Matalan: marketplace guide

About this guide

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

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

Additional information

FAQs

About the marketplace

Matalan is a British value fashion and homeware retailer with more than 200 stores and an online business that serves around 12 million customers. Since September 2022, Matalan has added third-party brands to its website, which lets you reach Matalan shoppers with your own fashion, footwear, homeware, and beauty ranges.

Commercial information

How to request an account

To start selling on Matalan, apply through the Matalan marketplace team on matalan.co.uk. 

Associated costs

Matalan charges a commission on each sale. Commission, setup costs, and payment terms are set in your agreement with Matalan, so confirm them with your Matalan onboarding contact before you start.

Marketplace features

Settings and configuration

Setting up each channel on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every channel 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. Fill in the Stock settings.
7. Finish the Activation.
8. Check the Listed products overview.

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

The section below describes exceptions to the standard settings and configuration steps required to set up this channel on ChannelEngine. 

Setup

On ChannelEngine

Connection

This channel is a Mirakl-based channel. Therefore, you connect to it with your Mirakl Connect SSO account. For more information on configuring Mirakl Connect SSO with ChannelEngine, 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)

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

• Export strategy - choose a strategy for exporting product data. Select from:
  • 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 on ChannelEngine for the marketplace. Ensure that you map all required attributes.
  • No - do not export product content to the marketplace. Choose this option to keep 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.

• Colour [variant attribute] - the color of the product. Matalan uses this attribute to tell variants within a variant group apart. Select a value from the list.
• Colour swatch - the swatch that represents the color of the product on the product page in hexadecimal format, e.g.: '#0057B8'.
• Commodity code - the customs commodity code (HS code) of the product.
• Country of origin - the country where the product was made. Select a value from the list.
• Dangerous goods - indicates whether the product contains hazardous materials, such as aerosols or batteries.
• Main image - the URL of the main product image. The URL must be publicly accessible.
• Parent colour - the main color group of the product (for example, blue for navy). Matalan uses this value for color filters.
• Product description - the description of the product as shown on the Matalan product page.
• Product name - the name of the product as shown to customers on Matalan.
• Shop SKU - the unique identifier of the product on your side. Every variant needs its own Shop SKU. Map this to your Merchant product no.
• Size [variant attribute] - the size of the product. Matalan uses this attribute to tell variants within a variant group apart.
• Variant group code - the code that groups all variants (colors and sizes) of the same product on one product page. Use the same value for every variant of a product and a different value for each product.

All products (optional)

• Brand - the brand of the product. Matalan sells own-brand and third-party products, so add your brand to make your products easier to find.
• Image 2-6 - the URLs of additional product images. Map one attribute per image. The URLs must be publicly accessible.

Offer

Required

• Price - (appears in Pricing if using pricing v2) the item’s base price/regular sales price. Enter a decimal value. Do not enter a currency. 
• EAN - the barcode of the product. Matalan identifies products and matches offers on the EAN attribute, so every product needs a valid EAN.
• VAT rate - the VAT rate that applies to the product in the United Kingdom. Select an option from the list.

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.
• 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 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. Only map this if you set up a discount. For guidance, check out the Working with discounts section of this article. 
• Map your current selling price in Price in Pricing, Price rules. 
• 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:

• Available start date - the date from which the product becomes available for sale on the marketplace. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ.
• Available end date - the date from which the product is no longer available for sale on the marketplace. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. 
• 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 ISO 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 ISO 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 - (appears only if you use pricing v1) 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 become 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

Carrier

Carrier mapping is not required on Mirakl-based marketplaces. However, with carrier mapping, you can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by this marketplace. Carrier mapping enables ChannelEngine to automatically send the tracking codes to this marketplace, allowing buyers to eventually track the shipment themselves. If your carrier is missing from the list, please directly contact the marketplace.

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

1. To set up your strikethrough price, map the Strike price attribute to your regular price in Offer mappings. 
2. Then, indicate the discount period. Map the Discount start date and Discount end date attributes to indicate the start and end dates of your discount.
3. If you do not want to set a bulk discount, leave the Discount quantity threshold attribute unmapped. 
4. If you do not set up a bulk discount, set up your discount price:
   1. Go to Pricing, Promotions.
   2. Choose your discount method, e.g.: percentage discount, and configure the start and end dates.
   3. Select the products to which the discount is applied.
5. Keep in mind:
   • Your discount price and Strike price cannot have the same value. 
   • ChannelEngine only sets a discount if your discount price is lower than Strike price.
6. If set up correctly, your product displays a discount label and a strikethrough price on the channel.

Send prices to Matalan excluding commission and excluding VAT. 

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:

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

Additional information

Order extra data items

When an order is imported to ChannelEngine, ChannelEngine also retrieves 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

*Conditional fields are only displayed 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 schedule on Mirakl-based marketplaces

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?
Some Mirakl-based marketplaces manually review content and/or offers before products can go live. Because of this, feedback reports may take a few hours or several days to become available.

Offer feedback - error reports are mostly generated automatically and are imported quickly.

Content feedback

• Transformation error report - automatically generated and usually imported within a maximum of one day.
• Conventional error report - 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.