Product data imported from a catalog provider or warehouse distributor must be organized within your X-Cart store’s category structure. It is assumed that your X-Cart store already has categories set up, and during the import process, products will be assigned to those categories. However, the category structure used by the catalog provider or warehouse distributor from which you're importing products may differ significantly from the structure you want to use in your online store. In such cases, you can use X-Cart’s Category Mapping feature to align the categories between your store and the provider's catalog. This requires setting up category mapping rules.

If your X-Cart store does not yet have categories and you prefer not to configure them, or if you do not want to map your existing categories to those in the provider’s catalog, you can simply import the provider’s categories "as is." X-Cart’s auto integrations can replicate the provider’s category structure in your store, saving you the time of setting it up manually.

Whether you choose to map the provider’s categories to your existing structure or import them directly, the first step is to import the category structure from the provider.

Some auto integrations will import categories automatically without requiring any action from you, while others will require you to manually initiate the category import as a separate step before importing brands.

To manually initiate the import of categories, click the Import Categories button on the Category Mapping page (Catalog > Catalog Import > Category Mapping > Auto integration name). To determine whether your auto integration requires this step, check the Category Mapping page. If you see the "Import Categories" button, you will need to use it before importing brands.

The imported categories will appear as a list on the same page (refresh the page to view them). Please note that the import process may take some time. You can track the progress by refreshing the page periodically. During the import, the status will display as "Categories data import in progress" (as shown in the screenshot below for Turn14 Distribution; the process will be similar for other auto integrations).

Once the import is complete, the status will change to "Categories data import completed".

Take note of the Sync Categories button that appears at the bottom of the page.

This button allows you to synchronize your store's categories with the provider's catalog. For instance, if the provider adds new categories to their catalog, you can import them using the Sync Categories button. Additionally, if the category import process fails for any reason, you can use this button to re-initiate the import.

After importing categories, you will be able to configure category mapping rules and specify, which categories to import products from for each brand.

Please note that importing categories following the instructions in this article will not immediately modify your store's category structure. Categories imported from the provider's catalog will only appear in your store's catalog structure after the products have been imported and category mapping rules have been applied.