Product Catalog

Our product catalog API unlocks the ability to send high-performing journeys such as back in stock, low inventory, and price drop. It also lets you segment your customers and branch journeys using product data.

  • Create high performing journeys, such as back in stock, low inventory, and price drop.
  • Segment customers based on their past browsing, add to cart, and purchasing activity using product data such as name, category, tag, price, and other attributes.
  • Branch journeys based on product attributes or inventory, such as only sending a message if the product is in stock.

Attentive also has several integrations with popular e-commerce platforms that sync product data to Attentive. These are available in the Integrations tab.

How to Get Started

  1. Create an Attentive app to get an api key
  2. Review the authentication workflow
  3. Read through the product catalog file format you'll need to generate to send us your product catalog.
  4. Either use the sample script below to send us the file(s) you've generated, or implement something similar.
  5. By default, validateOnly will be set to true when initiating the upload, in order for you to develop without saving the catalog Attentive side. Once you're ready for production, go ahead and set validateOnly to false.
  6. Once the file has been uploaded, contact your CSM to confirm that the data quality is high enough for the Attentive product data features to be enabled.

Sample CLI Utility Script

Feel free to reuse and adapt this Python3 script to send Attentive the catalog files you've generated.

import argparse
import requests  # you may need to install this https://docs.python-requests.org/en/latest/user/install/
import json
import time

from distutils.util import strtobool


API_KEY = ''  # Set this
API_BASE_URL = 'https://api.attentivemobile.com'
STATUS_INTERVAL = 10


def initiate_catalog_upload(validate_only, api_key):
    post_url = API_BASE_URL + '/v1/product-catalog/uploads'
    r = requests.post(
        post_url,
        json={'validateOnly': validate_only},
        headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + api_key},
    )
    assert r.status_code == 200, "Are you sure your api key is correct?"
    resp = r.json()
    return resp['uploadId'], resp['uploadUrl']


def print_errors(errors):
    print("Validation Errors:")
    for error in errors:
        print(json.dumps(error))


def wait_for_validation(upload_id, validate_only, api_key, counter):
    """
    The file at this point should now be queued up and we are awaiting validation. If there are any
    validation errors, we'll print them out from here. You may want to integrate your own more
    advanced monitoring.
    """
    time.sleep(STATUS_INTERVAL)
    get_url = API_BASE_URL + '/v1/product-catalog/uploads/' + upload_id
    r = requests.get(get_url, headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + api_key}).json()
    if r['errors']:
        # Consider implementing alerting over here
        print_errors(r['errors'])
    if r['status'] == 'validated':
        return
    # waiting approximately an hour before giving up. Totally up to you how long, but Attentive should
    # rarely be behind an hour behind in processing
    if counter == 360:
        print("Giving up on waiting for validation for " + upload_id)
        return

    wait_for_validation(upload_id, validate_only, api_key, counter + 1)


def upload_catalog(filepath, validate_only, api_key):
    upload_id, upload_url = initiate_catalog_upload(validate_only, api_key)
    with open(filepath, 'rb') as f:
        r = requests.put(upload_url, data=f)
        assert r.status_code == 200, 'Unexpected issue uploading'
    wait_for_validation(upload_id, validate_only, api_key, 0)
    return upload_id


if __name__ == '__main__':
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description='CLI utility script to demonstrate and assist in sending your generated product catalog to Attentive via its API'
    )
    parser.add_argument('filepath', help='Path to your catalog file')
    parser.add_argument(
        '--validateOnly',
        default=True,
        dest='validate_only',
        type=lambda x: bool(strtobool(x)),
        help='Boolean flag to choose whether or not Attentive should only validate the file for correctness only or not. '
        'Defaults to True to prevent saving invalid data during development. Set to False when everything passes without errors.',
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        '--apiKey',
        dest='api_key',
        help='You can pass the API Key in here as an argument or set it in the API_KEY variable at the top of this file',
    )
    args = parser.parse_args()

    key = args.api_key or API_KEY
    assert key, (
        'Please either pass in the apiKey argument to this script, or '
        'update the API_KEY variable at the top of this file to authenticate to Attentive'
    )
    id = upload_catalog(args.filepath, args.validate_only, key)

Product catalog file format

You can use the Product Catalog API to provide Attentive with your entire product catalog programmatically in order to segment or branch on different product attributes to send more targeted SMS messages. It also unlocks other unique product features (e.g. Back In-Stock Journeys).

In order to use the Product Catalog API, you must first provide Attentive with your full or partial product catalog as a ndjson format file to be HTTP file uploaded to a specified URL. Each line in the file represents a full product, as described in the sample below. This article outlines the structure of each product/row, as well as the definitions of each object and field.

Top-level product
{"name": string, *"id": string, *"description": string,"brand": string,"link": string, *"lastUpdated": timestamp, *"categories": Array<string>,"tags": Array<string>,"productOptions": Array<ProductOption>,"images": Array<Image>,"attributes": Array<Attribute>
   "variants": Array<Variant> *,
   "collections": Array<String>
}

Product Option
{"name": string, *"position": int, *"values": Array<string> *
}

Image
{"position": int,"alt": string,"src": string, *"width": int,"height": int,"variantIds": Array<string>
}

Attribute
{"name": string, *"value": string *
}

Variant
{"name": string, * full name
   "id": string, *"position": int,"prices": Array<Price>,"availableForPurchase": boolean, *"inventoryQuantity": int,"productOptionValues": Array<ProductOptionValue>,"link": string, *"lastUpdated": timestamp, *"attributes": Array<Attribute>
}

Product Option Value
{"productOptionName": string, *"value": string *
}

Price
{"currencyCode": string, *"amount": string, *"activeTime": timestamp,"expirationTime": timestamp,"compareAtPrice": string,
}

Definition of terms

Product

Products are the goods that you are selling on your website. For example, it can be a t-shirt or a pair of shoes. This is the root JSON object on each line and is inherently required.

Field Description Type Required
id This is your product ID and the field we key off of. It must be unique across your catalog. You need this unique ID to make any updates to the product by uploading your product with the same id. The maximum length of the ID is 256 characters. string Required
name The name of your product. Note that this is how it appears in messages. The maximum length of the name is 256 characters. string Required
description A short description of your product. The maximum length of the description is 1024 characters. string Optional
brand Brand for your product. Maximum length of brand is 256 characters. string Optional
link The link to your product's detail page online. Maximum length of link is 2048 characters. (http(s) required) string Required
lastUpdated The date and time (in UTC) of when your product was last updated. timestamp Required
categories One or more categories in your taxonomy associated with this product. You can specify up to ten categories per product and each category can be up to 64 characters long. Array<string> Optional
tags One or more tags that are associated with and used to categorize this product. You can specify up to 50 tags per product and each tag can be up to 64 characters long. Array<string> Optional
productOptions See Product Option. Up to 10 ProductOptions are allowed per product and up to 100 values are allowed per option. Array<ProductOption> Optional
images See Image. Up to 250 images are allowed per product. Array<Image> Optional
attributes See Attribute. Up to 100 attributes are allowed per product. Array<Attribute> Optional
variants See Variant. Up to 100 variants are allowed per product. Array<Variant> Required
collections The grouping of products that this product belongs to. Up to 20 collections per product are allowed. Array<string> Optional

Variant

A variant can be added to a Product to represent one version of a product with several options. The Product has a variant for every possible combination of its options. Following the example in Product, a variant is a size small and color black. An order can begin fulfillment once a variant is selected. Each product must have at least one variant

Field Description Type Required
id This is your variant ID and the field we key off of. It must be unique across your catalog. You need this unique ID to make any updates to the product by uploading your variant with the same id. The maximum length of the ID is 256 characters. string Required
name The name of this variant. Note that this is how it appears in messages to your subscribers. The maximum length of the name is 256 characters. string Required
position The order in which this variant appears among all the other variants that belong to this product. The variant with the lowest number is the default variant. This value must be greater than or equal to 0. int Optional
link The link to your variant's detail page online. If there is no link for your variant, you can use your product link. The maximum length of the link is 2048 characters. (http(s) required) string Required
prices See Price Array<Price> Required
availableForPurchase Is this variant still being sold? boolean Required
inventoryQuantity The amount of the variant available before the variant is out of stock. int Optional
productOptionValues The combination of options that this variant represents for the product. See Product Options section for details. Array<ProductOption> Optional
attributes See Attribute. Up to 100 Variants allowed. Array<Attribute> Optional
lastUpdated The date and time (in UTC) of when your product or variant was last updated. timestamp Required

Product Option

Product options are the dimensions or choices that a customer has to select to add a variant to their cart. Following our previous Product example above with the t-shirt, the customer needs to select the size and color they want. In this example, size and color are the product options.

Field Description Type Required
name The name/title of this product option. Up to 256 characters long string Required
position The order in which this option appears among all the other options. The option with the lowest number is first in the order. This value must be greater than or equal to 0. int Required
values The different possible values for this product option. Up to 256 characters long for each value. Array<string> Required

Product Option Value

Product option values are the unique product option selections associated with a given variant. These are contextualized within the Variant object.

Field Description Type Required
productOptionName The product option name string Required
value The selection or value for this variant string Required

Attribute

Generic key/value data for products/variants that can be used for categorizing.

Field Description Type Required
name The attribute name. Up to 64 characters long. string Required
value The attribute value. Up to 256 characters long. string Required

Image

Data for the images associated with your products and variants that can be used for Attentive product messaging and experiences.

Field Description Type Required
src The URL to the image (http(s) required). string Required
alt The alt text for the image. This is used as a back up in case an image can't be displayed and standard on the web. Up to 512 characters allowed. string Optional
width The width of the image in pixels int Optional
height The height of the image in pixels int Optional
variantIds The list of variant IDs this image applies to. Each id must match the ID of the field of one of the variants. Array<string> Optional
position The order in which images are considered for a product or variant. The image with the lowest position will be the default image. In other words, ascending order. Defaults to 0. int Optional

Price

A price associated with the variant. You may have more than one price and currency associated with a variant. In those cases, Attentive will likely choose the lowest available price in messaging experiences.

Field Description Type Required
currencyCode This follows the three letter currency codes (e.g. USD). For more info, see ISO-4217. string Required
amount The price amount string Required
activeTime The date and time of when the price is scheduled. This is useful if you are scheduling a price for the future, such as an upcoming sale. timestamp Optional
expirationTime The date and time of when the price is expiring. This is commonly used for when a sale ends. Both activeTime and expirationTime can be used independently. Note that this must be set in the future. timestamp Optional
compareAtPrice This is another price field, and use of this field implies the variant is on sale. This is the price buyers compare against to evaluate how good a sale is. Example: "The price was but now is ! Get it while it lasts" string Optional

Formatted example of one product

The below example is formatted in json to clearly show the object schema. The file you pass to the API should be in ndjson format.

{
  "name": "Nasa T-Shirt",
  "id": "PD-123",
  "description": "A very popular T-Shirt",
  "brand": "NASA",
  "link": "https://www.google.com",
  "lastUpdated": "2021-10-05T18:08:28+00:00",
  "categories": ["Shirts"],
  "tags": ["Summer Sale", "Space"],
  "productOptions": [
    {"name": "Color", "position": 0, "values": ["Blue", "Black"]},
    {"name": "Size", "position": 1, "values": ["Small", "Medium", "Large"]}
  ],
  "images": [
    {"src": "https://www.google.com", "alt": "Picture of Nasa T-Shirt in Blue", "position": 0, "height": 250, "width": 400, "variantIds": ["VD-234"]},
    {"src": "https://www.google.com", "alt": "Another Picture of Nasa T-Shirt in Black", "position": 0, "height": 250, "width": 400, "variantIds": ["VD-235", "VD-236"]}
  ],
  "attributes": [{"name": "Fabric", "value": "Cotton"}],
  "variants": [
    {
      "name": "Nasa T-Shirt - Blue - Small",
      "id": "VD-234",
      "position": 0,
      "prices": [
        {"currencyCode": "USD", "amount": "10.00"}
      ],
      "availableForPurchase": true,
      "productOptionValues": [
        {"productOptionName": "Color", "value": "Blue"},
        {"productOptionName": "Size", "value": "Small"}
      ],
      "link": "https://www.google.com",
      "lastUpdated": "2021-10-05T18:08:28+00:00"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nasa T-Shirt - Black - Medium",
      "id": "VD-235",
      "position": 1,
      "prices": [
        {"currencyCode": "USD", "amount": "10.00"}
      ],
      "availableForPurchase": true,
      "productOptionValues": [
        {"productOptionName": "Color", "value": "Black"},
        {"productOptionName": "Size", "value": "Medium"}
      ],
      "link": "https://www.google.com",
      "lastUpdated": "2021-10-05T18:08:28+00:00"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nasa T-Shirt - Black - Large",
      "id": "VD-236",
      "position": 2,
      "prices": [
        {"currencyCode": "USD", "amount": "10.00"}
      ],
      "availableForPurchase": true,
      "productOptionValues": [
        {"productOptionName": "Color", "value": "Black"},
        {"productOptionName": "Size", "value": "Large"}
      ],
      "link": "https://www.google.com",
      "lastUpdated": "2021-10-05T18:08:28+00:00"
    }
  ]
}

Development Workflow Tips

  • As you're developing your code to generate this catalog file for Attentive, it's helpful to validate your generated files without any side effects on Attentive. To do that, please set the validateOnly boolean to true when calling /product-catalog/uploads. Please note your file is not immediately processed once the upload compeletes, but you can check the status of your upload with the same endpoint.
  • The cadence of uploading your catalog to Attentive is up to you. A daily job works great for most of our users, but we'd prefer we limit it to no more than every few hours if you're sending us your entire catalog on every upload. However, if you would like to send us "delta uploads" (only products/variants which have changed since your last upload), please feel free to be more liberal with your cadence. If we find there are upload frequency issues, we'll be sure to reach out.
  • If you have any questions as to how to map your catalog to the Attentive format above, please reach out to your client strategy partner at Attentive.

File Upload Limits

  • All files need to be UTF-8 encoded.
  • 2GB maximum file size
  • 4mb maximum line/product size
  • 500k line/product limit per file

Upload Product Catalog

Make a call to this endpoint to start sending Attentive your full or partial product catalog. The process starts with a POST to this endpoint, where you will receive a pre-signed AWS S3 URL. You can use any language's http request libraries for uploading a file via HTTP. Here's how to do it with curl as an example

curl --upload-file ${fileNameLocally} ${presignedURL}

and here's an example in Python

import requests
with open(filepath, 'rb') as f:
    r = requests.put(upload_url, data=f)

Here are examples from AWS on how to send the file over in popular programming languages. Note that you aren't interested in the portion of these examples where they are generating the pre-signed URL, but simply the http call to upload the file to the URL.

Once your full or partial product catalog begins to upload, the status is updated to validating while it's processing and the file is checked for errors. After the upload is validated, the status is updated to validated or skips directly to completed. When the catalog is saved, the status is updated to SAVED. In cases where there are errors saving the data, Attentive Engineering is notified and will contact you.

To ensure there are no validation errors in the file, you can set validateOnly parameter to true to avoid saving any data. We highly recommend this during your development to get a faster feedback loop on any validation errors as you generate files.

If there are no errors returned in the upload response, your product catalog uploaded successfully.

Request
Security:
OAuthFlow (product_catalogs:write)
Request Body schema: application/json
validateOnly
boolean
Default: false

If set to true, then data will not ingest and only validate the file.

Responses
200

Ok

400

Invalid parameter in request query or body

401

Unauthorized

403

Access Denied

404

The specified resource was not found

429

The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time

500

Internal Server Error

post/product-catalog/uploads
Request samples
application/json
{
  • "validateOnly": false
}
Response samples
application/json
{
  • "uploadId": "string",
  • "status": "string",
  • "errors": [
    ],
  • "productsReceived": 0,
  • "productsProcessed": 0,
  • "lastUpdated": "string",
  • "expires": "string",
  • "uploadUrl": "string",
  • "validateOnly": true
}

View Recent Catalog Uploads

Make a call to this endpoint to list recent catalog uploads with their statuses to gain visibility into the ingestion workflow in order of creation. See the POST of this endpoint for details. Expires indicates how long you can wait before uploading the product catalog file. If the catalog upload expires, then we will no longer process the file that you upload and you will need to initiate a new catalog upload.

Request
Security:
OAuthFlow (product_catalogs:read)
Responses
200

returns the list of uploads

400

Invalid parameter in request query or body

401

Unauthorized

403

Access Denied

404

The specified resource was not found

429

The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time

500

Internal Server Error

get/product-catalog/uploads
Request samples
curl -i -X GET \
  https://api.attentivemobile.com/v1/product-catalog/uploads \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>'
Response samples
application/json
[
  • {
    }
]

Lookup Product Catalog Ingestion

Request
Security:
OAuthFlow (product_catalogs:read)
path Parameters
uploadId
required
string

The upload ID returned from a previous call

Responses
200

Returns the provided upload status update

400

Invalid parameter in request query or body

401

Unauthorized

403

Access Denied

404

The specified resource was not found

429

The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time

500

Internal Server Error

get/product-catalog/uploads/{uploadId}
Request samples
curl -i -X GET \
  'https://api.attentivemobile.com/v1/product-catalog/uploads/{uploadId}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN_HERE>'
Response samples
application/json
{
  • "uploadId": "string",
  • "status": "string",
  • "errors": [
    ],
  • "productsReceived": 0,
  • "productsProcessed": 0,
  • "lastUpdated": "string",
  • "expires": "string",
  • "uploadUrl": "string",
  • "validateOnly": true
}