CSV

In order to be able to show your product listing to best effect to our customers around the world, Fruugo requires a product data feed.  We need to retrieve this feed frequently to keep stock levels accurate and thereby improve the customer experience.

The method used to get product information into the Fruugo system is via a suitably constructed product data feed. This feed contains the information which the Fruugo system requires to be able to correctly display your products to the customer, correctly calculate the cost (including shipping and sales tax where appropriate) to shoppers in all of the Fruugo countries.

Feed Policy

It is our policy that all data must be submitted on an automated feed which does not require manual upload. The feed must be provided in the Fruugo feed specification.

It means a full feed of your product data in our formats being automatically generated by a feed script on a pre-defined schedule (at least daily but ideally more frequently) and the script publishing the output feed file to a static URL (http) from which our system can collect the file each time a new version has been published for automatic processing.  We operate in this manner to ensure that the products remain consistently up to date - stock, prices etc.

CSV Feed Overview

CSV (comma-separated values) is a common, simple file format that is widely supported by consumer, business, and scientific applications. A CSV file consists of any number of records, separated by line breaks; each record consists of fields, separated by a character or string, most commonly a comma. All records have an identical sequence of fields.

A comma-separated values (CSV) file stores tabular data (numbers and text) in plain-text form. Plain text means that the file is a sequence of characters. Among its most common uses is submitting data between programs.

In practice the term "CSV" refers to any file that:

  • Is in “plain text” using a character set such as UTF-8.
  • Consists of records (one record per line).
  • With the records divided into fields separated by delimiters (typically a single reserved character such as comma, semicolon, or tab).
  • Where every record has the same sequence of fields.

Why use CSV?  

The Fruugo Product CSV Feed is a simple data format which allows you to integrate your product data into the Fruugo systems. The use of CSV allows the easy customisation of your ecommerce system to produce user-defined export data files.

The CSV file will be used for all product updates such as:

  •  Amending current products
    • Stock Status
    • Image
    • Title
  • Adding new products
  • Removing old products
  • Adding promotional offers to products

Fruugo CSV Field Specification

There are only 11 mandatory fields in the Fruugo CSV format to ensure you can get up and running as soon as possible. The remaining fields, although not compulsory*, are there so that we can fine tune your experience to get you the most sales possible. Throughout this process the Fruugo Integration Team will be on hand to advise on submitting a feed that ensures your products are set-up correctly. *They may become compulsory dependent on the nature of your products.

For information on the mandatory fields and all other fields please see Fruugo Feed > Field Specification.

Specification of Character Enclosing & Decimal Separators

Fields are separated by commas in the Fruugo CSV format. A consequence of this is that the comma cannot be used as a decimal separator for pricing. Regardless of the normal practice in your home country you should always use a decimal point as a decimal separator.

The Fruugo CSV format uses the double-quote character (“) as an enclosure character for fields that contain text information.

  • Text Fields which contains commas must be enclosed within double-quote characters.
    LE46D550,LE46D550,INSTOCK,Samsung LE46D550 Full HD LCD TV,"Take a step up with the benefit of large display area, HyperReal Image, integrated Freeview and great versatility with the Samsung LE46D550 Full HD LCD TV",540.83,20
  • Fields with embedded double-quote characters must be enclosed within double-quote characters, and each of the embedded double-quote characters must be represented by a pair of double-quote characters.
    LE46D550,LE46D550,http://www.fruugo.com/images/le46d550.jpg,INSTOCK,"Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV","Take a step up with the benefit of large display area and great versatility with the Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV",540.83,20
  • Fields with embedded line breaks must be enclosed within double-quote characters.
    LE46D550,LE46D550,http://www.fruugo.com/images/le46d550.jpg,INSTOCK,"Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV","Take a step up with the benefit of large display area with the Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV. Equipped with a generous 46-inch LCD panel further boosted by Samsung's HyperReal Engine image processing technology. If you love to relax with home cinema, insist on the Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV and be rewarded by Full High Definition home entertainment worthy of discerning viewers!",540.83,20
  • Fields may always be enclosed within double-quote characters, whether necessary or not.
    "LE46D550","LE46D550","http://www.fruugo.com/images/le46d550.jpg","INSTOCK","Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV","Take a step up with the benefit of large display area and great versatility with the Samsung LE46D550 46"" Full HD LCD TV.","540.83","20"