following page: Magento 2 Google Shopping feed creation made easy

Some final thoughts

It is tough to run an eCommerce shop. So many decisions and so many things to consider. Channable knows the struggle and is why we are here to make the world of eCommerce simpler. Magento 2 product feed management can definitely be complex, but it should never stop you from making an advertising decision. Give Channable a chance and see how easy feed management can be.