Uploading Products via Spreadsheet / CSV

To upload via CSV, you will first need to find the appropriate category of where the products will need to be uploaded. If this is the first time uploading to that category, you may need to apply to sell within it.

To begin, click on the Products Menu (Barcode icon).

To apply for a new category, please click on the relevant category folder to expand on available sub-categories. Once clicked, this will bring up a list of available sub-categories with an ‘Apply’ button. When you have clicked ‘Apply’, this will send a notification to our Marketplace Team for approval. Please note all category approvals are actioned within office hours, so if a new category is applied for outside of office hours, you may need to wait until the next working day before being able to upload.

Once your application has been approved, the category will move from the ‘Add Categories’ sub-menu, to the ‘Approved Categories’ sub-menu with the ‘Apply’ button changing to ‘Add Products’ & ‘URL link’ to view that category on the live website.

To add Products, simply click on the ‘Add Products’ button. This will bring you to a new page to allow you to select your method of uploading.

If you wish to upload via CSV, you will first need to download that category’s tailored CSV file by clicking the ‘Download’ button. (Should you prefer, you will also have the option to manually upload on the left of the screen).

This will download a CSV file to your PC’s download folder. It will look similar to the below example:

Each Excel column is dedicated to a specific function of your upload. The exact details and whether they are optional or mandatory can be found in row 1. For example, Cell F1 advises that Column F is for the product’s base description (i.e the overall ‘Flavour text’ of the product for the customer to read. This will usually be 3-5 sentences, though can be a little longer if required).

Please note that Rows 1-6 must not be edited or removed. If the format of the CSV is changed, Partner Central will not recognise the file and will generate an error when uploading.

New products

To bulk upload, simply enter the relevant product details as described in rows 1-2 to each of your products, from rows 7 and below. Please note that some columns may have pre-chosen options for you to choose from (for example, column AX- Colour group, row 2 [Cell AX2] has set options).

If you have different variations of the same product (for example different colours), please ensure your product base name (column D) is identical (For example- A480 Samsung Air Purifier). The different variations can be specified by the Product Variant name (Column E) (For example- A480 Samsung Air Purifier- Red). This will allow the system to group identical products together and give the customer a selectable option(s) on the product page to choose between them. For example:

Please note a Parent/Master SKU is not required. If all products have an identical base name, Partner Central will automatically group them together.

Once you have filled out all mandatory and any optional details, simply save your CSV file and re-upload via the upload button:

This will then put your products into the ‘Pending Approval’ status which means it is going through our Approval workflow.

During the workflow, we have 4 main steps:

1.   Buyer Approval- To ensure cost and retail/wholesale prices are set.

2.   Quality Control- To ensure there are no spelling mistakes, nothing that may break copyright, ensure imagery is suitable etc.

3.   Merchandising- To ensure the product is assigned to the appropriate category on the website.

4.   Published- Your product becomes live on the website.

The timeframe for publication can fluctuate. Please enquire with our Digital Trading Team if you require an up-to-date estimate.

 Editing existing products

If you wish to edit already existing products, simply re-download the relevant categories CSV file by following the above steps. Once downloaded, any previously uploaded products will auto-populate on rows 7 and below.

Locate the column with the relevant details, edit the input, save the updated CSV and re-upload in the same method as above.

This will cause the new changes to revert to Step 2 of the onboarding workflow. Once approved again in Step 2, your product will automatically publish the changes.

Please note that if you are only editing a small number of products in a category, we would recommend removing all product details from other rows that are not being edited to prevent them from also returning to a pending status.

It is also important to note that even if changes have been uploaded to a previously published product, the product state will remain the same/live on the website until the changes have been published. If you need a product removed from the website, please create a contact under Product Deletion and one of our team members will be in touch.

If you have any further questions or encounter any issues while uploading that cannot be resolved by checking the entered details match the specifications in Excel CSV rows 1-2, please ask our marketplace team who will be happy to assist further.

Do’s & Dont’s

1. Don’t include any Dimensions within the Product Base Name, Description or Features (These should only be in the attributes).
2. Don’t use these characters: !”£$%^&*()_@’#~<>?/ as they are classed as illegal characters and the system will generate an error.
3. Don’t add Brand Name to Product Base Name, this will show when added to the Brand section.
4. Do have 3 to 5 descriptive sentences for the description and 3 to 5 short sentences for features.
5. Do raise a ticket if unwanted variants are created, providing references for each so they can be deleted (suppliers are unable to delete their own products).