How to Build a Shopping Feed in Shopware

A product feed or shopping feed is a file that contains a list of products with the related data structured in a specific way that each item can be displayed, advertised, or compared after the file is uploaded to a sales channel. A shopping/product feed typically contains a product image, title, description, identifier, and attributes. However, the list of parameters stored in a data file may vary depending on its source. Let’s assume that you run an e-commerce website on Shopware 6 and connect it to external shopping channels. There are several ways to achieve this goal. Below, you will learn how to build a shopping feed in Shopware to connect your website to external marketplaces and other similar platforms that require your catalog data. But before going any further, let’s find out how product feeds work and what their purpose is.

Note that we provide Shopware integration with external platforms. We can even import CMS pages and form data to Shopware 6. Contact our support for further information or try our Improved Import & Export Extension for Shopware.

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A product feed definition, purpose, requirements

So, a product feed is basically a file that contains product information based on your catalog data. A Shopware shopping feed, in its turn, is a product feed created on a Shopware website.

The major purpose of any product feed is to submit product data to sales channels. That’s how most cases look: you take product data from one place and move it to another. At first glance, there’s nothing difficult in submitting basic product data from your e-commerce website to external platforms.

However, there’s a deeper significance to your product feeds. Firstly, every e-commerce system has its unique requirements for storing and ordering product data. It means that you cannot just take the Shopware output and transfer it to an external marketplace. Even if the supposed storing standards are the same, there is another obstacle. 

Secondly, you should keep in mind that external shopping channels may use the provided data to indicate your product quality. Some channels look at it to conclude whether or not to display your products for particular search queries. Consequently, the quality of your product feeds directly impacts how successful your sales are on a particular channel. 

Below, you will find several reasons for creating a well-elaborate shopping feed in Shopware:

• Optimized Integration Workflow. If you create a shopping feed following the requirements of an external sales channel, there is no need to edit the data file to make the integration happen. Furthermore, it is a good idea to create a preset for each sales channel. As a result, you automatically create the correct output every time the update is necessary, saving tons of time and effort.   
• Higher Quality Scores. Don’t forget that you are the only person responsible for the appearance of your products on an external website since algorithms decide what listings to display. Thus, more complete product data always wins. What’s included in your Shopware product feed makes all the difference, providing your products with higher quality scores.
• Data Accuracy. Your product information should always be up to date. Your product listings should match your store data, displaying correct prices, availability, and other details. As a result, you provide a good shopper experience and don’t get booted off some shopping platforms. So, regular product updates are vital.

How to build a shopping feed in Shopware

Now, when you are familiar with the product feed essentials, let’s see how to create shopping feeds in Shopware and optimize them easily according to the requirements of external platforms.

Shopware Social Shopping

If you use the Professional Edition, there is an extension developed to build a shopping feed in Shopware for Google Shopping, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. The tool provides easy integration with these services via an export feed and a bunch of additional configurations:

• Facebook. You get the data required for integration into Facebook in an export feed as an XML file. The integration is done directly in your Facebook settings.
• Instagram. The Instagram integration is based on an XML feed that contains all information relevant to Instagram. Your Instagram profile should be linked to your Facebook account. 
• Google Shopping. All information relevant to Google Shopping is provided in an XML feed. However, the integration requires several additional steps described within the extension. 
• Pinterest. Unlike other channels, Pinterest is not integrated through export feeds. The process is based on metadata exchange. However, you need to pass the validation prior to the integration.

For further information, follow this link: Shopware Social Shopping.

Note that this tool for creating shopping feeds in Shopware is fairly limited. First of all, it is a part of the Professional Edition. It means that the users of the two budget-friendly options cannot use the module. Secondly, the extension supports only 4 sales channels. If you need, for instance, to upload products to eBay, you will need another tool.

Google Shopping Integration

Since Shopware is an official Google partner, Shopware users can leverage the Shopping Ads with Google integration. An additional sales channel offers convenient features directly from the Shopware administration panel. The possibilities with Shopping Ads with Google include:

• Connect your Google account to Shopware to access your Google Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts from the administration panel.
• Synchronize your products and offer them in the Google Shopping comparison portal. Utilize these listings and create ads if necessary.
• Create, manage and monitor campaigns with the help of the Google Ads connection. The tool lets you check their performance, set time limits and budgets, and define which products to advertise.
• With the Google Analytics connection, you can get even more insightful statistics.

Note that the integration lets you transfer your workflow associated with Google Shopping straight to the Shopware administration. However, you cannot use this tool to create a shopping feed for other platforms. Is there a universal solution that lets you work with any sales channel? Luckily, the Shopware ecosystem includes at least one tool suitable for that.

Improved Import, Export & Mass Actions

You can use the Improved Import, Export & Mass Actions application to build a shopping feed in Shopware 6 suitable for all possible shopping channels. Unlike the solutions above, the extension lets you choose a platform to create a product export for. It offers numerous features that dramatically simplify this workflow.

First of all, Improved Import, Export & Mass Actions allows you to manage products at your store. It provides the ability to import and export product catalogs in a single file with all properties. Furthermore, you can import product catalog updates from your suppliers or other stores with the help of the mapping step, where you inform the extension which column from the imported file should match particular product property. The feature also works in the opposite direction, allowing you to create product feeds in Shopware suitable for external systems. The extension’s core features include:

• Full product import and export with custom properties (attributes) in a single file;
• Product properties mapping when importing products from different suppliers or exporting feeds to other sales channels;
• PIM capabilities based on exported files: quick adjustment of product properties in a data file or a Google Sheets table with the possibility for team collaboration;
• Support for any file format with mapping presets;
• Support for different import and export sources.

So, how to create a product feed in Shopware 6 with the help of Improved Import, Export & Mass Actions? You need to purchase and install the application on your Shopware website and follow these steps:

• Go to the extension interface in your Shopware admin;
• Create a new export job;
• Configure its parameters;
• Create a pamming scheme to match the Shopware data to the requirements of the connected shopping channel;
• Choose an external destination;
• Start the export process;
• Provide your data file to the sales channel.

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