What is the Awin XML Product Feed?
The Awin XML product feed is a structured data format used by merchants to supply product information to the Awin affiliate network. Awin is one of the largest affiliate marketing platforms globally, connecting merchants with thousands of publishers and affiliates who promote products on websites, comparison sites, and content channels. By submitting product data via XML feed, merchants ensure their entire product catalogue is available to affiliates in a standardised, machine-readable format.
Merchants use Awin XML feeds to synchronise inventory across the affiliate network in real time. Rather than manually updating individual product listings, a single XML feed push updates all product information simultaneously. This approach scales to catalogues of any size, from dozens to millions of products.
The feed acts as the source of truth for product visibility, pricing, availability, and promotional messaging across all Awin-connected affiliate channels. Incomplete or poorly structured feed data directly reduces affiliate engagement and conversion rates, since affiliates cannot promote products they cannot accurately describe or verify.
Core Product Identification Fields
Product identification is the foundation of feed quality. Awin uses multiple identifiers to match your products with affiliate listings and prevent duplicates.
pid is your unique product identifier within Awin. This field is mandatory and must be consistent across all feed submissions. If pid changes between feeds, Awin treats it as a new product, creating duplicates and breaking affiliate links. Use a stable internal SKU or product ID that does not change when you update other product attributes.
ean (European Article Number) is the 13-digit barcode standard. upc (Universal Product Code) is the 12-digit North American equivalent. isbn applies to books. mpn (Manufacturer Part Number) is the part number assigned by the manufacturer. These fields enable Awin to match your products with third-party data sources and help affiliates verify authenticity. Providing at least one of these identifiers significantly improves product discoverability, especially on price comparison sites and content publishers who cross-reference against external databases.
modelno captures the manufacturer's model designation. When a product has multiple variants (colour, size, capacity), include the exact model number to distinguish them in the feed. This prevents affiliates from promoting the wrong variant to customers.
Pricing and Currency Fields
Pricing accuracy is non-negotiable in affiliate marketing. Incorrect prices damage affiliate credibility and trigger returns.
price is the current selling price in the currency specified by the currency field. Always use the price a customer would pay at checkout, including any mandatory fees or taxes that apply in your target market. If you offer tiered pricing based on quantity, use the standard single-unit retail price.
currency must be a valid ISO 4217 code (GBP, EUR, USD, etc.). Awin uses this to display prices correctly to international affiliates and to calculate commission values. Mismatched currency codes cause pricing displays to fail.
delcost is the delivery charge. Include this if shipping is not free. Affiliates often highlight free or low-cost shipping as a competitive advantage, so an accurate delcost field improves conversion messaging.
saving represents the discount amount or percentage off the regular price. This field is optional but powerful: when populated, it signals to affiliates that a deal is active. Format it consistently (for example, always as a numeric value or always as a percentage) to avoid parsing errors.
Product Description and Naming
Affiliates rely on your product data to write compelling listings and content. Poor descriptions reduce click-through rates.
name is the product title and should be concise, descriptive, and keyword-rich. Include the brand, key features, and variant details (colour, size) if applicable. Keep it under 100 characters for optimal display on affiliate sites. A name like 'Blue Cotton T-Shirt Size M' performs better than a generic 'Clothing Item'.
desc is the full product description. Use this field to explain features, benefits, materials, dimensions, and any other information that helps affiliates and customers understand what they are buying. Include key product attributes here, as many affiliate sites extract snippets from this field for their listings. Well-written descriptions reduce refund rates because customers have clearer expectations.
promotext is reserved for promotional messaging. Use this for limited-time offers, special bundles, or seasonal campaigns. This field is often displayed prominently on affiliate sites, so keep it clear and action-oriented ('Free delivery on orders over £50' or 'Limited stock available').
keywords should contain comma-separated search terms relevant to the product. Affiliates and Awin's internal search use these to categorise and find products. Include variations of the product name, common synonyms, and terms customers use when searching.
Visual Assets and Media
Images significantly influence affiliate engagement. Products without images rarely receive promotion.
imgurl is the primary product image and must be a publicly accessible URL that returns a valid image file (JPEG or PNG). The image should be clear, well-lit, and show the product from a representative angle. Awin and affiliates cache these images, so ensure the URL remains stable. If you change the image, update imgurl to point to the new URL.
thumburl is a thumbnail version of the primary image, typically 100x100 pixels or smaller. Many affiliate platforms display thumbnails in product lists, so provide an optimised version rather than scaling the full-size image.
large_image provides a high-resolution version for detailed viewing. Some affiliate sites and content creators use large images for editorial content or detailed product pages. Supply an image at least 500x500 pixels.
alternate_image, alternate_image_two, alternate_image_three, and alternate_image_four allow you to supply up to four additional product images. Use these to show different angles, colours, or the product in use. Multiple images increase affiliate engagement because publishers can select images that match their content style.
All image URLs must be properly formatted and accessible without authentication. Image files should be optimised for web (under 500 KB each) to avoid slow feed processing.
Inventory and Availability
Affiliates will not promote products they cannot sell. Accurate stock information is essential.
instock is a boolean field (yes/no or true/false) indicating whether the product is currently available for purchase. Set this to 'no' for out-of-stock items. Affiliates filter by this field, so incorrect values cause them to promote unavailable products, damaging trust.
stockquant is the numeric quantity available. While optional, providing this helps Awin and affiliates understand scarcity. If you have only five units left, affiliates can emphasise limited availability in their marketing.
preorder indicates whether customers can pre-order the product. Set this to 'yes' if the product is not yet in stock but customers can reserve it. When 'yes', also populate deltime with the expected availability date.
deltime specifies how long delivery takes, typically in days (for example, '3-5' or '10'). This field directly affects affiliate messaging and customer expectations. If you state '3-5 days' in the feed but delivery takes two weeks, affiliates will receive complaints and may stop promoting your products.
delivery_restrictions is a text field for any limitations on delivery (for example, 'UK mainland only' or 'No delivery to PO boxes'). Affiliates must disclose these restrictions, so accuracy prevents customer complaints and chargebacks.
Product Classification and Attributes
Proper categorisation helps Awin route products to relevant affiliates and improves searchability.
category should be your product's primary category within your store hierarchy. Use your internal category structure (for example, 'Electronics > Laptops > Windows') rather than Awin's category taxonomy. Awin maps your categories to its own system during feed ingestion.
ptype (product type) is a secondary classification. Use this to distinguish between physical products, digital downloads, services, or variants. If you sell both new and refurbished versions of a product, use ptype to differentiate them.
cg (custom group) allows you to create custom product groupings beyond standard categories. Use this for seasonal collections, brand-specific groups, or internal marketing campaigns. Affiliates can filter by custom groups to find products matching their niche.
brand is the manufacturer or brand name. This field is mandatory for most product types and critical for brand-specific affiliate programmes. Ensure spelling is consistent across all products from the same brand.
condition specifies whether the product is new, refurbished, used, or damaged. Set this to 'new' for standard retail products. Refurbished or used items must be clearly marked, as affiliates and customers rely on this field to understand product quality.
Detailed Product Specifications
Comprehensive specification data improves product matching and reduces returns.
spec is a free-text field for detailed specifications. Include technical details like processor type, memory, storage capacity, or fabric composition. Format multiple specifications with line breaks or a structured delimiter (for example, 'CPU: Intel i7 | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD'). Affiliates often extract snippets from this field for comparison tables.
size is the product size or dimensions. For clothing, use standard sizing (S, M, L, XL). For other products, use numeric values with units (for example, '15 inches' or '2 litres'). If a product comes in multiple sizes, create separate feed entries for each size variant with unique pids.
colour is the product colour. Use standard colour names (Red, Blue, Black) rather than marketing names (Midnight Blue, Forest Green) for consistency. If a product is available in multiple colours, either create separate entries or list all colours in a comma-separated format.
material describes the primary material composition (Cotton, Polyester, Leather, Stainless Steel). This field is particularly important for fashion, home goods, and furniture, where material influences purchase decisions.
pattern applies to textiles and describes the design (Striped, Floral, Checked, Solid). Use consistent terminology across your feed.
dimensions provides product measurements in a structured format (for example, 'L: 30cm, W: 20cm, H: 10cm'). Include units and use consistent ordering. This field helps customers and affiliates assess fit or compatibility.
suitable_for indicates the intended audience or use case (for example, 'Men', 'Outdoor', 'Professional Use'). This helps Awin match products to relevant affiliate niches.
Temporal and Validity Fields
Time-based fields control when products appear in feeds and when promotional messaging is active.
validfrom and validto define the date range during which a product or promotion is active. Use the DD/MM/YYYY format. Set validfrom to today's date when launching a new product and validto to a future date when the promotion expires. Awin automatically suppresses products outside this range from affiliate feeds, preventing outdated listings.
lastupdated records when the product information was last modified. Awin uses this to detect changes and refresh cached product data. Update this field every time you submit a feed, even if only one product changed.
warranty describes the manufacturer or seller warranty (for example, '2 years' or 'Lifetime'). This is a significant purchase driver, especially for electronics and appliances. Affiliates highlight strong warranties in their marketing.
Linking and Conversion Fields
These fields control how affiliates direct customers to your store.
purl (product URL) is the direct link to the product page on your website. This must be a valid, publicly accessible URL that leads directly to the product, not to a category page or homepage. Awin uses this URL to track affiliate clicks and conversions. If purl is broken or incorrect, affiliate traffic will not convert properly.
basket_link is an optional URL that adds the product directly to the shopping basket and redirects to checkout. Some affiliates prefer this for streamlined purchasing. If you support basket parameters in your URL structure, populate this field. Otherwise, leave it empty and use purl as the default.
weboffer is a boolean field indicating whether the product is available through your website. Set this to 'yes' for standard products. Set it to 'no' if the product is only available through other channels (for example, in-store only). Affiliates filter by this field, so accuracy ensures they only promote products they can actually sell.
Custom and Extended Fields
Awin provides nine custom fields (custom1 through custom9) for merchant-specific data that does not fit standard fields.
Common uses include:
- custom1: Internal cost or margin data (for affiliate commission calculations).
- custom2: Supplier or vendor name.
- custom3: Product lifecycle stage (New, Bestseller, Discontinued).
- custom4: Target demographic or persona.
- custom5: Seasonal relevance (Summer, Christmas, Back-to-School).
- custom6: Exclusivity status (Exclusive, Limited Edition).
- custom7: Compatibility information (Compatible with iPhone 12, Fits Ford Focus 2015-2020).
- custom8: Regional availability (UK only, EU wide).
- custom9: Internal reference or tracking code.
Define a consistent schema for your custom fields and document it for your team. Awin does not validate custom fields, so you must ensure data consistency.
Variant and Grouping Fields
When a product exists in multiple variants (colours, sizes, versions), you must decide whether to submit them as separate products or as grouped variants.
parentpid links variant products to a parent product. If you have a t-shirt available in five colours, create a parent product with a unique pid and five child products, each with its own pid and parentpid set to the parent's pid. This structure helps Awin and affiliates understand variant relationships without duplicating product information.
item_group_id is an alternative grouping mechanism. Use this if your product management system already groups variants by a shared identifier. Awin accepts either parentpid or item_group_id; choose the approach that matches your internal data structure.
Practical Optimisation Strategies
Feed Submission Best Practices
Submit your Awin XML feed on a regular schedule, ideally daily or at least weekly. Frequent updates ensure affiliates always see current pricing, stock levels, and promotional messaging. Use a consistent submission time to avoid network congestion.
Validate your XML syntax before submission. Malformed XML will cause the entire feed to fail ingestion. Use an XML validator tool to check for missing tags, incorrect nesting, or special character encoding issues.
Include all mandatory fields in every product entry. Awin will reject or quarantine products missing required data. At minimum, populate pid, name, price, currency, brand, category, purl, and instock.
Data Quality Checks
Perform monthly audits of your feed data. Check for:
- Duplicate pids or inconsistent pid formatting.
- Broken or redirecting URLs in purl, imgurl, and alternate_image fields.
- Pricing inconsistencies between your feed and your website.
- Out-of-stock products still marked as instock.
- Missing or low-quality images.
- Incomplete descriptions or missing key attributes.
Automated monitoring tools can flag these issues before they impact affiliates. Set up alerts for price changes exceeding a threshold, sudden stock drops, or URL errors.
Affiliate Engagement Optimisation
Populate optional fields that increase affiliate engagement. Products with images, detailed descriptions, and promotional messaging receive more affiliate attention than bare-bones entries.
Use promotext strategically. Limited-time offers, free shipping promotions, and stock warnings drive affiliate urgency. Update promotext weekly to reflect current campaigns.
Include size, colour, and material fields even when not strictly required. These attributes help content creators and comparison sites build detailed product listings, increasing visibility.
Provide multiple images (primary, thumbnail, large, and alternates). Affiliates are more likely to promote products with visual variety, especially in fashion, home, and electronics categories.
Category and Keyword Strategy
Structure your category field to match how affiliates search for products. Use a consistent hierarchy (for example, 'Electronics > Smartphones > Android' rather than 'Phones' in one entry and 'Mobile Devices' in another).
Populate keywords with terms customers actually use. Research common search queries in your niche and include variations. For example, a laptop might include keywords like 'laptop, notebook, computer, ultrabook, portable computer'.
Use custom fields to segment products by performance or relevance. Tag bestselling products in custom3, seasonal items in custom5, and exclusive products in custom6. Affiliates can then filter by these attributes when selecting products to promote.
Inventory Synchronisation
If you have limited stock, keep stockquant and instock fields updated in real time. Affiliates will not promote products they believe are out of stock, and promoting out-of-stock items damages conversion rates.
For preorder products, set preorder to 'yes' and deltime to the expected availability date. Update these fields as the launch date approaches, and change preorder to 'no' once the product is in stock.
Testing and Validation
After submitting a new feed version, check Awin's feed status dashboard to confirm successful ingestion. Review any error or warning messages and address them in the next submission.
Test affiliate links from your feed by clicking through a sample of purl values. Verify that they land on the correct product page and that tracking parameters are preserved.
Monitor affiliate performance by product. Identify which products generate the most clicks and conversions, and ensure those products have complete, high-quality feed data. Conversely, if a product receives no affiliate interest, review its feed entry for missing data or poor descriptions.
Summary
The Awin XML product feed is the foundation of your affiliate marketing presence. Each field serves a specific purpose in helping affiliates discover, understand, and promote your products. Mandatory fields like pid, name, price, and purl ensure basic functionality, while optional fields like images, detailed specifications, and promotional messaging drive engagement and conversion rates.
Successful feed management requires consistency, accuracy, and regular maintenance. Submit feeds on a predictable schedule, validate data quality before ingestion, and monitor affiliate performance to identify improvement opportunities. By treating your product feed as a strategic asset rather than a technical obligation, you unlock the full potential of the Awin affiliate network and expand your reach across thousands of partner channels.