How to use the shopping list feature

Learn all about the shopping list feature from a customer's and seller's point of view.

Table of contents:

How to use the shopping list feature as a seller

Shopping area and shopping button

Product details

Manage individual variants

Open overlay & add directly to list

Customize shop button

How to use the shopping list feature as a customer

The Shopping List feature comes in handy for any manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or service provider who wants to sell their products directly from their catalog.

Once set, Flipsnack's Shopping List feature empowers customers, whether B2B or end consumers, to add products to a list in the catalog. They can then easily send the list as a purchase order or a quote via email, greatly simplifying the selling process.

The list can also be downloaded by the customer as a PDF or CSV or emailed to the seller at a later date. CSV format enables easy importing into spreadsheets or ERP applications.

How to use the shopping list feature as a seller

First, you must have an Enterprise plan and the shopping list add-on activated. If you’d like to request it, please talk to your account manager, as it will be available for an extra fee.

Once you’re logged in and in the Design Studio, click on Interact on the left-hand side.

Shopping area & Shopping button

Once clicked, you’ll see two options under Shopping:

First, you have the Shopping area button. This will allow you to drag an overlay over a certain area of your catalog where users can click to add an item to their shopping list. 

For design purposes, you can also change the Shopping Area's opacity by going to the top right of the Design Studio and adjusting it.

The second option is to add a Shopping button. This is a CTA (Call to Action) button that also allows customers to add an item to their shopping list.

Regardless of your choice, you must click Add product, and a pop-up with product details will appear for you to set up.

Product details

You can add the following details for each product you include in your publication. You have to add these whenever you add a new product, but you can also modify them anytime by clicking on the element and then on Edit product.

• Product title

• SKU

• Description

• Pricing

Currency: When you open the currency toggle, you’ll see the currencies available in Flipsnack: USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, GBP, JOD, KYD, CHF, BGN, HRK, CZK, DKK, HUF, NOK, PLN, RON, RUB, RSD, SEK, TRY, UAH, MXN, ARS, CLP, PHP, and BRL.

On sale: Toggle on or off to add a Discounted price

• Images: Add images related to the item selected. These images will be used in the popup, and you can select up to 3. Square images greater than or equal to 260x260 will work best and produce the highest quality. If you decide not to add a product image but to add an image for a variant of that product, the variant image will be displayed when viewing the product.

Click on Advanced options to open additional customization options

• Quantity options

Enable quantity:  Toggle on or off. If activated, the customer can adjust the quantity of the selected item in their list.

Enable min/max quantity: Toggling this option will allow you to set a minimum and maximum quantity that your customers can add to their shopping list for purchase.

• Product attributes

Sell multiple product variants from the same product popup with product attributes. Include up to three different attributes for each product you add. There are the default ones such as size, color, and material. Additionally, you can create a Custom attribute to suit your specific needs. 

Here's what that means specifically. For example, if you add an attribute containing sizes S, M, L, and colors red and blue, Flipsnack creates a unique variant for each of them, generating 6 variants in total.

This feature works perfectly for products with individual variants, offering your customers the possibility to select their desired products from a range of options. 

• Product variants

To take things a step further, you can set individual (discount) prices and SKUs for each product variant. These product variants are based on the attributes added within the product attributes section.

Control the visibility of your products by hiding the ones that aren’t available, and ensure that you don’t fall behind on orders. Use this option of making a variant available or unavailable for purchase based on what’s in stock.

• Manage individual variants

This enhancement allows you as a seller to set custom images, prices, and SKUs for each available variant and hide the ones out of stock when editing the product details pop-up.

Adding individual images based on attributes is useful for showcasing product variants effectively. For example, if you are selling sweaters available in multiple colors, it would be ideal to display each color version accurately. With variant images, customers can get a clear visual representation of each color option for the sweater, helping them to make an informed purchasing decision.

Here's how you can add specific images to individual attributes based on the attributes you already set in the previous step.

1. Choose the main attribute 

2. Click on Link images button.

3. Upload up to three images for each variant, and then simply go Back to product.

4. Set individual (discount) prices and SKU for each product variant (if needed).

5. Click on Save product.

If you decide not to add a product image but to add an image for a variant of that product, the variant image will be displayed when viewing the product.

Once you have added the product details, clicking on the shopping element will reveal additional options on the left side of the Design Studio.

Open overlay & Add directly to list

Whether you add a shopping area or a shopping button, you can choose between Open overlay and Add directly to list. 

Open overlay will open a popup window containing your product details when the item is clicked. Here is how an open overlay button or shopping area will look within the catalog:

With Add directly to list, when a customer clicks the Shopping area or button, the product will be added directly to the shopping list. For this reason, you will not have the option to customize the shopping button or add a website button.

Customize Shop Button

Click on Customize button to customize the Shop button for the Shopping Area or Shopping Button. You can change the Button label, Button color, Text color, and Tooltip (which applies to Shopping Area only). Additionally, you can toggle a Secondary button to add a Button link and Button label. 

This Shop Button will also appear within the pop-up for both Shopping Button and Shopping Area when choosing the Open overlay option.

If you've finished setting up your first shopping list button or area, you can continue with the next one. Remember, you can use automation for the shopping list to make the process of creating your catalog easier.

Once you've set up everything about your shopping list, make sure you customize the order design and the mail where you want to receive all the orders.

Also, you can customize the catalog once you are done editing it. To do so, click on Customize. You can also toggle the Shopping list feature on or off by checking the Show shopping list option. With the shopping list disabled, customers can add products to their shopping list but can’t finalize the order.

How to use the shopping list feature as a customer

From the customer’s perspective, the shopping list feature is very straightforward. When viewing a catalog, and you see an item you want to add to your list, simply click on the item or click the CTA button.

Once the item is added, you can see your list by clicking the shopping bag icon at the bottom right of the flipbook player.

In the shopping list, you will see the item selected and the quantity of that item. Above the quantity, you can remove the item by clicking the trash can icon. You can clear it entirely at the top of the list by clicking Clear list.

From here, you can send the order directly to the seller. Simply input the information that the seller requires, and off it goes! You can also download the order list as a PDF or CSV to have a copy of the order you sent to the seller. 

The PDF or CSV will contain the product name, product code, price, quantity, currency, and total. This will make dealing with larger orders much easier and help avoid miscommunication between the seller and the customer.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our support team. We’re always happy to help in any way we can.

There are more things to read about the Shopping List feature:

Discover the different order and email customization options you can use for the shopping areas and shopping buttons. 

Find out how you can see the orders made through the Shopping List feature.