Product recommendations play a crucial role in online marketing. To display both static and dynamic product recommendations to your audiences, first, you need to feed your product data into SALESmanago. This data also enables you to analyze product popularity and segment Contacts based on their purchases.
SALESmanago offers two methods for transferring product data from your e-store. The recommended method is Product Catalogs, which allow you to transfer product data in real time via the API.
Read about Product Catalog synchronization through eCommerce plugins >>
The alternative method is uploading an XML Product Feed. This article explains how to prepare your XML file to ensure it functions as intended, allowing you to maximize the potential of your product data.
Contents
- Getting started
- Understanding XML limitations
- Tools used for generating an XML file
- Technical requirements
- Required and recommended data fields
- Handling product variants
- Resources
- FAQ
1. Getting started
Product data is just as crucial for successful marketing as Contact data. SALESmanago requires product data for the following functionalities:
- Product recommendations:
- In emails
- In dynamic Web Push notifications
- On the website (Recommendation Frames)
- In the Preference Center
- In Live Chat
- In the Personal Shopping Inbox
- Transactional analysis
- Dynamic segmentation
One way to transfer product data to SALESmanago is by uploading an XML Product Feed. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a flexible data exchange format widely used by businesses for structuring and storing product data.
To upload an XML file to SALESmanago, you must provide a fixed (non-changing) URL where the file is available. Next, you need to map the data fields in the file to SALESmanago data fields. When the configuration is complete, SALESmanago automatically reloads the file at selected intervals (for example, every two hours), so that any changes in product data are reflected in your recommendations and analytics.
Read this article to learn how to prepare your XML file for uploading to SALESmanago.
NOTE: If you prefer to update your product data in real time, consider implementing Product Catalogs—a modern alternative to XML Product Feeds. Product Catalogs allow you to use certain SALESmanago functionalities that are unavailable for XML Product Feeds, including:
- Product Collections >>
- Workflow Event: Product price dropped >>
- Workflow Event: Product is back in stock >>
2. Understanding XML limitations
XML Product Feeds are not as flexible as Product Catalogs. If you choose this method for feeding product data into SALESmanago, keep the following limitations in mind:
- Update delays: XML Product Feeds are not refreshed in real time. SALESmanago can reload (refresh) product data no more frequently than every 2 hours. During these intervals, product data displayed to your audiences in any communications coming out from SALESmanago may not be fully up to date.
Additionally, the tool you use to generate and refresh your XML file may process your product data with delays. These delays may accumulate with the delays resulting from the refresh frequency in SALESmanago.
If your business model requires frequent product updates, consider using Product Catalogs instead of XML Product Feeds.
- No additional fields: XML Product Feeds do not support transferring extra data fields to SALESmanago. This includes elements like multiple product images, which are recommended for visually similar recommendations.
- Mapping: The data fields in your XML file need to be mapped (matched) to the corresponding SALESmanago data fields. If the structure of your product data is simple, you can use AI Sidekick to do the mapping yourself. However, if the data fields in your file do not directly correspond to SALESmanago data fields (for example, if any fields require splitting or merging), the mapping needs to be performed by our Technical Support team. This process may take several working days.
See also Section 4 below for a list of technical requirements that must be met by your XML file.
3. Tools for generating an XML file
SALESmanago offers a flexible mapping method, so if you already have an XML file with your product data, you should be able to successfully upload and map it. For example, you can re-use an XML file you have already generated for platforms such as:
- Google Merchant Center (Google Shopping)
- Facebook Catalog (Meta Commerce Manager)
- Amazon Marketplace
If you have no XML file yet, or if the one you have is not compatible with SALESmanago’s requirements, you can generate an XML file using the following methods:
- Built-in feature of your eCommerce platform. Many platforms provide a simple tool or wizard that allows you to generate an XML file for use in other systems.
- Third-party plugin. Most eCommerce platforms offer plugins or extensions allowing you to easily generate an XML file from your product database. Try searching your platform’s marketplace for “XML generator” plugins.
- Custom-coded solution. If your e-store is custom-built, you can ask your Dev Team to create a product feed generation solution. However, if any custom coding is required, consider implementing Product Catalogs instead.
4. Technical requirements
To ensure seamless integration with SALESmanago, your XML file must meet the following technical requirements:
- The XML file must use UTF-8 or Windows-1250 encoding.
- The XML file must be available at a fixed (non-changing) URL.
- The file must be compliant with the XML standard. You can verify this using an XML validator, such as https://www.xmlvalidation.com/, https://www.w3schools.com/Xml/xml_validator.asp or https://developers.google.com/merchant-review-feeds/xmlvalidation.
- The XML file must be accessible from SALESmanago’s IP addresses. To ensure this, add SALESmanago’s IP addresses to your whitelist.
See the list of SALESmanago IP addresses >>
Learn how to whitelist IP addresses in Cloudflare >>
- The XML file should be generated periodically and not just-in-time (i.e., not in response to SALESmanago requests). Otherwise, XML processing performance may be negatively affected.
5. Required and recommended fields
Below is a list of all data fields that can be included in an XML Product Feed, categorized as required, recommended, and optional.
| Field | Description | Limits | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product ID | Product’s unique identifier. This can be the product ID from your eCommerce platform, the product’s SKU or EAN code, or a similar unique value. | Max. 32 characters Must be unique |
Required |
| Name | Name of the product, usually accompanying the product’s image in recommendations. | Max. 100 characters | Required |
| Category | Main (direct) category to which the product belongs, for example “V-necks” in Fashion → Man → T-shirts → V-necks → Product. | Max. 200 characters | Required |
| Price | Product’s standard price. NOTE: Any discounts should be applied using the “discount price” data field. |
Numeric value Max. 2 decimal places after the decimal point |
Required |
| Product URL | Product’s page URL in your e-store. Each product must have a unique URL address (see Section 6 below). Product URLs are used to match recently viewed products to individual recipients. |
Max. 512 characters Must be unique |
Required |
| Image URL | Used to display the product’s image in recommendations. Images are not downloaded by SALESmanago, but rather served directly from your server. | Max. 512 characters | Required |
| Available | Product’s availability status: whether it is available or not. Used to exclude currently unavailable products from recommendations. | Boolean value (yes/no, 0/1, true/false) | Recommended |
| Discount price | Product’s non-standard (reduced) price. If this field is empty, it means that the standard price (specified in the “price” data field) applies. |
Numeric value Max. 2 decimal places after the decimal point |
Recommended |
| Quantity | Product’s quantity. If the value of this field equals “0”, the product is considered unavailable by the system. |
Integer | Recommended |
| Brand | Product’s brand. | Max. 512 characters | Optional |
| Categories | List of additional categories. It is recommended that the list should include the main (direct) category. The categories must be separated by commas (no spaces), for example: jackets,coats |
Max. 512 characters | Optional |
| Color | Product’s color. For guidance concerning product variants, see Section 6 below. |
Max. 40 characters | Optional |
| Description | Product’s marketing description, explaining its function and/or emphasizing its benefits. | Max. 1024 characters | Optional |
| Gender | Gender for which the product is intended. Use one of the following values: -1 – Undefined 0 – Women 1 – Men 2 – Other 3 – Children 4 – Unisex |
Integer | Optional |
| Manufacturer | Product’s manufacturer. | Max. 100 characters | Optional |
| Popularity | Product’s popularity, defined individually by each SALESmanago customer. The recommended range is from 1 to 100. Popularity can also be expressed as the number of purchases. |
Integer | Optional |
| Season | Season for which the product is intended. | Max. 40 characters | Optional |
| Bestseller | Product’s bestselling status: whether it is a “bestseller” or not. | Boolean value (yes/no, 0/1, true/false) | Optional |
| New product | Product’s recency status: whether it is “new” or not. | Boolean value (yes/no, 0/1, true/false) | Optional |
| Details 1–5 | Additional product details that cannot be transferred using other data fields. These data fields are crucial for effective and personalized recommendations. When creating recommendation strategies, you can use these custom details to filter, exclude, and sort products. For example, if you store product sizes in one of these fields, you can recommend products in the same size as those recently viewed. If you use one of these details to store sales margins (as percentages), you can prioritize displaying products that bring you the highest profit. |
Max. 512 characters for each details | Optional |
6. Handling product variants
Products can have variants, most commonly based on color, print, or size. For example, a blouse (“parent product”) can be available in five different colors (“child products”).
Different eCommerce platforms handle product variants in various ways. To provide a universal solution and keep things simple, SALESmanago uses a flat product structure in which all products are treated equally (without a parent-child hierarchy). Therefore, each product variant you want to recommend and sell should have a unique product ID and a unique URL address.
TIP: If you have trouble determining whether a product should be transferred to SALESmanago, check if it has its own product ID and its own page (URL address). If so, it should probably be included in the XML file.
Some eCommerce platforms create virtual parent products that are not typically displayed in the e-store or search results. Depending on your strategy, it may be a good idea to transfer these products as well and use them in recommendations instead of displaying multiple variants at the same time.
SALESmanago’s Recommendation Architect >> allows you to create advanced recommendation strategies in which you can precisely define how product variants are handled.
TIP: Store the parent product’s ID in one of the custom details to easily exclude variants or parent products from recommendations using the “contains/does not contain” filter.
7. Resources
- View a sample XML file >> to see what a correct XML structure looks like.
- Use the Google tool >> to verify whether your feed is compliant with Google Shopping requirements.
- Learn how to whitelist SALESmanago IP addresses in Cloudflare >>
- Below is a list of XML generation plugins that we find to work best with SALESmanago:
- Shopify: Simprosys, Exporto
- PrestaShop: Google Shopping, XML Feeds Pro, PriceWars II
- Magento 2: Amasty
- WooCommerce: Google Shopping, Social Sites
- OpenCart 3: GLAMI feed generator > 3.0 + PiXel, Marketplace xml feed pro
- Shoper: Google Shopping, Ceneo, Skąpiec
8. FAQ
What should I do if my XML file fails validation (either in an external tool or during automatic mapping by AI Sidekick)?
Check the encoding, tag structure, and compliance of data fields with the SALESmanago requirements (see the table in Section 5 above).
How often are XML Product Feeds refreshed?
XML Product Feeds can be updated no more than once every 2 hours. If you need more frequent product data updates, consider using Product Catalogs.
What should I do if the XML file is inaccessible from SALESmanago’s IP?
Ensure that the file’s URL address is fixed (does not change). Add SALESmanago’s IP addresses to your whitelist or, if you have already done this, verify their correctness.
How can I send additional product data to SALESmanago?
SALESmanago allows you to send additional data in the “detail” fields. You can define up to 5 details. If you need more additional fields, consider using Product Catalogs.
What should I do if automatic mapping using AI Sidekick does not work or works only partially?
In such cases, please contact us at: support@salesmanago.com.