digitec/Galaxus: marketplace guide
About this guide
This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Zürich-based marketplaces digitec and Galaxus. Here you can find information on how to request an account, how to configure these marketplaces on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.
Table of contents
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
Commercial information
Founded | 2001 |
Founder | Florian Teuteberg |
Headquarters | Zürich, Switzerland |
Area served (orders) | Germany, Switzerland |
Revenue | CHF 1.826 billion (2020) |
Number of monthly visits | 15.1 million |
Website | digitech/Galaxus |
Setup cost | none |
Commission | see the Associated costs section |
Other costs | none |
Payment | monthly |
Product categories | digitec: music, cameras, electronics, video games, household appliances, telecommunications equipment Galaxus: pretty much anything |
Input language | German |
Input currency | CHF, EUR |
Content creation | yes |
Minimum number of SKUs | no |
Advertisement options | no |
Profile on ChannelEngine | digitec/Galaxus |
How to request an account
To start selling on Digitec/Galaxus, fill out their registration form. The following requirements apply:
- You are a professional retailer with a solid and well-established IT infrastructure, including an online store and an ERP solution.
- Your merchant philosophy, image, and quality standards must meet those of digitec and Galaxus.
- Your products meet the standards set out in the digitec/Galaxus product compliance requirements.
Associated costs
digitec/Galaxus does not charge a setup or monthly fee. However, they do charge a sale commission. This variable cost is based on the type of products sold, at an average rate of 12.4% across all categories. You can find an overview of rates and information on the Fees related to merchant program page.
Marketplace features
Supported | Not supported |
Product offers* | HTML support |
Product content | External fulfillment |
Orders | Repricing |
Product status import | Volume discounts |
Cancelations (merchant)** | Pick-up point delivery |
Product variations | Returns (merchant) |
Returns (marketplace) | Cancelations (marketplace) |
Shipments | Fee reductions |
Carrier mapping | Sales channels |
Refurbished products | Awaiting payment status |
* Make sure that each product has a stock value assigned to it. Otherwise, a product cannot be published. If you provide stock after the initial submission, it may take up to three weeks for the marketplace to validate and update the stock level.
** Cancelations are automatically accepted for orders with the status New. For orders with a different status, cancelations must be manually accepted or rejected by the merchant.
Settings and configuration
Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every marketplace includes the steps listed below.
- Go through the Setup.
- Create a Product selection.
- Complete the Categorization.
- Set up the Mappings: content, offers, and carriers.
- Configure the Pricing: rules and currency conversion.
- Finish the Activation.
- Check the Listed products overview.
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
Setup
On digitec/Galaxus
digitec/Galaxus uses an FTP system to upload content every x hours. ChannelEngine structures your product and content data into designated folders, and then uploads these to the digitec/Galaxus' FTP server using the SFTP protocol.
Before setting up the channel, contact digitec/Galaxus to request a switch to the FTP system. A specific folder structure must be set up on the SFTP server for ChannelEngine to update digitec/Galaxus. If the correct folder structure is not in place, the channel cannot be activated.
On ChannelEngine
- Go to the Setup page of your digitec/Galaxus marketplace.
- Enter your FTP username and FTP password in the Connection section.
- Click Save.
Advanced settings
Map custom GTIN - by default, ChannelEngine automatically maps and exports your product GTINs to digitec/Galxus, and no manual mapping is required. However, for some products, such as refurbished products, digitec/Galxus may require new GTINs. Enable this setting to make the GTIN attribute available for mapping in Content mappings.
Provider type
To complete the setup, select your Provider type under the Advanced settings section of the Setup page. The provider type relates to the way VAT and duties are determined, and changes the type of attributes which become available during the Mappings stage.
ChannelEngine transfers prices with the correct VAT rates and currency based on the provider type. E.g.: if the provider type is EU without fiscal representation, the optional attribute Price (EUR) becomes mandatory, and ChannelEngine uploads prices in euros.
Select the appropriate provider type from the dropdown menu. Note that ChannelEngine does not support the supplier types Retail (CH) or Retail (Non-CH).
- CH marketplace - select this provider type if you are a merchant in Switzerland.
- DE marketplace - select this provider type if you are a merchant in Germany.
- CH marketplace EU hub (CH) - select this provider type if you are a merchant in Switzerland from the EU with Swiss (CH) fiscal representation.
- CH marketplace EU hub (EU) - select this provider type if you are a merchant in Switzerland from the EU without Swiss (CH) fiscal representation.
Invoice uploads
To configure your invoice settings, click Advanced settings. You can then click the dropdown menu Enable invoice uploading, which contains the following options:
- ChannelEngine invoices - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it automatically generates an invoice and attaches it to the shipment before exporting it.
- Merchant invoices (optional) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it exports it – even if there is no invoice attached to it.
- Merchant invoices (required) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it only exports it if an invoice is attached to it. If not, you receive a notification.
- None - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it takes no action other than notifying you that no invoice is present.
If you select one of the Merchant invoices options, make sure to upload the invoice to ChannelEngine via the Merchant API or via the web interface. To learn more, check out the article ChannelEngine: merchant invoices.
Categorization
There are two methods of categorization on digitec/Galaxus. The first method is via the Categorization page on ChannelEngine, following the standard process as described in the ChannelEngine: Categorization article. It is mandatory to categorize all products via the Categorization page before you can list them on digitec/Galaxus, but this is a straightforward process – and all categories are listed in English.
The second method involves using the Category attribute, which can be mapped on the Content mappings tab on the Mappings page. Based on the values mapped to this attribute, the digitec/Galaxus system employs machine learning to determine the most suitable category for your products. This optimization is aimed at increasing product findability and improving your storefront's performance.
This is an optional attribute. If you choose not to map it, the product category is taken from the Categorization page. If you do map it, ChannelEngine exports its values, overriding the categories assigned via the Categorization page.
Mappings
Based on your provider type (see the Setup section), the following pricing and content attributes are required:
Provider type | Sales price excl. VAT | VAT rate percentage | Country of origin |
Marketplace DE | Sales price excl. VAT EUR | VAT rate percentage (Germany) | not required |
Marketplace CH | Sales price excl. VAT CHF | VAT rate percentage (Switzerland) | not required |
Marketplace EU-hub (CH) without fiscal representation | Sales price excl. VAT EUR | Not required | required |
Marketplace EU-Hub (EU) with fiscal representation. | Sales price excl. VAT CHF | VAT rate percentage (Switzerland) | required |
Content
digitec/Galaxus has two marketplaces for Switzerland and Germany, respectively. As a result, there are four different language attributes for English, French, German, and Italian to cover English and three of the official Swiss languages. For attribute mapping, English and German are the preferred languages. If you wish to add values in other languages, contact the marketplace.
There are no category-related attributes for digitec/Galaxus, as the attributes are fixed for all categories. HTML tags are not supported in product descriptions or any other text-based attribute.
digitec/Galaxus have strict guidelines related to the quality of the product data you submit. To read more about these requirements, check the Product data quality guidelines in their help center.
All products (required)
- Brand name - the name of the brand, up to a maximum of 100 characters.
- GTIN - the product's unique GTIN, such as an EAN. This attribute is available only if custom GTIN attribute mapping is enabled in Advanced settings. If unmapped, the ChannelEngine fallback value is used.
-
Product image - the main product image URL. See the following examples of accepted product images: digitec/Galaxus. The image requirements are:
-
The main image should be a frontal view of the product on a white background.
The file formats accepted are JPEG, JPG, and PNG. - The longest side of the image must be at least 600 px (do not add a border around the product).
- The file size must not exceed 8 MB per image.
- 3D images are not supported.
- Do not include placeholder images, invitations to buy, advertising texts, campaign texts, or promotional overlays.
- Avoid using logos, watermarks, awards, or generic images.
- If a product has multiple variants, the image must depict the specific color or size of that variant.
- More information on image requirements can be found in the article Media data in the digitec/Galaxus help center.
-
The main image should be a frontal view of the product on a white background.
-
Product title (German) - the product name in German, up to a maximum of 100 characters (e.g.: 'iPhone 12 Pro'). The following guidelines apply:
- Product titles should be checked for proper spelling and capitalization, including title case. E.g.: Nitro Ultra Turbo Extra 2023.
- It is recommended to define an 'imaginary' name or synonym for products with the same name as the product category.
- It is acceptable to include manufacturer part numbers in the product title, so long as it forms part of the product's name.
- Product titles should be consistent and stripped of brand, category, specifications (size, color, etc.), advertisements or special offers, trademark or copyright, special characters, and manufacturer numbers.
- Weight - the weight of the product in grams. Maximum of 100 characters. E.g.: 250.
All products (optional)
- Category - utilizes machine learning to automatically determine the correct category to assign to your products. See the Categorization section. Categories should be provided in German wherever possible, but English is also accepted.
- Color - the color of the product. If there are multiple color values for a single product, separate them with a semicolon or hyphen. E.g.: blue;red;yellow or blue-red-yellow.
- Color code - the main color code of the product.
- Composition (English, French, German, and Italian) - a description of the materials or composition of the product in one of the four supported languages, up to a maximum of 4,000 characters. Basic HTML formatting is supported, but URLs and bulleted lists are not allowed.
- Country of origin - the two-letter code of the country where the product was made. E.g.: DE, FR, NL, etc.
- Dead-on-arrival period - the number of days in which the dead-on-arrival policy applies to the product if it arrives damaged. E.g.: 3.
- Height/length/width (cm) - the dimensions of the product in centimeters.
-
Long description (English, French, German, and Italian) - the description of the product in one of the four supported languages, up to a maximum of 4,000 characters. The requirements are:
- Include the most important information and keywords within the first 160-500 characters.
- This should be unique content, which is not duplicated across products or from other websites.
- Do not use a 'we/us' perspective. E.g.: "We developed this product so that...".
- Check the content for spelling, capitalization, and grammatical errors.
- Avoid using all capital letters. E.g.: FOR EXAMPLE.
- Avoid HTML tags or formatting of any kind.
- Avoid usage of the word 'new' or other synonyms. The preferred wording for new models would be "successor model of ...".
- Avoid including incentives to buy, obvious advertisements, or mentions of special offers.
- Do not include trademarks, copyright, registered trademark symbols, or any other special characters.
- Do not include warranty information, retailer names, or price details.
- Manufacturer key - the manufacturer part number (MPN), between 4 and 50 characters in length.
- Material - the material the product consists of. E.g.: aluminum.
- Minimum age (France, Germany, and Italy) - the minimum age required to use the product, in years. E.g.: 13.
- Nutritional value (English, French, German, and Italian) - a description of the nutritional content of the product in any of the four supported languages.
- Product images 2-8 - the additional product image URLs. For the requirements, see Product image.
- Product remark - any additional remarks about the product.
- Product title in English/French/Italian - the product title in a complementary language, following the same conventions as noted for the Product title (German) attribute.
- Release date (English, French, German, and Italian) - the release date of the product for new releases. This is displayed on the product detail page.
- Return type - the type of return applicable to the product, selected from a list of fixed values. E.g.: bring in, onsite, pick-up and return/manufacturer's information.
- Size - the size of the product. E.g.: small, medium, S, M, L, etc.
- Target group - the target group of the product. E.g.: men, women, children, etc.
- Tares code - the Swiss commodity code (TARIC) for merchants using the EU-hub provider type. Maximum of 14 characters.
- TARIC code - the Swiss customs tariff number. Maximum of 9 characters.
-
Country of origin - the country of production of the product, in ISO format (e.g.: DE, NL, etc.). Maximum of 2 characters. This attribute is required for the provider types below:
- Marketplace EU-Hub (CH) without fiscal representation
- Marketplace EU-Hub (EU) with fiscal representation.
- Warranty period - the warranty period of the product in months. E.g.: 24.
- WEEE number - the product's Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) registration number. If you sell products in Germany, the WEEE number is required.
Offer
Required
- Purchase price excl. VAT - the purchase price excluding VAT, but including product fees.
- Sales price excl. VAT - the sales price of the retail pack sold (e.g.: consumer unit), excluding VAT.
Optional
- Restock date - the date the product is restocked.
- Minimum order quantity - the minimum quantity required for purchasing.
- Order quantity steps - the quantity of the product that can be ordered in intervals. E.g.: 5, 10, 20.
- VAT rate percentage - the VAT rate as an integer, excluding the percentage sign.
Carrier
Carrier mapping is mandatory on digitec/Galaxus. If your preferred logistics service provider is not mentioned on the approved carrier list below, contact digitec/Galaxus.
Approved carrier list
- Swiss Post
- DHL
- DHL Freight
- Hermes
- TNT Express
- DPD
- UPS
- GLS
Pricing
Prices should be provided in CHF or EUR, based on your provider type. E.g.: in EUR for provider type Marketplace DE.
Additional information
Shipments
ChannelEngine sends shipment information to digitec/Galaxus, referred to by the marketplace as dispatch notifications. Partial shipments are supported. For returns or replacement deliveries, no shipping message should be sent.
Order extra data
Key |
Conditional* |
Description |
udx.dg.customer_type |
No | Indicates whether the order is private or business |
|
No | Indicates whether the delivery type is direct delivery or warehouse delivery. |
* Conditional fields are only displayed if the marketplace provides a value.
FAQs
How often does ChannelEngine run export tasks?
ChannelEngine performs export tasks to digitec/Galaxus once an hour.
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