What are the mapping relationships within my product catalog?
The key value in a product catalog is the product ID (PID). A single PID can map to many SKUs and many categories or brands.
When Monetate collects a SKU through the purchase funnel, does the SKU get mapped to the PID and recorded as a purchase for that PID?
Yes, Monetate maps the SKU to the PID and records it as a purchase.
How are SKU purchases used in the purchase-based algorithm?
Monetate uses the PID purchase information received from the SKU in the algorithms.
If a SKU is removed from my product feed but the PID remains, do I still have the record of the SKU purchase data?
Yes, the purchase ID still exists in the data warehouse regardless of whether it exists in your product feed.
Are all purchases captured via the SKU–to–PID mapping used for experience targeting and powering merchandiser set algorithms?
All purchases that have a PID in the current catalog are used in experience targeting and merchandiser set algorithms.
What happens if I remove PIDs or SKUs from my feed?
The PID–to–SKU mapping is recorded at purchase time and stored against a purchase ID. If a SKU is removed from a feed, all the historical information remains. Purchase information for this SKU will still exist in the database. The trick is when a PID is removed from a feed. Targeting and merchandiser set algorithms use PIDs in the current catalog version. All the historical information for the PID and SKU remains. However, the historical purchases of removed PIDs are not considered in targeting and algorithms.