Lowe's: marketplace guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Mooresville-based marketplace Lowe's. Here you can find information on how to request a Lowe's 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
• Mappings
• Pricing
• Listed products

FAQs

Commercial information

How to request an account

To start selling on Lowe's, submit an application on their website. To qualify as a seller, you must meet the following requirements:

• Your business must be registered in the United States. You must provide a valid US business address, W-9 form, and Employer Identification Number (EIN).
• You must meet Lowe's shipping requirements:
  • Use approved carriers (UPS, USPS, or FedEx).
  • Ship all orders from within the United States.
  • Fulfill parcel orders within 24 business hours of receiving the order.
  • Fulfill LTL orders within three business days of receiving the order.
• All products must have GS1-certified Universal Product Codes (UPCs) printed on the product.

Associated costs

Lowe's does not charge any setup or monthly fees. However, it does charge a commission on sales that ranges between 8% and 15% depending on the product category. 

Marketplace features

* 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, 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

Lowe's 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.

Mappings

Content

All products (required)

The following required attribute is common to all Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• Export strategy - choose a strategy for exporting the product data. You can select from the following export strategies:
  • Yes - export all of the product content to the marketplace, including its 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.

• Are PFAS chemicals intentionally added to the product or component? - specify if per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are intentionally added to the product or any of its components.
• Barcode - the product's barcode, which must be a valid EAN or UPC.
• Barcode type - the format of the barcode. E.g.: EAN-13.
• Brand - the product's brand. If the product is not branded, enter 'Unbranded'. If the required brand is missing from this list, contact Lowe's to have it added.
• CA residents: Prop 65 warning(s) - specify if the product contains chemicals or materials known to cause harm in the state of California.
• Contains wood indicator - specify if the product contains wood.
• Country of origin - the country where the product was manufactured, produced, or grown.
• Customer minimum order quantity - the minimum quantity of the product that can be purchased.
• Customer multiple order quantity - the quantity increments in which a buyer can order the product. E.g.: if set to 5, the buyer can order 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. units.
• Customer order lead time - the time it takes to ship the order since it was placed on the marketplace, including weekend days.
• Customer order lead time UOM - the unit of measure used for Customer order lead time. E.g.: days.
• Dimensions UOM - the unit of measure used for the product's dimensions (depth, width, height).
• Does item have any legal selling, age, or shipping restrictions? - specify if the product has any legal or compliance-related restrictions for sale, shipment, or age-based purchase.
• Front-facing image - the image that clearly shows the front of the product.
• Gross weight - the weight of the product, including the packaging.
• Hazmat type - select the type of hazardous material the product contains, if applicable. E.g.: specify if it is a chemical product, contains a battery, or includes a fluorescent or CFL bulb. A safety data sheet (SDS) is required if the product is handled, stored, shipped, or disposed of by Lowe's.
• In box depth - the depth of the packaged product.
• In box height - the height of the packaged product.
• In box width - the width of the packaged product.
• Lower level packaging type - specify the product's packaging type.
• Multiple ship from points - specify if the product can be shipped from multiple warehouse locations.
• Net content - the number of units included in the product, as stated on the packaging. E.g.: the number of tiles in a box.
• Net content UOM - the unit used for the product's net content. E.g.: pieces, rolls.
• Packaging type - the type of container used to package the product. E.g.: pallet.
• Product description - the product's long description. The maximum character count is 254.
• Product title - the product's title.
• Selling unit of measure - the unit used to sell the product. E.g.: boxes, cartons.
• Supplier bullet 1-3 - the product's highlights or unique selling points. The maximum character count is 254.
• Weight UOM - the unit of measure used for the product's weight. E.g.: kg.

All products (optional)

• Begin date - the first day when restrictions take effect. Use in combination with Restriction type and End date.
• End date - the last day when restrictions are in effect. Use in combination with Restriction type and Begin date.
• Description of 'other' PFAS purpose - describe why PFAS were intentionally added to the product, if applicable. Use this if no standard reason applies under Purpose of use of PFAS in any product component.
• Enter the exact quantity (PPM) of each PFAS or total organic fluorine qty (PPM) - the quantity in parts per million (PPM) for each PFAS substance or the total organic fluorine content.
• Enterprise - customer maximum order quantity - the maximum quantity of the product that can be purchased through enterprise channels. E.g.: you can limit generator orders to one per buyer during emergencies to manage supply.
• Item disclaimer - the disclaimer displayed next to the product's image. E.g.: accessories not included.
• List the chemical abstracts service (CAS) number or description for all PFAS included - provide the chemical abstracts service (CAS) numbers or description for each PFAS included in the product. Ex: 1763-23-1.
• Online - customer maximum order quantity - the maximum quantity of the product that can be purchased through online channels. E.g.: you can limit generator orders to one per buyer during emergencies to manage supply.
• Prop 65 warning label - the product's applicable warning in compliance with California's Proposition 65 regulation.
• Purpose of use of PFAS in any product component - select the reason why PFAS are added to the product. If no predefined reason applies, select 'Other' and describe your reason under Description of 'other' PFAS purpose.
• Restriction type - select a restriction that applies to the product's sales or pickup.
• Ship from VBU number - the vendor business unit (VBU) number that is assigned to the main warehouse location. If more than one number applies, separate them with commas.
• State - the US state where the restriction applies.
• Sub brand - the product's secondary brand, if applicable.
• Supplier bullet 4-9 - the product's highlights or unique selling points. The maximum character count is 254.

Offer

Required

• Price - the product's regular selling price, excluding VAT. If you use pricing v2, this attribute is not mapped under Offer mappings. Instead, it is configured under Pricing, Price rules.

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, if you use pricing v2:

• 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.
• Fee groups - the ID of the fee group you want to assign to this product. To learn more, check out the article ChannelEngine: marketplace fees.
• 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. 

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. This attribute only applies if you use pricing v1.
• 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.

Working with discounts

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 – 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.

Pricing v2

• To set up a discount, map the Strike price attribute to your regular price. Also, map the Discount start date and Discount end date attributes to indicate the start and end date of your discount.
• Under Pricing, 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 the ChannelEngine: price rules v2 article.
• 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.
• Same as in pricing v1, 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. 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 not required on Lowe's. However, you can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by Lowe's. This allows for working tracking links in the back-end, as well as for the buyer. If your default carrier is missing, please contact Lowe's. 

Lowe's requires both a tracking code and a return tracking code to be submitted with a shipment.

Pricing

Lowe's requires 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 export, 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.

FAQs

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

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

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.