Import product variants

  • Updated

Before this feature can be added to your instance, your commerce connector code must be on the December 2022 version or newer. Contact your Customer Success Manager for more information.

Use features in Optimizely Product Information Management (PIM) to import product variants types, assign their properties and values, and assign variants to products during the product import process.

Import variant types, properties, and values

  1. Click Imports. The Imports list page appears. If you need to download the template to help with formatting your data, go to Import Templates > Variant Types > Download.
  2. Drag and drop the file onto the Imports page. You can also click Browse or Import, locate your file, and click Open. The page automatically detects the Import Type and asks you in the Notes column to verify the import type selected. If the columns match a previously saved template, the page selects that template under Import Template.
  3. Verify the Import Type and Import Template chosen.
  4. Click Import.
    • The import creates new variant types and updates any existing variant types.
    • The import assigns variant properties to variant types with display style, number of swatches visible, show swatch description, and unselected value you defined for each row. If no data is entered, Show Swatch Description defaults to No, and the Number of Swatches Visible defaults to 4.
    • The import assigns variant values to variant properties with swatch options and color/image you defined for each row. If you did not select a swatch style, the default is no swatch setup. You can also configure these settings within the application after the import.
    • The system will automatically select the import type based on the column headers of the selected file and will prevent you from selecting an import type that does not have the expected columns. If the variant type import type is not selected, download the template for reference and ensure your file is properly formatted with the correct column headers.
    • If there are any validation issues with the import file, you will be able to download the file with validation errors listed for each row, correct them and then reupload the file.

Assign variant types in product import

You can also convert a product to a parent or child product during the product import process. Assign a variant type to a product to convert it to a parent product or assign a parent product to a product to convert it to a child. For example, if your import file has a column for a variant type and a column for parent product, rows with a variant type listed become a parent product and rows with parent product values listed become child products. The product import wizard allows you to map your columns to target properties when using data without a template.

If the variant type value does not match existing variant type names in the PIM, then an error displays and you can select from the list of variant types. You cannot assign variant types to products already configured as a parent or child.

When assigning a parent product, the PIM validates the child data for the variant properties of the variant type used by the parent. Child products must have data for each variant property, and the combination of values must be unique for each child product.