What is a product feed?
Definition
A product feed is a structured file that lists your products, with fields such as title, price, availability and image links. You send it to a shopping channel or marketplace, which uses it to create and update listings without entering each product by hand.
Why it matters for sellers
The feed only carries links to your images, so the images must already be ready. If a channel rejects a photo for its background, size or format, the product may be disapproved or hidden until you fix it. Fixing images before they enter the feed avoids repeated rejections.
Feeds also repeat your mistakes at scale. If one image size is wrong across hundreds of rows, hundreds of listings are affected. A consistent edit across the whole catalog is easier to maintain than fixing items one by one.
How to do it with Instasize
Instasize does not create or upload product feeds. It prepares the images that your feed links to, so each channel accepts them.
- Check the channel's current image policy for background, size and format.
- Open the Batch Photo Editor and upload the catalog photos.
- Apply a background and size recipe, and choose JPG or the format the channel accepts.
- Download the zip and host the images where your store or feed tool can link to them.
- Update the image link fields in your feed, then re-check the channel for errors.
Related Instasize pages
Examples
A store sending items to a shopping channel
A shop exports its catalog as a feed, and the channel flags forty items for cluttered backgrounds. The seller reprocesses those photos in one batch and updates the image links.
A seller on several marketplaces
One feed feeds three channels, each with different image rules. The seller keeps a clean white version of each product and checks every channel's policy before resubmitting.
Frequently asked questions
What file format is a product feed?
It depends on the channel. Common formats are CSV, TSV, XML and spreadsheets. Check the channel's specification.
Does Instasize generate product feeds?
No. Instasize edits the images only. Your store platform or a feed tool builds and uploads the feed itself.
Why was my product image rejected?
Common reasons include a busy background, text or watermarks, or a wrong size. Check the channel's current image policy, then fix the image and update the link.
Do feed images need to be hosted online?
Usually yes, because the feed links to image URLs. Upload the images to your store or hosting and use those links.