H&M: marketplace guide

About this guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Stockholm-based marketplace H&M. Here you can find information on how to request a H&M 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

FAQs

Commercial information

Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden
Area served (orders)*	Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Area served (orders)**	Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Website	H&M
Setup cost	none***
Commission	none***
Other costs	none***
Payment	biweekly invoices, 30-day payment terms
Product categories	fashion, shoes, accessories, home interior, decorations, furniture, outdoor, lighting, textiles, kids
Input language	English
Input currency	EUR, GBP, SEK
Content creation	yes
Minimum number of SKUs	no
Advertisement options	no
Profile on ChannelEngine	H&M

* H&M.

** H&M Home.

*** See the Associated costs section.

How to request an account

To start selling on H&M, contact your customer success manager at ChannelEngine.

Associated costs

Unlike most other channels, H&M does not charge setup, monthly or commission fees. Their approach leans toward the drop-shipping model, with merchants taking a negotiable percentage of products sold through H&M.

Marketplace features

Supported	Not supported
Product offers (GTIN matching)	Returns (channel)
Product content	Marketplace fulfillment service
Orders (no split orders)	Automatic relationships
Returns/refunds (merchant)	HTML formatting
Shipments	Multiple stock locations
Cancelations (merchant)
Repricing (only competition statistics)
Product variations (size/color)
Carrier mapping
Sales channels*

* 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, once you add the marketplace:

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

H&M is a Mirakl-based marketplace, so you can connect it to ChannelEngine using a Mirakl Connect SSO account. For more information on this, check out the Mirakl-based channels: SSO authorization article.

You can also fill out the Mirakl seller name field, if you want to access competition statistics.

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 enable the invoice upload to ChannelEngine via the Merchant API. For that, call the POST /v2/orders/{merchantOrderNo}/invoice endpoint. Note that only invoices in PDF are supported.

Invalid XML characters

To remove invalid XML characters from your product data, click Advanced settings and enable the Check and filter invalid XML characters setting. ChannelEngine checks product data submitted in the XML format for invalid characters (e.g.: Ã, ¢, â, etc.). Once identified, invalid characters are removed or converted to a valid equivalent.

Categorization

Categorization is mandatory if you want to create or update existing product information on H&M. Both categorizations and mappings only result in updates if the content connection is enabled, and the relevant credentials have been entered (see the Setup section).

Although certain attributes on H&M require input in Swedish or German, the categorization and most mappings are in English.

Mappings

Content

H&M has a long list of optional attributes, but most of them are different versions of the same attribute according to the main language of each market. There are also multiple attributes related to images.

All products (required)

• Brand (customer facing) - the product's brand. If your brand is not included, contact H&M so they can add it. E.g.: Signify.
• Color group - the high-level color of the product, which must be mapped to a H&M value. E.g.: red.
• Commodity code - a sequence of numbers made up of six (WCO Harmonized System code), eight or ten digits (Intrastat declaration). E.g.: 020421.
• Country of origin - the product's country of origin. E.g.: Spain.
• GTIN - the product's EAN, or another GTIN.
• Image 1 asset type - the kind of image mapped to Image 1 URL. The options are descriptive detail, descriptive lifestyle, and lookbook.
• Image 1 URL - the link to the product's main image.
• Long product description_en-GB - the product's description, written in English. The maximum number of characters is 800.
• Long title/product name_en-GB - the product's title, written in English. Note that the product's brand, series or collection, identifiers, color, and volume or size should not be included in the title. The maximum number of characters is 50.
• Product level identifier - determines where the product is within the product hierarchy. Also known as GroupNo, it can be mapped with the Parent SKU – or its own MPN, if it is a standalone product. E.g.: SKU123.
• RGB HEX-colour code - the product's HEX color code, representing all possible color variations of the product. E.g.: #A9A39B.
• Size - the product's size. E.g.: XL, EU36, IT40.
• Supplier SKU - the product's internal reference, at the lowest level. Usually the Merchant product number.
• Visual or fragrance distinction_en-GB - a short description of the product's appearance, written in English, with the goal to differentiate different variations of the same product. The maximum number of characters is 30. E.g.: white, dotted.

All products (optional)

• Color description [country code] - the actual color of the product. If the marketing color is bubblegum, for instance, the Color description is light pink.
• Gross weight - the gross weight of the product. I.e.: including the packaging and any additional accessories.
• Image 2-8 asset type - the kind of image mapped to your additional image URLs. The options are descriptive detail, descriptive lifestyle, and lookbook.
• Image 2-8 facing - the positioning of the product in your additional images. E.g.: back, bottom, front, etc.
• Image 2-8 packaging - define if the mapped image shows the product in its packaging. The options are yes and no.
• Image 2-8 URL - the link to the product's additional images.
• License company - the name of the company that owns the rights to the intellectual property used in the product. E.g.: Warner Bros.
• Long article description [country code] - the long description of the product, including features and important details. This attribute is used when the information differs between variants of the same product.
• Name of character/movie - the name of the character or movie displayed on the product. E.g.: 2001: A Space Odissey.
• Net weight - the net weight of the product. I.e.: excluding the packaging and any additional accessories.
• Safety information - a warning or important message that meets legal requirements regarding the the safe use of the product. E.g.: Not suitable for children under 6.
• Sub brand name - the product's sub-brand, similar to a product line. E.g.: Natura Ekos.
• Visual or fragrance distinction [country code] - a short description of the product's appearance, written in the language defined by the country code, with the goal to differentiate different variations of the same product. The maximum number of characters is 30. E.g.: white, dotted.
• Weight unit - the weight of an individual unit of the product, if applicable.

Category-specific

• Composition type 1-5 - the part of the product that is made of the material mapped to the corresponding Material attribute. E.g.: if the product is a wooden box with an aluminum lid, Composition type 1 could be 'lid' and Material 1 would be 'aluminum' – while Composition type 2 could be 'body' and Material 2 would be 'wood'.
• Material 1-5 - the material that corresponds to the part of the product defined in the attribute Composition type 1-5.

Offer

Required

• Price - the default Mirakl price field must be mapped with a price, but this is not the price attribute used by H&M. See RRP [country].
• Shipped from - the country from where the product is shipped. This attribute must be mapped to a value known to H&M (option mapping), and is limited to the countries they support.
• VAT rate % - the product's VAT rate.
• RRP (recommended retail price) [country] - the product's sale price for each specific country, used by H&M.

The following offer attributes are common to some Mirakl-based marketplaces, particularly in France and Germany:

• 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 Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• 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 uses of logistic class codes, they can be found below.

Code	Label	Description
SP	Standard parcel	Standard parcel delivery
BP	Bulky parcel	Items that require a more expensive delivery method

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.
• If your discounted price is not lower than the base price, it is not exported.
• If you do not want to set a bulk discount, leave the Discount quantity threshold attribute unmapped – otherwise the export is broken.
• If you do want 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 H&M. However, you can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by H&M. This allows for working track-and-trace links in the back-end, as well as for the buyer. If your default carrier is missing, please contact H&M. Note that it is mandatory to include a pre-printed return label in the parcel.

Pricing

If your prices are separated by a comma instead of a dot, make sure to convert them to a dot-separated value. To do this in bulk, you can use this replacement tag: {[YOUR PRICE FIELD]|Replace{,|.}}. E.g.: {CE:Price|Replace{,|.}}.

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 filter on Channel status (select Invalid to show all products that ChannelEngine has not exported, such as products with an empty GTIN or that currently do not exist on the marketplace) or use the Validation and feedback tab to see all known errors for specific products.

For detailed status reports, go to the Mirakl back-end. Their reports contain specific errors if a product or product offer cannot be created. To find them, go to My inventory, Import from file, Track offer imports/Track product imports. By hovering over the 'i' under the Status section, you can see how many products in the file were processed correctly and how many had errors, etc.

If there are errors, the last column shows a downloadable file in which they are listed. The same goes for the product file import, but this can contain multiple files because processing goes through several systems. There is also a manual check of your submitted content, which, once approved, goes to staging as well. Note that you need to map as much as possible to prevent products from not being created.

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 channel	every 60 minutes
Export product offers to channel	every 15 minutes
Import product offers from channel	every 15 minutes
Import orders from channel	every 15 minutes
Export order shipments to channel	every 15 minutes
Export returns to channel	every 30 minutes

Can I simultaneously set up mapping on ChannelEngine and in the Mirakl back-end?

Configuring mapping in the Mirakl marketplace back-end interferes with ChannelEngine's content export. For accurate product content export, stick to categorizing and mapping your products’ content on ChannelEngine only.