A product catalog is required for Monetate's recommendations and badging add-ons. Uploading a product catalog has the added benefit of allowing you to target products in the WHO settings of an experience by hierarchy, category, or product attribute that you've specified within the product catalog. Monetate highly recommends that you implement a product catalog because doing so unlocks additional capabilities within the platform.
Monetate's product catalog specification is loosely based on Google's product data specification.
Uploading a Product Catalog
You can upload a product catalog three ways to the Monetate platform:
You can upload as many catalogs as you want under a single account as long as they share product IDs (item_group_id) and categories (product_type). All categories (product_type) across catalogs within an account must be in the same language. If you share a single Monetate tag across multiple domains (for example, multi-brand), you must supply Monetate with a single product catalog.
File Format Requirements
The product catalog file must be in one of these formats:
- CSV
- TSV
All CSV product catalog files should adhere to the following requirements:
- Each field must have a header.
- Every entry uses quotation marks (") around each field for accurate parsing of data. These quotation marks are especially important for fields with line breaks, quotation marks, or commas. See Comma Escaping within Product Catalog Specification for more information.
- A double quotation mark (") included in a field must be represented by two double quotation marks.
- Character encoding must be UTF-8.
Download this CSV file to view an example of a product catalog file with all the required attributes: Sample Product Catalog (CSV).
Product Catalog Values
| Attribute | Required | Data Type & Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
item_group_id |
Yes | String (for example, AB12345)
50-character maximum |
ID for a group of products that come in different versions; use the product ID collected in your Web integration where possible |
id |
Yes | String (for example, A2B4)
50-character maximum |
A product's unique identifier; use the product's SKU collected in your Web integration where possible |
title |
Yes | String (for example, Men's Pique Polo Shirt) |
A product's name, which displays in recommendations |
image_link |
Yes | String (for example, http:// www.example.com/image1.jpg) |
The URL of a product's main image |
link |
Yes | String (for example, http:// www.example.com/asp/sp.asp?cat= 12&id=1030) |
A product's landing page URL |
description |
Yes | String (for example, Red, 100% cotton, large men's t-shirt) |
A product's description |
price |
Yes | Number (for example, 15.00) |
A product's price |
product_type |
Yes | Comma-delimited string (for example, Clothing, Women, Sale) |
Separate multiple product types with a comma
Don't use a comma within a submitted product_type value because Monetate interprets it as separating 2 product types (for example, if you submit House, Garden & Kitchen, the value House is interpreted as a separate product_type from Garden & Kitchen) |
additional_image_link |
Optional | String (for example, http:// www.example.com/image1.jpg) |
The URL of an additional image for a product |
adult |
Optional | Boolean (for example, yes) |
Indicate a product includes sexually suggestive content |
age_group |
Optional | String (for example, infant) |
A product's targeted demographic |
availability |
Optional | String (for example, in stock) |
A product's availability |
availability_date |
Optional | String (datetime) (for example, 2016-09-30T12:10:45.000145Z) |
The date a preordered product becomes available for delivery |
brand |
Optional | String (for example, YourBrand) |
A product's brand name |
color |
Optional | String (for example, black) |
A product's color |
condition |
Optional | String (for example, new) |
A product's condition |
energy_efficiency_class |
Optional | String (for example, A+) |
A product's energy label |
expiration_date |
Optional | String (datetime) (for example, 2016-09-30T12:10:45.000145Z) |
The date on which a product expires |
gender |
Optional | String (for example, Unisex) |
A product's targeted gender |
google_product_category |
Optional | Google formatted string (for example, 2271 or Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses) |
The category of the item based on the Google product taxonomy; enables advanced analysis of your data by Monetate in the future
If this field's value doesn't match the Google taxonomy, then this field is ignored |
is_bundle |
Optional | Boolean (for example, yes) |
Indicates that the product is a custom group of different products featuring one main product |
loyalty_points |
Optional | String (for example, 100) |
The number and type of loyalty points a customer receives when buying a product |
material |
Optional | String (for example, leather) |
A product's fabric or material |
mobile_link |
Optional | String (for example, http://www.m.example.com/asp/sp.asp?cat=12&id=1030) |
A product's mobile-optimized landing page when you have a different URL for mobile and desktop traffic |
mpn |
Optional | String (for example, MO12345NETATE) |
A product's manufacturer part number (MPN) |
multipack |
Optional | Number (for example, 6) |
The number of identical products sold within a multipack |
pattern |
Optional | String (for example, striped) |
A product's pattern |
promotion_id |
Optional | String (for example, ABC123) |
An identifier that allows to you match products to promotions |
sale_price |
Optional | Number (for example, 15.00) |
A product's sale price |
sale_price_effective_date_begin |
Optional | String (datetime) (for example, 2016-09-30T12:10:45.000145Z) |
The date on which the product's sale price starts |
sale_price_effective_date_end |
Optional | String (datetime) (for example, 2016-09-30T12:10:45.000145Z) |
The date on which the product's sale price ends |
shipping |
Optional | String (for example, 15.00) |
A product's shipping cost |
shipping_height |
Optional | String (for example, 20 in) |
A product's height |
shipping_label |
Optional | String (for example, perishable) |
Label assigned to a product for shipping |
shipping_length |
Optional | String (for example, 20 in) |
A product's length |
shipping_weight |
Optional | String (for example, 3 kg) |
A product's weight |
shipping_width |
Optional | String (for example, 20 in) |
A product's width |
size |
Optional | String (for example, XL) |
A product's size |
size_type |
Optional | String (for example, maternity) |
A product's cut |
tax |
Optional | String (for example, US:CA:5.00:y) |
A product's sales tax rate in percent |
Comma Escaping
Any value that contains a comma (,) must be escaped for a product catalog to pass validation. You must wrap the entire value in double quotation marks ("), such as with the value "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". You can escape a single row at a time and do not need to do the full column.
Custom Columns
Monetate also accepts data contained within custom columns, also called custom fields. For example, you can send product ratings within a custom customer_rating column. Sending additional product data can, for example, enhance filters that you create in recommendation strategies.
You must define custom columns when creating the product catalog schema. Not only do you input the column name but also define the type of data it contains.
File Upload Validation Errors
If Monetate detects an issue while processing a product catalog file that you've uploaded, it displays one of the following errors.
| Error Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Wrong File Type | The product catalog file is in an unsupported file format |
| Improper File Encoding | The file doesn't use UTF-8 encoding and must be reformatted |
| Missing Column Headers | One or more column headers defined in the schema file are missing; column headers must match in both files |
| Duplicate Column Headers | One or more column headers appears more than once in the catalog file |
| Row value doesn't match its data type | The data in a row doesn't match the expected data type |
| System Error | Monetate had an unexpected error while processing the file; submit a support ticket using the Monetate Technical Support portal (support.monetate.com) to resolve the issue |
| Extra Columns Provided | The file contains columns that aren't in the schema; columns in both files must match |