Product Types

Product Types are templates that define which attributes are relevant for each category of products in your catalog.

What are Product Types?

Product Types are templates that group related attributes together for a category of products. For example:

• A "Golf Club" product type might include attributes like Shaft Flex, Loft Angle, Club Type, and Hand Orientation
• A "Golf Ball" product type might include Compression, Cover Material, and Dimple Pattern
• A "Apparel" product type might include Size, Color, Material, and Fit

Product Types help with:

• Ensuring products have all required attributes
• Guiding the AI enrichment process
• Organizing your catalog by category
• Enabling consistent data entry and validation

Viewing Product Types

To view your Product Types:

1. Navigate to Catalog → Product Types in the sidebar
2. Browse the list of defined types
3. Click on any type to see its details

List Information

Each Product Type shows:

• Name: Display name of the type
• Key: Unique identifier
• Attributes: Number of assigned attributes
• Products: Number of products using this type
• Category: Optional category grouping

Creating Product Types

To create a new Product Type:

1. Click "Add Product Type"
2. Enter the type name and key
3. Add a description (optional but recommended)
4. Select the category (optional)
5. Click "Create"

Product Type Fields

Adding Attributes to Product Types

After creating a Product Type, add the relevant attributes from your Attribute Dictionary:

1. Open the Product Type detail page
2. Click "Add Attributes"
3. Search and select attributes to add
4. Click "Add Selected"

Attribute Options

For each attribute on a Product Type, you can configure:

Product Type Detail Page

The detail page shows comprehensive information about a Product Type:

Detail Sections

• Overview: Name, description, and basic info
• Attributes: List of assigned attributes with their settings
• Products: Products using this type (with quick filters)
• Usage Stats: Statistics about attribute coverage

Editing Product Types

To edit a Product Type:

1. Open the Product Type detail page
2. Click "Edit"
3. Modify the name, description, or category
4. Click "Save Changes"

Managing Attributes

To add or remove attributes:

• Add: Click "Add Attributes" and select from the dictionary
• Remove: Click the remove button next to an attribute
• Reorder: Drag attributes to change display order

Bulk Upload (CSV)

You can import Product Types and their attribute assignments via CSV:

1. Click "Import CSV"
2. Download the template file
3. Fill in your product types
4. Upload the completed CSV
5. Review and confirm the import

CSV Format

Deleting Product Types

To delete a Product Type:

1. Open the Product Type detail page
2. Click "Delete"
3. Confirm the deletion

Product Types and AI Enrichment

Product Types play a crucial role in AI enrichment. When enriching a product, MerchantOps:

1. Looks at the product's assigned Product Type
2. Identifies the required and optional attributes
3. Searches for information about those specific attributes
4. Fills in attribute values based on found data

Well-defined Product Types with relevant attributes lead to better enrichment results.

Best Practices

Type Design

• Be specific:Create separate types for distinct product categories (e.g., "Golf Driver" vs "Golf Putter" rather than just "Golf Club")
• Use meaningful names: Names should clearly indicate what products belong to the type
• Add descriptions: Help team members understand when to use each type

Attribute Selection

• Include all relevant attributes: Better to have too many than too few
• Mark essential attributes as required: Ensure critical data is always present
• Order logically: Put important attributes first

Maintenance

• Review regularly: Add new attributes as your data needs evolve
• Monitor coverage: Check which products are missing required attributes
• Consolidate similar types: Merge types if they have nearly identical attributes

Next Steps

After setting up your Product Types:

• Create and manage products using your product types
• Promote lakehouse products and assign them to product types
• Add more attributes as your needs grow