• Amazon Flat Files 101

    By ZonSupport | Posted on April 29, 2024| Blog

    Many Amazon sellers remain unaware of the powerful tool lying dormant at their fingertips: Flat Files.

    These Excel spreadsheets are far from relics that just make everything harder. They offer a dynamic and versatile approach to managing your Amazon catalog.

    We talked with Vanessa Hung, founder and CEO of Online Seller Solutions, to get a very detailed understanding of these files and how best to use them in your Amazon business. 

    Flat files are far more than static reports. They are customizable templates provided by Amazon that allow you to input, modify, and delete information across various aspects of your business. For example, you can manage your catalog’s product details, variations, pricing, and inventory levels from a centralized location.

    In addition to the main uses and purposes that Amazon created them for, they also provide sellers with more benefits that can streamline the management of their accounts.

    In this blog, you will learn the different types of catalog files, their basic structure, how to download and upload Amazon flat files, and best practices.

    Types of Catalog Flat Files

    A few types of files directly impact the information on your listings and product detail pages. Depending on your desired outcomes, you can select the file that best fits your needs.

    Category Listing Report: This file contains all your catalog data in one file, combining all attributes for different product types or categories. This file is part report and part template because it reports all the catalog information you have input on your listings while letting sellers update and delete information.

    Category-Specific Templates: This file helps to list and manage multiple listings from the same category. It is the easiest to customize since it only shows attributes related to the specific category.

    Inventory Loader File: This is a very simple file with fewer attributes than the others, and it’s highly effective for troubleshooting catalog with the x-delete feature and stranded inventory issues.

    Listing Quality & Suppressed Listing File: This file allows users to input additional and enhanced information to their listings based on Amazon’s recommendations. This is the best file to get started in the world of Amazon flat files.

    Flat File Structure

    Something that will make the learning process way easier is to understand that even though the content inside each template can vary, all of them share three core features:

    Sheets or Tabs: The file often has multiple tabs that include instructions for use, data definitions, valid values, examples, and more. The most important and where all things happen is often called “Template”

    Schema of the Template: These are the pre-formatted rows at the top of the “Template” tab, with details like template type, version, color-coded sections, and attribute names.

    Data fields or attributes: These are the cells under an attribute column where you can input, change, and delete information about your products. These cells can be open-ended, which means that you can input whatever information you like with a limitation on the number of characters or drop-down menus, which only give you a selection of options to choose from.

    Mastering Catalog Flat Files

    Mastering flat files is all about putting in the work and practicing. The best place to start is the Category Listing Report (CLR). This file will give you all the data that you have input into your listings*, so it works as a database and catalog management tool.

    It can seem overwhelming at the beginning because it can have hundreds of columns (a.k.a. attributes) to input information in.

    Learn how to download your Category Listings Report (CLR)

    Once you download it, you will find that certain attributes are empty for your listings.

    These attributes are the ones you want to focus on because any empty field is an opportunity to add more information to your listings while protecting them from hijackers.

    This allows you to maintain control over your listings, prevent unwanted modifications, and optimize them for better performance.

    You can also think of the Category Listing Report as a central hub for all your essential product data, which is readily accessible for updates and analysis. This centralized approach empowers you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your product listings for long-term success.

    Now learn how to download and upload Flat Files in Seller Central

    By enriching your Flat Files with detailed product descriptions, accurate attributes, and high-quality images, you can enhance your listing visibility and search ranking. This detailed information also offers potential customers a more comprehensive understanding of your products, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates.

    Online Seller Solutions offers a range of services including solving Seller Central issues and backend optimization of your listings. Be sure to check out more about them as you look for the right supplier fit for your business.

    As always, ask us anything. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll know someone who does!

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