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How to prepare a product variant feed for automation

Find out how to prepare your product feed if you have product variants, and how to automate the process of creating the catalog.

Overview

Creating a digital catalog that contains numerous products and product variants can be challenging and time-consuming.

To simplify the process and save you valuable time and effort, we have introduced an automated solution for the shopping list that allows you to easily create, populate, and manage your product catalog, regardless of the number of products and variants it contains.

Table of contents:

Step-by-step guide 

Download the Variant-Rich-Product template

Edit the product feed file

Connect the product feed file to Flipsnack

How to use the product feed in your catalog

Sync your product feed

Filter by used or unused products in catalogs

FAQ

Next steps

Requirements: 

  • Plan: Enterprise 
  • Ideal for company size: Mid-market and Enterprise 

Schedule a consultation with our product experts for personalized assistance.

Step-by-step guide 

1. Download the Variant-Rich-Product template

For everything to work smoothly, we have created a CSV template you can download and then populate with your products and variants. 

To find it, go to the main dashboard, click on Automation, on the left panel side, and click on Import feed.

import feed

Then, a pop-up will appear. You can import your product feed from Google Drive or upload it from your device.  From here, you can download the templates for the product feed. You can use this sample as a base to build your datasheet, or start from a blank feed if you prefer.

Download templates from Flipsnack for product variants

2. Edit the product feed file

Once the template is downloaded, you can either import it into Google Sheets or open it with your preferred program, such as Microsoft Excel or Numbers.

Tip: We recommend using Google Sheets, especially if you regularly update your catalog, because, through Google Sheets, you can automatically sync your data. With the other methods, you must upload the file each time you make any changes to your feed.

After that, you can edit the feed and populate it with your products.

Important: When editing the downloaded CSV file,  keep the first three columns (Product.Type, SKU, and Parent.SKU). 

Here is a detailed list of each field from the CSV file you downloaded. The mandatory properties are mentioned as such. For properties that are not listed as mandatory, you can leave them blank if they do not apply to your catalog.

Important:  The variations must always be listed as "Variant" in the Parent.SKU column, directly under their "Parent" in the order list. This means that if a variant row is placed above its parent row, it won’t work properly.

Field
Explanation
Example
Instructions
Product.Type
The type of product (Product or Variant).
Product
For products and variants The field is  mandatory. You can add either Product (e.g. T-shirt) or Variant (e.g., blue).
SKU
Stock keeping unit for products and variants.
SKU-01-WFW - SKU for the Product SKU-01-WFW-SB - SKU for the Variant(see the example below)
For products and variants The field is mandatory. The SKU should be unique for each product or variant.
product-list-example-template
Parent.SKU
Stock keeping unit of the parent product.
SKU-01-WFW
Only for variants The field is mandatory. It should have the parent product’s SKU. Otherwise, the connection can’t be made between the product and its variant.
Name
The product name.
Women Fine Watch
Only for products If the information is added to the variant, it will be ignored, as the name will always be taken from the parent product.
Description
The product description.
Imported Japanese quartz movement keeps time accurate...
Only for products If the information is added to the variant, it will be ignored, as the description will always be taken from the parent product.
Product.ImageURL
The product image.
https://cdn.flipsnack.com/images/automation/women-fine-watch-black.jpg
For products You can add up to 15 images in the same row,  but you have to separate them with a semicolon (;)  The image link must end in either .jpg or .png, otherwise it will not work If you have trouble finding a correct URL, you can use the link from Design Studio.  The product image link will automatically apply for variants as well. You can overwrite variant images by filling in the Variant.ImageURL field.

Once you have edited the file, it is time to upload it to Flipsnack. 

Important: If a specific variant differs from the main product in details such as price, image, or visibility, you need to list it manually in the feed. Otherwise, all variants will inherit the main product's details (price, image, etc.) by default.

3. Upload the product feed file to Flipsnack

To do so, go to the Main dashboard, click on the Automation panel ---> Import feed. 

Now,  either click on the Upload CSV file or Google Drive. 

upload product feed from google drive or from device

 

Note: If you plan to update the catalog data regularly, we recommend using the Google Sheets option. In this case, instead of uploading the file for each modification, you can simply click the Sync button, learn more about synchronization here.

synchronize-product-list-button

4. Sync your product feed

If you uploaded a CSV file, you won't find the sync button(as shown in the image above). To update the catalog after making changes, you need to re-import the same CSV file updated. You can replace it here or from the Design Studio in the Automation panel.

If the CSV file has the same name, a pop-up will appear, asking whether you want to overwrite the existing feed or not.

Find more about synchronization in this article. 

Note: For those who have access to the AI features ( starting Professional plan), the mapping works automatically; you don't have to do anything, only to make a quick check that everything is mapped as you wanted.

map feed-mh

If you have modified the column header names in the feed and tried to sync it, the change will be reflected by an error message. .

error message for sync

Note: As already mentioned, we recommend not changing the fields because, for each modified field, you will need to assign the new data manually. Given the large number of properties, this process can be time-consuming and lead to errors.

5. How to use the feed in your catalog

Once your file has been imported into Flipsnack, you can easily use it in your product catalog.

While in the Design Studio, pick the catalog you want to use. Click on Automation.  Here, you will be able to see your uploaded product feeds, how many products and feeds are used in a catalog. 

image-mh - 2025-10-16T161800.877

Once select the feed you want,  you can easily drag and drop a product on the page, and when you do so, a Shopping list element will be created. To preview the product, click on the Preview button in the upper right side. 

 

Filter by used or unused products in catalogs

You can easily filter products to see which ones are already used in your catalog in the Automation tab and which ones are not. This is especially helpful if you're unsure which products you've already added

 

FAQ

Why can't I view the product variants?

Make sure to use the template that we offer when adding variants. 

Are there any limitations on the number of products or variants that can be automated in Flipsnack?

Flipsnack does not have a limit for the number of products that can be added to a feed; however, you can only add 3 attributes (eg, color, material, size)

What kind of images are accepted?

Accepted formats include JPG, PNG, and GIF. Add images by placing direct URLs in the appropriate column of your feed. Learn more.

 

Next steps

Useful resources 

Take your digital content strategy to the next level with data-driven insights and best practices to improve your processes: 

Need expert support? 

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