Learn how to revolutionize your sales and marketing operations by transforming static PDF catalogs into dynamic, shoppable experiences.
Overview
With Flipsnack’s shoppable catalog automation, you can transform static catalogs into dynamic sales channels, allowing customers to browse, interact with, and purchase products directly from your catalog.
Table of contents
Download a template to set up your product feed
Add your product information to the spreadsheet
Map the product feed to Flipsnack
Filter by used or unused products in catalogs
Key benefits
- Keep product listings accurate without manual edits.
- Let customers browse and buy directly from the catalog.
- Easily manage large catalogs without redesigning layouts.
- Automate and streamline catalog creation.
Use cases
Retail Companies
A retailer displays digital catalogs in-store. Customers browse, add products to a wishlist, and request more details. A store associate then creates a personalized catalog showcasing only the requested products and sends it to the customer.
B2B Wholesale & Distributors
A wholesale company automates price lists and product catalogs, allowing buyers to filter through different product variants (e.g., sizes, materials) directly from the catalog. Instead of sending multiple PDFs for different configurations, the distributor updates product data dynamically via a spreadsheet.
E-Commerce Brands
An online seller converts static PDFs into interactive shoppable catalogs, integrating shopping buttons and product variations directly from a spreadsheet. Customers can explore options, compare variants, and add items to their cart without navigating away.
Requirements:
- Plan: Enterprise
- Ideal for company size: Mid-market and Enterprise
- Product data spreadsheet
Schedule a consultation with our product experts for personalized assistance.
Step-by-step guide
1. Download a template to set up your product feed
To start, go to the Automation panel in Flipsnack (bottom-left corner of the dashboard). From there, click Import Feed.
A pop-up window will appear where you can click Download Templates to access the available product feed options.
In the downloaded folder, you will find two templates, and the differences between the two are:
- Simple Product Feed: Designed for products without variations. It's straightforward and ideal for simpler inventories.
- Variant-Rich Product Feed: Includes detailed attributes such as color, size, material, and more, perfect for products with multiple variations.
In this article, we’ll use the Variant-Rich Product Feed because it’s designed for more complex catalogs and supports automation for product variants, shopping buttons, and advanced customization options.
Note: For a complete explanation of every column and its purpose (including attributes, variants, pricing, and customization options), please refer to this article.
Once you download your preferred template, we recommend uploading it to Google Drive and opening it in Google Sheets, because it will be easier to update.
2. Add your product information to the spreadsheet
After opening the spreadsheet in Google Sheets, you can start customizing it based on the information you want to display in your catalog and based on your PDF.
Important: Do not delete or modify the SKU column; this unique identifier allows Flipsnack to link your product data with the PDF. Make sure all SKUs are unique across products and variants.
Tip: To include images in your content, you can first upload the image files to a web server, FTP, or hosting service that allows you to store and retrieve images. Then, you can copy the image's direct URL and paste it into the designated image column. Also, you can host the images directly in Flipsnack. Please read this article for more details.
3. Upload the CSV/Spreadsheet to Flipsnack
After you made the changes you wanted in the spreadsheet, based on the PDF. Upload to Flipsnack.
Note: There are two ways to import product feeds:
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From the main dashboard: Go to Automation (bottom left) → Import Feed to add your product feed.
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From Design Studio: Add feeds directly while editing your catalog → Add Feed
From the main dashboard
On the main dashboard, go to Automation, on the bottom left side, click on Import feed.
From Design Studio
Choose a catalog you want to add your product feed to and click on Automation from the left panel. Click on the bottom Add feed. .png?width=688&height=394&name=image-mh%20(73).png)
Whatever option you choose, you have two options for where you add your data: Upload CSV file or Google Drive.
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For this example, I will connect to my Google Drive, as it will be easier to update it later if I make any changes to my spreadsheet, as needed.
Click on the Connect Google Drive. You will have to log in to your account. From your account, you can pick your spreadsheet and wait until it's imported.
4. Map the product feed to Flipsnack
After the upload is complete, the mapping modal will open, called Map feed content, allowing you to connect your spreadsheet with our platform.
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The mapping modal now uses AI mapping. If your column headers differ slightly from the template (for example, “Product Title” instead of “Name”), Flipsnack will detect and match them automatically. Just review and confirm that everything is mapped correctly before saving.
Important: It’s mandatory to have a valid column with the SKU in the spreadsheet because that is how it will help to sync your catalog ig have any changes. If it’s not valid, an error will appear.
After you make sure that the feed columns are properly mapped, click on Save Changes.
5. Add products to the PDF
Then, go back to the Home page, and from Flipbooks, choose the catalog in which you want to add the products from the spreadsheet and click on the Edit button, on the left side of the flipbook card.
In my case, I uploaded a PDF catalog, but you can start one from scratch in Flipsnack and have the flexibility to make your template.
After that, on the left-hand side, you will see the Automation section with a list of all the products you've added to your spreadsheet.
Drag and drop the product onto the page, it will appear as an area, but you can customize it to your liking, the size, or the Opacity from the upper right side.
Note: Additionally, the shop button element can be further customized through the data feed, including the button label, label color, and website link, only if you use the Variant-Rich data feed template.
Please click the Preview button in the upper right corner to test if it worked properly.
Tip: If your PDF already includes visible SKUs, Flipsnack can now automatically detect them and generate corresponding shopping areas using Product Detection (SKU Tagging). This saves time when setting up large catalogs.
If you customized your area and you're satisfied with the result, duplicate it so you don’t need to customize for each product. You can use Ctrl+D on Windows or Cmd+D on Mac. A duplicated area will already be connected to the feed.
Once the area element is duplicated, you can simply move it over an item on the catalog and drag and drop the corresponding product from the Automation tab. You can then go ahead and repeat this process as much as you need to.
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.
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6. Add a shopping button
If you want to add a product with a shopping button that you set up from the spreadsheet, simply drag and drop it onto the page as well.
Then, click on the Preview button in the upper left corner and see how your area and shop buttons look.
Tip: You can also use the variant-rich product feed to generate an entire catalog with shopping buttons in just a few clicks.
Next steps
Useful resources
Take your product catalog strategy to the next level with best practices to improve your processes:
- Prepare your spreadsheet for Flipsnack automation
- Automation for product variants
- How to create a product catalog using the Product Catalog Generator
- How to use synchronization for Automation in Flipsnack
- How to automate multimedia elements in your digital publications
- How to create product catalogs from scratch using a product feed
- How to turn your PDFs into shoppable catalogs and automate the process
Need expert support?
Our team is here to help. Connect with our team experts or message us via the in-app chat for personalized assistance.