belk: marketplace guide

About this guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Charlotte-based marketplace belk. Here you can find information on how to request a belk account, how to configure this marketplace on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.

Table of contents

Commercial information

How to request an account

Associated costs

Marketplace features

Settings and configuration

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

• Setup
• Categorization
• Mappings
• Pricing
• Listed products

FAQs

Commercial information

Founded	1888
Founder	William Henry Belk
Headquarters	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Area served (orders)	United States (excl. Alaska and Hawaii)
Revenue	USD 3.3 billion (2022)
Number of monthly visits	circa 15 million (2023)
Website	belk (only accessible in the US)
Setup cost	none
Commission	15%
Other costs	USD 39.99/month
Payment	per marketplace seller agreement
Product categories	bags, books, cameras, cooking, DIY/gardening, electronics, fashion, films, furniture/interior design, games/toys, household appliances, jewelry/watches, kids/babies, luggage, music, musical instruments, pets, shoes, sports equipment, video games
Input language	English
Input currency	USD
Content creation	yes
Minimum number of SKUs	no
Advertisement options	yes
Profile on ChannelEngine	belk

How to request an account

To start selling on belk, you can either express your interest via Mirakl Connect or contact Mirakl account manager/your customer success manager on ChannelEngine.

The following requirements apply:

• You must be able to ship orders from a US-based warehouse.
• You must be able respond to customer requests and resolve customer-related issues within 48-hour timeframe.
• You must be able to offer phone customer support.
• You must be able to provide both standard shipping (3-10 days) and expedited shipping (1-2 days).
• You must comply with the belk seller agreement.

Associated costs

belk does not charge a setup fee, but it does charge a monthly fee of USD 39.99 and a commission fee of 15%.

Marketplace features

Supported	Not supported
Product content	Automatic relationships
Product offers	Bundles
Orders	HTML formatting
Shipments	Refurbished products
Returns (merchant)	Repricing
Cancelations (merchant)	Cancelations (marketplace)
Carrier mapping	Returns (marketplace)
Product variations (size/color)	Marketplace fulfillment service
Multiple stock locations	Sales channels*

* A marketplace that supports sales channels allows merchants to list and sell products across multiple markets (e.g.: countries, regions, and states), all from the same connection.

Settings and configuration

Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, once you add the marketplace:

1. Go through the Setup.
2. Create a Product selection.
3. Complete the Categorization.
4. Set up the Mappings: content, offers, and carriers.
5. Configure the Pricing: rules and currency conversion.
6. Finish the Activation.
7. Check the Listed products overview.

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

Setup

On ChannelEngine

belk is a Mirakl-based marketplace, so you can connect it with ChannelEngine using a Mirakl Connect SSO account. For more information on this, check out the Mirakl-based channels: SSO authorization article.

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 enable the invoice upload to ChannelEngine via the Merchant API. For that, call the POST /v2/orders/{merchantOrderNo}/invoice endpoint. Note that only invoices in PDF are supported.

Invalid XML characters

To remove invalid XML characters from your product data, click Advanced settings and enable the Check and filter invalid XML characters setting. ChannelEngine checks product data submitted in the XML format for invalid characters (e.g.: Ã, ¢, â, etc.). Once identified, invalid characters are removed or converted to a valid equivalent.

Categorization

Categorization is mandatory in order to have products listed on belk, but it is straightforward – and all categories are listed in English. 

Mappings

Content

All products (required)

• Abbreviated product name - the shortened version of the product's name, visible only in belk's internal systems. This attribute is used for non-customer-facing purposes (back-end; database). 
• Basic style description - the shortened version of the product's description, visible only in belk's internal systems. This attribute is used for non-customer-facing purposes (back-end; database). 
• belk.com product name - the product's name as it is displayed on belk. This should not contain the brand name. E.g.: Short Sleeve Metallic Jumpsuit.
• Brand - the product's brand or manufacturer.
• Main image - the URL of the product's main image. The following requirements apply:
  • Minimum resolution - 900x1,200 ppi. 
  • File format - JPG, PNG (transparent background), TIFF (compressed).
  • Color mode - RGB (8 bits per channel).
  • Background - white, no shadows or color cast.
  • White space around the product, no cropping.
• Main swatch image - the URL of the product variants' thumbnails. The thumbnails are visible on the product's parent page, and showcase different color options.
• NRF color code - the product's color code, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Select a value from the dropdown menu. Note that this attribute is used to create product variations. E.g.: black. 
• NRF size code - the product's size code, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Select a value from the dropdown menu. Note that this attribute is used to create product variations. E.g.: S. 
• Product description - the product's main description. HTML is not supported.
• Product ID - the product's unique identifier. Map this attribute to the Merchant product number.
• Style# - the product's variant group code, used to create product variations (i.e.: parent-child relationships). Variants are based on the mapped NRF size code and NRF color code attributes.
• UPC - the product's individual 12-digit number, such as a UPC.
• Vendor color description - the product's color.

All products (optional)

• Choking hazard - if the product poses a choking hazard. Options are yes and no.
• Cost - the product's purchase price, that is, the price at which a product is bought by a merchant or retailer.
• Country of origin - the product's country of origin. E.g.: Canada.
• Height - the product's height in inches. E.g.: 5.50.
• Image B, C, D, E - links to the the product's alternate images. Place them in the order you want them shown on belk. For the image requirements, check out Main image. The only additional requirement is that you include a front view, back view, and detail view of the product.
• Length - the product's length in inches. E.g.: 5.50.
• Retail - the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP).
• Swatch Image B, C, D, E - the URL of the additional product variants' thumbnails. These thumbnails are visible on the product's parent page, and showcase different color options.
• Weight - the product's weight in pounds. E.g.: 16.40.
• Width - the product's width in inches. E.g.: 35.

Offer

All products

The only required attribute on belk is Price, which is the desired selling price for the product in USD.

• Discount end date - the date until when the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
• Discount price - the product's sale price, if applicable. This attribute must have a lower value than the Price attribute.
• Discount quantity threshold - the minimum quantity required for the discount rate to be available.
• Discount start date - the date from when the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
• Product tax code - the tax code that applies to specific product categories, which are eligible for a lower sales tax. E.g.: children's clothing, books, medical equipment.

The following offer attributes are common to some Mirakl-based marketplaces, particularly in France and Germany:

• ECO #1-5 - Amount - the amount due for the eco-contribution related to the product. E.g.: 2.50.
• ECO #1-5 - EPR category code - the extended producer responsibility (EPR) code that applies to the product. For a list of category codes, check out the article Providing data to comply with circular economy regulations in Mirakl's help center (note that you need to be logged in to Mirakl to access this page). E.g.: DE-WEEE, FR-DEA, etc. 
• ECO #1-5 - Producer ID - your producer ID, received upon registering with a packaging register, such as Germany's LUCID. The maximum number of characters is 255.

The following offer attributes are common to Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• Leadtime to shipment - the number of days before you ship the product. By default, this is set to two. You can create your own unique rules, if applicable.
• Minimum quantity alert - map this attribute to receive a notification from ChannelEngine if your stock drops below the threshold defined.
• Offer state - the product's condition. Find your option from the dropdown menu by selecting the fixed value to apply to all.
• Product tax code - the taxation code applicable to the product.
• Logistic class - your optional shipping class. Make sure to map it using the marketplace’s codes, not the labels visible in the front-end. These codes vary per marketplace. Below you can find the codes used by this marketplace:

Code	Label	Description
S	Small	Small items less than 2 pounds, and dimension less than 3 feet (LxWxH)
m	Medium	Medium items between 2 and 10 pounds, and dimension less than 6 feet (LxWxH)
l	Large	Large between 10 and 30 pounds, and dimensions less than 12 feet (LxWxH)
o1	Oversize 1	Oversized items over 30 pounds, or dimension more than 12 (LxWxH)
o2	Oversize 2	Oversized items over 50 pounds, or dimension more than 12 feet (LxWxH)

Working with discounts

• To set up a discount, you must map the Discount price, Discount start date, and Discount end date attributes. If you want to set a permanent discount, map the Discount end date attribute with a date in the far future instead of leaving it unmapped. Otherwise the offer is not exported, and errors are shown on the Validation and feedback tab.
• If your discounted price is not lower than the base price, it is not exported.
• If you do not want to set a bulk discount, leave the Discount quantity threshold attribute unmapped – otherwise the export is broken.
• If you do want to set a bulk discount, the Discount quantity threshold must be set to a value higher than 1. E.g.: a value of 2 indicates that two or more of the product must be purchased at the same time for the buyer to benefit from the discount.

Carrier

Carrier mapping is mandatory on belk. If your preferred logistics service provider is not mentioned on the approved carrier list below, you can add an unregistered carrier. 

• DHL
• FedEx
• UPS
• USPS

Pricing

belk requires the prices to be submitted in USD. If you do not have pricing attributes in USD, you need to set a currency conversion.

Listed products

If you have problems with products not appearing on Mirakl-based marketplaces – especially if you are trying to create products – check the Listed products page for more information.

You can either filter on Channel status (select Invalid to show all products that ChannelEngine has not exported, such as products with an empty GTIN or that currently do not exist on the marketplace) or use the Validation and feedback tab to see all known errors for specific products.

For detailed status reports, go to the Mirakl back-end. Their reports contain specific errors if a product or product offer cannot be created. To find them, go to My inventory, Import from file, Track offer imports/Track product imports. By hovering over the 'i' under the Status section, you can see how many products in the file were processed correctly and how many had errors, etc.

If there are errors, the last column shows a downloadable file in which they are listed. The same goes for the product file import, but this can contain multiple files because processing goes through several systems. There is also a manual check of your submitted content, which, once approved, goes to staging as well. Note that you need to map as much as possible to prevent products from not being created.

FAQs

How often does each task run on Mirakl-based marketplaces?

By default, Mirakl-based marketplaces follow the schedule below:

Task	Frequency
Export product data to marketplace	every 60 minutes
Export product offers to marketplace	every 15 minutes
Import product offers from marketplace	every 15 minutes
Import orders from marketplace	every 15 minutes
Export order shipments to marketplace	every 15 minutes
Export returns to marketplace	every 30 minutes