Groupcard: marketplace guide
About this guide
This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Aalsmeer-based marketplace Groupcard. Here you can find information on how to request a Groupcard account, how to configure this marketplace on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.
Table of contents
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
About the marketplace
Groupcard works with budgets made available to a particular target group via a gift card or a voucher. These budgets come from national and local governments, as well as employers. The target group – local residents or employees – can then redeem their gift card/voucher for products in a webstore.
To learn more about how Groupcard operates, check out the page Information for entrepreneurs on their website.
Commercial information
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Aalsmeer, Netherlands |
| Area served (orders) | Netherlands |
| Website | Groupcard (demo webstore)* |
| Setup cost | none |
| Commission | 7%-11.7% |
| Other costs | none |
| Payment | 10th/monthly |
| Product categories | DIY, gardening, household appliances |
| Input language | Dutch |
| Input currency | EUR |
| Content creation | yes |
|
Minimum number of SKUs |
20 |
|
Advertisement options |
no |
| Profile on ChannelEngine | Groupcard |
* Groupcard uses a multi-tenancy domain structure. This means that each merchant has their own subdomain. E.g.: https://inwisselpagina-test.producthub.app/my-awesome-shop.
How to request an account
To start selling on Groupcard, go to their website, get familiar with Groupcard's requirements, and contact them to express your interest. Groupcard then sends you a digital version of the application documents (in Dutch) you need to submit.
Associated costs
Groupcard does not charge a setup or monthly fee. However, they do charge a commission of 7%-11.7% depending on the product category.
Marketplace features
| Supported | Not supported |
| Product offers (no GTIN matching) | Marketplace fulfillment service |
| Product content | Repricing |
| Orders | Carrier mapping |
| HTML support | Sales channels* |
| Split orders | Marketplace fulfillment service |
| Returns (merchant) | Variations (color/size) |
| Returns (marketplace) | Refurbished products |
| Cancelations |
* 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.
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
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.
Setup
On ChannelEngine
This marketplace does not require the addition of any IDs or keys on ChannelEngine's Setup page. Because it uses the ChannelEngine Channel API, it connects to ChannelEngine instead of the other way around. You need to provide your contact person at the marketplace with the following credentials, so they can connect your account:
- Your account subdomain (i.e.: https://[youraccount].channelengine.net/api)
- The Channel API key, which can be found on the Setup page of the marketplace on ChannelEngine
- Your product feed from ChannelEngine (see below)
Product selection
Groupcard uses ChannelEngine's product feed to fetch products, so it is important to share the correct URL with them. The feed, which is available both in CSV and XML, can be found on the Product selection page of the marketplace on ChannelEngine.
Note that a feed is only made available once a product selection is stored, and the export task has run for the first time.
Categorization
The categorization on Groupcard is straightforward, and all categories are listed in Dutch.
Mappings
Content
Because Groupcard is a Channel API marketplace, the mappings contain all standard ChannelEngine attributes. Some can be left empty, even though they are marked as required. However, it is recommended to map as many attributes as possible. The more you map, the greater the visibility of the product on the marketplace. This, in turn, tends to lead to a higher conversion rate.
Although all attributes are written in English or Dutch, Groupcard requires its content in Dutch.
All products (required)
- Brand - the name of the product's manufacturer or brand. Make sure to spell it exactly as the brand owner spells it. The maximum number of characters is 255.
- Description - the product's description. The maximum number of characters is 65,535. Basic HTML is supported. E.g.: headers (h1-h6), text formatting (b, i, u, strong, br, etc.), bullet lists (ul, li), numbered lists (ol, li), tables (table, tr, th, td).
- EAN - the product's unique 13-digit identifier.
-
Image URL - the link to the product's image. The following requirements apply:
- Minimum resolution - 1024x1024 px.
- File format - PNG, JPEG, WEBP.
- Background - transparent.
- Name - the product's title. The maximum number of characters is 255. It is recommended that you include the product's brand in the title.
- Price - the product's selling price. The maximum number of digits after the decimal point is two. E.g.: 2.75.
- Purchase price - the price at which the product was purchased. The maximum number of digits after the decimal point is two. E.g.: 2.75.
- Stock - the number of products available for sale. E.g.: 25.
All products (optional)
- Breedte (cm) (Width) - the product's width in cm.
- Diepte (cm) (Depth) - the product's depth in cm.
- Dimbaar (Dimmable) - indicate if the product can be increased or decreased in brightness, as opposed to only turned on or off. The options are Dimabaar op LED and Niet dimbaar.
- Energie label (Energy label) - the product's energy label. E.g.: A, B, C.
- Extra image URL 1-9 - the link to the product's additional image. For the image requirements, check out Image URL.
- Fitting (Lamp socket) - the type of lightbulb socket that applies to the product. Select an option from the dropdown.
- Hoogte (cm) (Height) - the product's height in cm.
- Inhoud (L) (Volume) - the product's volume in l.
- Jaarlijks energieverbruik (kWh) (Annual energy consumption) - the annual energy consumption of the product in kWh.
- Kleur (Color) - the product's color. E.g.: steel gray.
- Lichtopbrengst (lumen) (Light output) - the amount of visible light from the product in lm.
- RC-waarde (RC value) - the thermal resistance of the product in m²·K/W.
Custom attributes
To include specific attributes in a custom feed, it is important that these attributes are marked as public. The public status of custom attributes can be managed via the custom field management page, under Products, Custom fields.
You can change the Is public status by clicking the pencil icon and setting it to enabled. More information on custom attribute management can be found in the article Product custom fields. If an attribute is set to public, it is automatically included in the product feed generated for the custom channel. These custom fields are grouped in the element Extra data.
Carrier
There is no carrier mapping required on Groupcard. You can even use an empty shipment method and tracking code for their shipments. However, the end customer does not receive any tracking information in this case, so it is recommended that you include it – as it is done on most marketplaces.
Listed products
Groupcard does not provide feedback via the API, so if you need information regarding the status of a product you need to contact Groupcard.
FAQs
Why are my shipments stuck as 'Not exported yet'?
Groupcard uses ChannelEngine's Channel API, so ChannelEngine does not initiate the import and export of data to and from the marketplace. If your shipments are not exported and not visible in Groupcard's back-end, something is wrong with the import of the shipment information. Please contact Groupcard's customer service to investigate this.
How often does each task run on Groupcard?
By default, Groupcard follows the schedule below. Contact Groupcard to adjust the frequency, if needed.
| Task | Frequency |
| Import product data from ChannelEngine | every 8 hours |
| Import product offers from ChannelEngine | every 5 hours |
| Export orders to ChannelEngine | instantly |
| Import shipments from ChannelEngine | every 5 hours |
| Import returns from ChannelEngine | every 3 hours |
| Import cancelations from ChannelEngine | every 3 hours |
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