BrandAlley: marketplace guide
About this guide
This is a ChannelEngine guide on the London-based marketplace BrandAlley. Here you can find information on how to request a BrandAlley account, how to configure this marketplace on ChannelEngine, and what the specific requirements are.
Table of contents
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
About the marketplace
BrandAlley is the United Kingdom's market leader for time-limited, members-only, private sales. They work with premium brand partners across all product categories, including fashion, lifestyle, homewares, and beauty.
Commercial information
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Sven Lung |
| Headquarters | London |
| Area served (orders) | UK, France |
|
Area served (shipments) |
UK, EU countries |
| Revenue | circa GBP 100 million (2024) |
| Number of monthly visits | circa 6 million |
| Website | brandalley.co.uk |
| Setup cost | none |
| Commission | depends on product and volume of offers |
| Other costs | depends on merchant |
| Payment | every 10 days |
| Product categories | Beauty, electronics, fashion, garden, home appliances, homewares, home improvement, lifestyle, sports, toys |
| Input language | English, French |
| Input currency | EUR, GBP |
| Content creation | yes |
| Minimum number of SKUs | no |
| Advertisement options | yes |
| Profile on ChannelEngine | BrandAlley |
How to request an account
The requirements to sell on BrandAlley are as follows:
- Collaborate with BrandAlley to curate products.
- Comply with UK VAT regulations if you plan to sell in the UK.
To start selling on BrandAlley, you can:
- Request a seller account through Mirakl Connect.
- Contact BrandAlley to request a seller account.
Associated costs
BrandAlley does not charge a setup fee. However, it charges a variable monthly fee based on the merchant, a variable commission fee based on the products you sell, and the volume of offers you send to the marketplace.
Marketplace features
| Supported | Not supported |
|---|---|
| Sales channels1 | Bundles |
| Product content | Automatic relationships |
| Product offers | Refurbished products |
| Orders (split order lines) | Repricing |
| Shipments | Cancelations (marketplace) |
| Cancelations (merchant) | Marketplace fulfillment service |
| Returns (merchant) | Multiple stock locations |
| Carrier mapping | Returns (marketplace) |
| HTML formatting | |
| Product variations (size/color) | |
| Invoice uploads | |
| Settlements |
- 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 channel on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every channel 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.
- Fill in the Stock settings.
- Finish the Activation.
- Check the Listed products overview.
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
Setup
On ChannelEngine
BrandAlley 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, go to Advanced settings. Then, select one option from the dropdown menu in the Enable invoice uploading field, which contains the following options:
- ChannelEngine invoices - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, ChannelEngine automatically generates an invoice and attaches it to the shipment before exporting the shipment.
- Merchant invoices (optional) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, ChannelEngine exports the shipment – even if there is no invoice attached to it.
- Merchant invoices (required) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, ChannelEngine only exports the shipment if an invoice is attached to it. If not, you receive a notification.
- None - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, ChannelEngine 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: upload merchant invoices.
Mappings
Content
All products (required)
-
Image 1 - the product's main image. The requirements are:
- Size - 1,000 KB.
- Format - PNG and JPG.
- Dimensions - 500x500 px.
- Product brand - the product's brand.
- Shop SKU - the product's SKU, a.k.a. the Merchant product number on ChannelEngine.
The following required attribute is common to all Mirakl-based marketplaces:
-
Export strategy - choose a strategy for exporting product data. You can select from the following export strategies:
- Yes - export all product content to the marketplace, including the EAN (GTIN), category, and other mapped attributes. This option is ideal if you manage both product content and offers through ChannelEngine for the marketplace. Before you set this option, ensure that you map all required attributes.
-
No - do not export product content to the marketplace. Choose this option to keep the product content excluded from exports and only export the offers. This option is ideal if you do not want to export the product content yet, or you want to export only the product offers because the product content already exists on the marketplace.
NB: the default export strategy is Yes, even if the Export strategy attribute is left unmapped.
All products (optional)
- Color - the product's color.
- Country of manufacture - the country where the product was made.
- Image 2-9 - the product's additional images. For image requirements, check Image 1.
- Product description [FR, GB] - the product's main description in French or English. Map this attribute for each sale channel in which you want to list the product, in French for France, and in English for United Kingdom. HTML formatting is supported
- Product short description [FR, GB] - the product's short description in French or English. Map this attribute for each sale channel in which you want to list the product, in French for France, and in English for United Kingdom. HTML formatting is supported.
- Size [FR, UK] - the product's size. Select the variation option per sales channel.
- SKU height cm - the product's height, in cm.
- SKU length cm - the product's length, in cm.
- SKU original RRP - the product's recommended retail price.
- SKU volume cm - the product's total volume, in cm.
- SKU weight kg gross - the product's weight, in kg.
- SKU width cm - the product's width, in cm.
- Variant group code - the unique code used to group variations. If the product has variations, provide a parent product code.
Offer
Required
- Price - the product's default selling price. If a discount price is set, Price becomes the 'discounted from' price. Enter a numeric decimal value and do not include the currency.
- SKU barcode - the product's valid GTIN. E.g.: 13-digit EAN. This attribute links product data to product offers on BrandAlley.
The only mandatory offer attributes are Price, which is the default price attribute, and SKU barcode. If you only sell the product in France, you can map the Price to whatever price you charge in France. If you also sell the same product in the UK, and its price there differs from your French price, make sure to map the optional Price [GB] field accordingly.
Optional
- Price [FR, GB] - use this attribute to map a country-specific price, which is different from default. For more information, check out the article Mirakl-based marketplaces: setting up sales channels.
- Available end date - the date from when the product is no longer available for sale on BrandAlley. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
-
Available start date - the date from when the product becomes available for sale on BrandAlley, in the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ.
NB: if you update an offer and do not provide availability start and end dates (if previously mapped), the product remains available indefinitely on BrandAlley after export.
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.
- Category-specific ECO attributes - depending on your sales country, you might be required to map additional ECO attributes for products in specific categories. Review which ECO attributes to map within each category.
If pricing v2 is activated in your environment, you will see the following offer attributes, which are common to all Mirakl-based marketplaces:
- Allow promotion below min price - set it to ‘true’ to allow the promotion price to drop below your product's minimum price. To learn more, check out the article ChannelEngine: promotions.
- Strike price - the regular selling price. Use it in combination with the Price attribute to set up a discount/strikethrough pricing. To learn more, check out the 'Working with discounts' section of this article.
- Additionally, the Fee groups attribute appears in Mappings, Fee group mappings, if pricing v2 is activated. Map the marketplace fee group ID of the product there.
The following offer attributes are also common to all Mirakl-based marketplaces:
- Discount start date - the date from which the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. Input the date as a fixed value. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. All dates follow American month-day formatting, and all times follow 24-hour formatting in the UTC timezone. E.g.: 2026-10-25 15:30:00 +01 will start your discount on 25 October 2026 at 3:30 PM, one hour ahead of UTC time.
- Discount end date - the date until which the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. Input the date as a fixed value. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. All dates follow American month-day formatting, and all times follow 24-hour formatting in the UTC timezone. E.g.: 2026-10-30 23:59:59 +01 will end your discount on 30 October 2026 at 11:59 PM and 59 seconds, one hour ahead of UTC time.
- Discount price - the product's sale price, if applicable. This attribute must have a lower value than the Price attribute. This attribute only applies if you use pricing v1.
- Discount quantity threshold - the minimum quantity required for the discount rate to be available.
- Leadtime to shipment - the number of days before you ship the product. 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 the shipping class using the marketplace’s codes and not with the labels that are visible in the partner portal's user interface. These codes vary per marketplace. If this marketplace makes use of logistic class codes, they can be found below.
Logistic class codes
| Code | Label | Description |
INIT |
Default logistic family | - |
XXXS |
Dimensions up to 30 x 20 x 4 cm and weight less than 500 g | Dimensions up to 30 x 20 x 4 cm and weight less than 500 g |
XXS |
Dimensions up to 40 x 30 x 10 cm and weight between 0.5-1 kg | Dimensions up to 40 x 30 x 10 cm and weight between 0.5-1 kg |
XS |
Dimensions up to 40 x 40 x 40 cm and weight between 1-2 kg | Dimensions up to 40 x 40 x 40 cm and weight between 1-2 kg |
S |
Dimensions up to 60 x 45 x 45 cm and weight between 2-5 kg | Dimensions up to 60 x 45 x 45 cm and weight between 2-5 kg |
M |
Dimensions up to 60 x 45 x 45 cm and weight between 5-10 kg | Dimensions up to 60 x 45 x 45 cm and weight between 5-10 kg |
L |
Dimensions up to 100 x 45 x 35 cm and weight less than 5 kg | Dimensions up to 100 x 45 x 35 cm and weight less than 5 kg |
XL |
Dimensions up to 100 x 45 x 35 cm and weight between 5-10 kg | Dimensions up to 100 x 45 x 35 cm and weight between 5-10 kg |
XXL |
Dimensions up to 100 x 100 x 100 cm and weight less than 10 kg | Dimensions up to 100 x 100 x 100 cm and weight less than 10 kg |
0S1 |
Dimensions up to 120 x 120 x 120 cm and weight less than 15 kg | Dimensions up to 120 x 120 x 120 cm and weight less than 15 kg |
0S2 |
Dimensions over 120 x 120 x 120 cm OR weight between 15-20 kg | Dimensions over 120 x 120 x 120 cm OR weight between 15-20 kg |
0S3 |
Dimensions over 120 x 120 x 120 cm OR weight over 20 kg | Dimensions over 120 x 120 x 120 cm OR weight over 20 kg |
Carrier
Carrier mapping is not required on BrandAlley. However, you can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by BrandAlley. This allows for working tracking codes in the back-end, as well as for the buyer. If your default carrier is missing, contact BrandAlley.
Pricing
Working with discounts
These instructions apply to most Mirakl marketplaces. If there are any exceptions on this marketplace, these are noted below.
Pricing v1
- To set up a discount, 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.
- To set a bulk discount, the Discount quantity threshold must be set to a value higher than 1. For example, a value of 2 indicates that the buyer must purchase two or more products at the same time to benefit from the discount.
Pricing v2
- To set up a discount, in the Offer mappings step, map the Strike price attribute to your regular price. Then, map the Discount start date and Discount end date attributes to indicate the start and end dates of your discount.
- If you do not want to set a bulk discount, leave the Discount quantity threshold attribute unmapped. To learn how to set up a bulk discount, check out Bulk discounts.
- In the Pricing step, go to Price rules. Map the Price attribute to the discounted price. Both Min. price and Base price fields must be mapped. Note that ChannelEngine exports the higher of the two values – typically the Base price. To learn more, check out ChannelEngine: price rules v2.
- The Price and Strike price attributes cannot be mapped with the same value. ChannelEngine only sets a discount if the value in Price (Base price) is lower than the value in Strike price.
- If set up correctly, your product displays a discount label and a strikethrough price on the channel.
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. Use the Channel status filter or the Validation and feedback tab to view all known errors for specific products.
If you see either of the below statuses, refer to the article ChannelEngine: why is my product listed as 'Product not found' in the inventory report?:
- Product not found in inventory report
- Product not in offer file
Products that ChannelEngine has failed to export are shown as Invalid, e.g.: products with an empty GTIN or that do not yet exist on the marketplace.
Alternatively, download the error report generated by Mirakl. To do so:
- Log onto the Mirakl platform and go to Catalog, Product imports.
- Identify the latest report and click the See details button.
- Download the CSV file Non-integrated products report.
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 on the Mirakl platform?
No. Mapping attributes on the Mirakl marketplace platform interferes with ChannelEngine's content export. Therefore, it is recommended to categorize and map content only on ChannelEngine.
Why am I not receiving feedback on my content and/or offer exports?
Chances are that you are receiving the feedback. However, different types of error reports 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 the conventional reports have been fully processed by ChannelEngine. If there are no errors to report, no new reports are generated.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.