PriceRunner feed for Shopify

PriceRunner publishes one product-feed specification and serves it on every market domain, translated. The Swedish and Danish pages link the same two sample files and differ only in the currency of the examples. Formats are TEXT/CSV, XML and JSON (not Excel), in four encodings, optionally compressed with gzip or zip. Feedflock renders the XML variant, with the element names taken from PriceRunner's own sample feed.

PriceRunner pulls the file from an HTTPS or FTP address 1–4 times a day, checks the Last-Modified header to fetch more often, and asks for one thing above all: a stable URL. Timestamps or cache-busting parts in the feed address make products disappear. Feedflock hosts the feed on a permanent public URL and regenerates it as often as every hour; new products appear on PriceRunner within about 24 hours of an import.

PriceRunner's spec asks for per-variant rows outright: a shoe sold in seven sizes appears seven times, each row with its own size attribute, unique EAN and unique SKU. GroupId carries the shared product id that ties the siblings together. Feedflock's template works exactly this way: one Product per variant, with Color and Size read from the variant options.

Names follow: ProductName must be unique per row and state the variant clearly, because PriceRunner's search, filters and matching all read it. The template builds it from the product and variant title. And keep ProductId stable: PriceRunner warns that changing it recreates the product in its database and the accrued click popularity disappears. Feedflock uses the Shopify SKU, which you control, with the immutable variant id as fallback.

Most prices on PriceRunner are added using the unique product ID, normally the EAN, or the ISBN for books. With those IDs PriceRunner matches your prices to the right product automatically; without them it falls back to the product name, description, image, stock status and manufacturer, and matches by hand for an additional fee per click. Feedflock fills Ean from the Shopify barcode field and Brand from the vendor, which is always populated.

Msku (the manufacturer SKU or MPN) helps matching too, but only when it genuinely is the manufacturer's number. PriceRunner is explicit: unless you are the manufacturer, do not send a value you created. The template therefore leaves Msku unmapped by default rather than passing your shop SKU off as one; map it from a metafield when you have the real thing.

Price is the gross, VAT-included price of a single unit, with the currency stated and a comma or period as the decimal marker; the sample writes 549.00 GBP. When a variant is on sale, the pair matters: Price carries the regular price and SalePrice the discounted one, and PriceRunner reads SalePrice as an override. Feedflock derives both from Shopify's compare-at price, so a real markdown shows as a struck-through original and a current price, and a full-price product never carries an invented one.

Two fields decide your position more than any other. ShippingCost must combine everything the consumer pays (freight, handling, packaging), because PriceRunner sorts by price including shipping, and offers without shipping information go to the bottom of that list. LeadTime is the promised delivery time in days and must match your site. Both are required, and the template deliberately ships them empty for you to fill rather than inventing a figure. Condition rounds out the offer: New, Used or Refurbished, with used and refurbished goods carrying a higher cost per click.