Kroger: marketplace guide

About this guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Cincinnati-based marketplace Kroger. Here you can find information on how to request a Kroger 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

Additional information

FAQs

Commercial information

Founded	1883
Founder	Barney Kroger
Headquarters	Cincinnati, United States
Area served (orders)	United States
Revenue	USD 148 billion (2022)
Number of monthly visits	circa 35 million
Website	Kroger
Setup cost	none
Commission	8-15%
Other costs	none
Payment	TBD
Product categories	baby/kids, beauty, cleaning, electronics, games/toys, garden/outdoor, grocery/food, health, home décor/furniture, household appliances, housewares, personal care, pet, pharmacy, school/office supplies, sports equipment, video games
Input language	English
Input currency	USD
Content creation	yes
Minimum number of SKUs	no
Advertisement options	no
Profile on ChannelEngine	Kroger

How to request an account

To start selling on Kroger, complete the new seller interest form. A number of requirements apply before you can be considered for a merchant account. E.g.:

• Relevant assortment
• GS1-certified UPC12 or EAN13
• US-based bank account and account number
• Free returns
• Products shipped from a US-based warehouse

Associated costs

Kroger does not charge a setup or a monthly fixed fee. However, it does charge a commission – which ranges from 8% to 15%, depending on the product category.

Marketplace features

Supported	Not supported
Product content	Automatic relationships
Product offers	Refurbished products
Cancelations (merchant)1	Repricing
Returns (merchant)3	Cancelations (marketplace)2
Carrier mapping	Returns (marketplace)
HTML formatting (limited)	Shipments
Orders	Sales channels4
Product variations (color/flavor/scent/size)	GTIN matching5
Multiple stock locations	Marketplace fulfillment service
Bundles

¹ You can either cancel the full order line or some of the products included in it.

² Kroger automatically cancels orders one day after the assigned shipping deadline.

³ The minimum return window is 30 days. Note that you should be able to cover return shipping fees.

⁴ 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.

⁵ Although Kroger has a GTIN attribute, the matching of product content with product offers is based on the product's SKU.

Settings and configuration

Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every marketplace includes the steps listed below.

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

Kroger 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 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

Categorization on Kroger is straightforward, and all categories are listed in English.

Mappings

Content

All products (required)

• Category - the product's category code, which is provided to you during the onboarding process. E.g.: 031661110079.
• Image URL front - the product's main image. This should be a front view of the product. The following requirements apply:
  • Minimum dimensions - 1,000 x 1,000px.
  • Background - white or transparent.
  • Maximum size - 5 MB.
  • File format - JPG or PNG.
  • Recommended resolution - 300 DPI.
  • Color mode - RGB, CMYK, YCbCr, HLS, HSB.
  • Cover at least 70% image area.
• Product description - the product's description, including any key features or benefits. The maximum number of characters is 1,950, including HTML formatting (strong, ul, ol, li, and p are supported).
• Product title - the product's title. The following requirements apply:
  • The maximum number of characters is 93.
  • Capitalize the first letter of each word.
  • No subjective comments.
  • No commas.
• Seller product identifier - your unique product identifier, such as the SKU. 
• UPC12 - the 12-digit barcode that refers to the product. This should be UPC or EAN13.

All products (optional)

• Color description - the product's main color, used to identify product variants. The maximum length is 500 characters. E.g.: fire engine red. 
• Flavor description - the product's main flavor, used to identify product variants. The maximum length is 500 characters. E.g.: nacho cheese. 
• GTIN14 - the 14-digit barcode that refers to the product. This should be EAN14. This is the unique product identifier on Kroger.
• Scent description - the product's main scent, used to identify product variants. The maximum length is 500 characters. E.g.: pumpkin spice. 
• Seller suggested brand - the product's brand, which is a free-form text field. The maximum length is 200 characters. E.g.: 'My Brand'. 
• Variant group code - the value used to group related product variants (children) under a single parent product.

Offer

All products (required)

The only mandatory offer mapping is Price. This is your desired sale price, after (re)price rules are applied.

All products (optional)

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

• 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 all Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• 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.
• 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. For more information on this, check out the article Lead time to ship in Mirakl's help center.
• Minimum quantity alert - map this attribute to receive a notification from Mirakl 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. If this marketplace makes use of logistic class codes, they can be found below.

Code	Label	Description
INIT	Small	Small parcels - up to 10 lbs
MED	Medium	Medium parcels - more than 10, but less than 50 lbs
LRG	Large	Large parcels - more than 50, but less than 150 lbs

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.
• The discounted price is only exported if it is lower than the base price.
• If you do not want to set a bulk discount, leave the Discount quantity threshold attribute unmapped – otherwise, the export is broken.
• 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 highly recommended on Kroger. You can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by Kroger. This allows for working tracking codes in the back-end, as well as for the buyer. If your default carrier is missing, please contact Kroger.

Kroger prohibits the use of Amazon logistics, or any other multi-channel fulfillment from other retailers. When shipping to post office boxes, you can use USPS or FedEx Ground Economy as your carrier. For shipments to military bases, only USPS can be used.

Pricing

Kroger 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 use the Channel status filter (e.g.: products that ChannelEngine has failed to exported, such as those with an empty GTIN or that do not exist on the marketplace yet, are shown as Invalid) or the Validation and feedback tab to see all known errors for specific products.

Alternatively, you can access the marketplace's back-end and download the error report generated by Mirakl. To do so:

1. Log in to the Mirakl back-end and go to Catalog, Product imports.
2. Identify the latest report and click the See details button by it.
3. Download the CSV file Non-integrated products report.

Additional information

Order extra data items

When an order is imported to ChannelEngine, ChannelEngine also fetches extra data items related to the order itself – or to order lines. This extra data is specific to this marketplace. An explanation of each can be found below: 

Order extra data

Keys	Conditional*	Description
k-shiporder-id	No	The ID assigned to the shipped order by Kroger.
k-axordernumber	Yes	The picking list (child/suborder) that AX creates when it splits items to different destinations (warehouse, LogicBroker, Mirakl).

* Conditional fields are only display if the marketplace provides a value. 

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

Can I map attributes on ChannelEngine and in the Mirakl back-end?

No. Mapping attributes in the Mirakl marketplace back-end interferes with ChannelEngine's content export. Therefore, it is recommended to stick to categorizing and mapping content only on ChannelEngine.

Why am I not receiving feedback on my content and/or offer exports?

Chances are you are receiving the feedback. However, different types of error report can take a couple of hours or several days to be generated:

• Offer feedback
  • Error reports are mostly generated automatically, and are imported quickly.
• Content feedback
  • Transformation error report - this is automatically generated, and usually imported within a maximum of one day.
  • Conventional error report - this requires a manual review by the Mirakl-based marketplace, and not all do so. It can take several days for this report to be imported.

Note that the previous feedback report is not removed from ChannelEngine until both the latest transformation and conventional reports have been fully processed by ChannelEngine – or no new reports have been generated because there are no errors to report.