Allegro Product Catalog. What changed on August 1, 2022?

From August 1, 2022, another important change related to the transformation of the offer base into a product catalog has come into force on Allegro. This means that in many categories, the EAN code, which was previously optional, will be required when adding each new offer. If you are not yet using the new Allegro catalog, this is your last chance to start.

Allegro Catalog and related topics:

• What is the Allegro product catalog?
• Why is it worth adding products to the catalog?
• Disadvantages of the Allegro catalog
• Changes in the Allegro product catalog from August 1, 2022
• Allegro Catalog and SOTESHOP Online Store
• EAN and GTIN codes
• How to recognize an offer from the catalog?
• Summary

What is the Allegro product catalog?

The Allegro catalog is a collection of grouped and systematized products and offers. Each offer is assigned to products from the catalog database, making it easy to group and search them. In the catalog search results, products are displayed first, followed by related offers. The Allegro product catalog allows for standardization of descriptions, photos, parameters and related offers.

Why is it worth adding products to the catalog?

Benefits of adding products to the Allegro catalog (source: Allegro):

• Improvement of the sales quality parameter, which determines that offers are displayed higher on the list of results.
• Thanks to the "Super Price" label, you can increase your sales by 43%.
• Offers may appear on special pages related to Black Week, Smart Week, etc.
• You can use the Allegro Prices option and offer better purchase conditions to customers.

In addition to the benefits provided by Allegro, it is worth taking advantage of the catalog and adding products according to the required parameters, etc. Changes that are already taking effect will not only affect offers, but will also cover many other related services.

Here, just like in Social Media, taking advantage of new features gives us a quick advantage over the competition and is often the simplest way to increase sales.

Disadvantages of the Allegro catalog

Speaking of the advantages, it is also worth mentioning the disadvantages of the catalog. Understanding both the pros and cons will allow you to prepare a better sales strategy both on Allegro and in an online store.

Disadvantages of the catalog:

• Limited number of categories.
• One category for the offer.
• Errors in categories, especially specialist ones, e.g. car parts.
• Problem with obtaining EAN codes, e.g. for products that were produced many years ago.
• Lack of full control over photos, descriptions and parameters.
• Showing other competitive offers on the product page.
• Transferring rights to descriptions and photos to Allegro.

Quite an important element to pay attention to is the transfer of rights to use the submitted photos, descriptions and parameters by Allegro. In addition to legal issues, there is a problem with SEO and duplicating content in the store and on Allegro. A good solution is to add a separate description to Allegro and a separate one to the store, they can be similar but should not be the same. It is not necessary in every case and it should always be considered individually whether the additional effort is justified.

Problems with matching products to the catalog are being solved gradually by Allego. A special procedure for reporting parameterization errors, descriptions, photos, etc. is also available.

Hybrid model: online store and Allegro

Sharing products on an external platform gives us the possibilities it offers, but we also have to take into account certain limitations. A proven solution is the hybrid model, which consists of running your own online store and making selected offers available on various sales platforms, including Allegro. Thanks to this, we not only reach new customers, but also build and strengthen our own brand, selling and presenting products on our own terms.

Changes to the Allegro product catalog from August 1, 2022

The Allegro catalog was created in 2018 and since then, gradual changes have been made to transform Allegro primarily into a product catalog. The entire transformation is planned to be completed by the end of 2024, but already from August 1, 2022, new offers cannot be added without adding them to the catalog and providing the EAN number.

• Current, previously added offers will remain active, even without a catalog.
• New offers cannot be added without a catalog.
• This does not apply to all categories.
• Completed offers cannot be renewed, unless automatic renewal is set.

Watch the video about the Allegro catalog and find out the answers to frequently asked questions.

Allegro catalog and SOTESHOP online store

If you have a SOTESHOP online store, we encourage you to update the store to the latest version. We are constantly introducing updates related to Allegro, including adapting the offer listing in the Allegro catalog.

Learn more from the documentation: Allegro Integration

If you are using a different e-commerce platform, check if it has an up-to-date integration with Allegro and supports the product catalog.

EAN and GTIN codes

EAN (GTIN) codes are mainly used for product cataloging. The EAN code of a product is an international unique product code. Thanks to it, the Allegro system knows that different independent offers refer to the same product and are grouped on the basis of this code.

If the concepts of EAN, GTIN are new to you, it is important to understand them well. This will facilitate navigation in the Allegro catalog and beyond.

Check the explanation of EAN and GTIN in the e-commerce dictionary:

• EAN Code - from the English abbreviation for European Article Number "unique, standardized European code assigned to various types of goods and services".
• GTIN Code - from the English abbreviation for Global Trade Item Number "unique, standardized digital code belonging to the GS1 family of codes, enabling the identification of products and services; the GTIN code includes such standards as: EAN, JAN, UPC, ISBN, ITF-14. "

In the Allegro offer version, each photo, description and product parameters were added by the seller. In the catalog, this data will eventually be replaced by information stored in the product database. This way, you don't have to create a separate description, add photos and parameters each time.

These elements will be introduced gradually, but already now, if we do not add a product photo, but link it to the catalog, the system will automatically match the appropriate photo.

If we provide the EAN code, the system will easily find the associated product to the offer. In some categories, EAN is not required, but this does not mean that the products will not be in the catalog. The system will automatically try to match our product to the category, using the product name and its parameters.

With this in mind, it is worth introducing correct product names now, avoiding adding unnecessary information that does not serve to identify the product.

How to recognize an offer from the catalog?

It is worth checking different offers from Allegro and comparing those that are added to the catalog and those that are added outside it. However, in order to compare them, we must know how to distinguish them. The method is very simple;) Offers from the catalog have 2 elements:

• Product name,
• Offer title.

While products outside the catalog have only the title.

Summary

The e-commerce market is changing very dynamically and it is worth keeping track of these changes, especially in areas that directly affect sales in our online store. If you sell on Allegro, integrate with the catalog now and gain an advantage over the competition.

Related Pages

• Allegro - for sellers
• Allegro integration in the store
• SOTESHOP online store