When there are many products to enter manually, the StoreAutomator system can bulk import product data using a CSV file.
When there are too many products to enter manually, the StoreAutomator system can bulk import product data using a .csv file. It’s in the best interest of most users to upload a separate .csv file for each active sales channel.
Locating a Single Sales Channel:
1. A single channel can be selected by clicking the down arrow that appears to the left of the word ‘Global’ on the main dashboard,
2. When that arrow is clicked, a list of connected marketplaces will appear, allowing for any marketplace to be selected,
3. Within the chosen marketplace, a specific channel can be selected,
4. Now that a specific channel has been selected, the data feed feature can be found by first clicking to the word ‘Tools’ then 'Import' and then 'From File'
5. This page lists all StoreAutomator upload templates and their relevant help pages:
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Inventory Product Data - for loading products to inventory, most used template.
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Inventory Product Image - for uploading multiple Images to inventory
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Alias and Alt SKU Creations - for creating Aliases and Alt SKUs
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MultiChannel product Import - for including products to multiple channels in one feed
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MultiChannel data overrides - for overriding product data to multiple channels in one feed
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MultiChannel inclusion settings - for including products to multiple channels in one feed
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MultiChannel bulk Import and sync- for including products to multiple channels in one feed
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Order Tracking Update - to submit order tracking numbers incase you create tracking numbers outside of StoreAutomator
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Adjusting Repricer Settings - For adjusting Repricer Settings
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Adjusting Item liquidation Settings - For Adjusting item liquidation Settings
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Convert SKUs to Alias and Alt SKU - for converting already existing SKUS Aliases and Alt SKUs
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Convert Products to form Bundles - Form new Kits or bundles by grouping exiting products.
The most common import feed format is the first one-Inventory Product Data- and we will discuss this template below.
6. Please click on 'Inventory Product Data Import' and download the data feed file.
Once the file has been saved, it can be opened for use.
The data feed file explained.
Note that the data feed file contains two (2) sheets, each appearing as tabs at the bottom of the document. One sheet is labeled ‘Specification,’ and the other is labeled ‘Template.’
The Specification sheet contains explanations for each field that appears on the Template. Column A lists each of the Column Headers that appear in the Template. Column Headers are really important, they identify which fields you are interested to import in this feed, and they are in StoreAutomator language.
Column B is Description, that describes each of those Column headers in English, along with some instructions on how to handle parent/child product types, or the list of acceptable words.
Column C is Required, which specifies the necessary fields to run importer in 'Create Mode'. If all of the required fields are not included in the feed, importer will run in 'Update' Mode.
Column D provides misc. Notes that give further instruction in areas we feel require additional explanation.
Create Mode
If you want to create new products in SA inventory with your submitted feed, be sure to provide all Required fields (Sku, Title, Brand Name, Price). The importer runs in Create mode, only when the required fields are provided. If you like to import more fields during Create Mode, you can; just include them in the feed file.
Update Mode
If you don't include all required fields above, the importer runs in Update Mode, and will update any provided field for the provided SKUs. When running in Update Mode, make sure to provide the product SKUs and a Data field, at a minimum.
Just a reminder, update mode erases the existing information in a field that is being updated. So, if you have some existing description for an existing product, and you are sending a description update in a feed, the old description will be erased and replaced with the new one.
Uploading a Data Feed File to StoreAutomator System
To upload a completed data feed file, the file can be dragged and dropped into the screen below, or the screen can be clicked, allowing a file to be chosen from the user’s hard drive.
The user will then be asked to name the new file and save it to their selected location.
Once the file has been selected, the StoreAutomator system will notify when the upload process is complete.
Export for Editing Product Data
A pop up will appear, letting the user know that they have a new notification.
This notification can be accessed by clicking the bell icon near the top left corner of the screen.
The newest notification will appear at the top of the list (if there is more than one notification). Click to download the newest.
Some general guidelines on Creating successful Feeds
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Make sure to have only one sheet in the feed file if you are using MS Excel,
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Make sure the first cell has the correct feed type; for example to update data in the inventory use 'Productdata.sku' or to update channel product overrides you need to use 'channelproducts.sku'.
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Check for empty columns in the end. Empty columns can be spotted as multiple commas (,,,,,,,,,,,,) in the end. Please check for empty columns and remove if you have any.
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Make sure to include a column header only once. Same column header repeating multiple times is confusing information that causes the importer to terminate.
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SA system is pretty flexible, it is free text entering most of the time. please refer to the import template for predefined text values.
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Product name cannot have ™, ©, ®, @, ; ” \.
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SA system can accept feeds up to 120 MB and in xlsx, xls, txt, csv and zip file types for image importing.
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Double-check the data for accuracy
Error Checking
After uploading the feed, received files statuses can be viewed in:
Tools>Import>Import History section.
List shows you the feed file name, import date, size, item count, successful item, errors and warning counts. You can view the feed result by clicking on 'Result' or download your original feed, in case you need to check the feed, by clicking on the download button.
When viewing the Import Report, there are line numbers, and a detailed error message for erroneous products; please carefully read and fix the stated problem in the feed file and resubmit. It is safe to say, if there is an error, that product cannot be found in the inventory, and it needs to be reimported after fixing the error. For this particular error, importer was running in 'Update Mode' and the SKU in the feed was was not found, so the additional information wasn't able to update to that SKU.
On a general note, mistakes during importing can cause big problems later to fix; so it is good practice to submit correct and accurate information in the first shot.
Also, should there be any questions not answered on the Specification sheet, we can be contacted for additional support.