[Important] Category Tree Adjustment in June 2021

Hi Developer,

Thank you for your acknowledgement of Shopee’s Category Tree Adjustment announcement in February (previous announcement).

We would like to update you that the scheduled rollout to Live environment for SG will be on 9 June 2021, from 18:00 - 19:00 SGT.

The second batch, PH and VN are scheduled to roll out to Live environment on 16 June 2021, from 18:00 - 19:00 SGT.

The third batch, MX, TW, ID, MY and TH, will be rolled out on 21 June 2021, from 18:00 - 19:00 SGT.

To recap on the adjustment:

• The category tree structure will be adjusted to be more consistent* across markets, except for the Brazil site which will rollout in 2022.
• More mandatory attributes will be added.
• [v1] GetAttributes API: shop_id will change as a mandatory input param
• New attribute input types will be supported.**-

- Multi-select dropdown

- Multi-select combo box

*Please note that there are still minor differences in category tree structure across markets due to differences in local regulations.

**These can only be supported in Open API 2.0. For version 1.0, these attributes will be treated as single-select.

To ensure that you will be fully prepared for and have enough time to adjust to the improved category tree and product listing process, kindly complete the Sandbox Testing for Category Tree Adjustment as announced in May (previous announcement).

To find out more about the impact of this adjustment, please refer to the list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below:

Q1: How will the category adjustment affect me as a seller?

For existing listings:

• Shopee will automatically adjust your listings’ categories based on the available product information. If you wish to update the category, you may do so by editing your listings.
• Shopee will also fill in some attribute values for your listings based on the available product information; however, do check and ensure that you fill in all remaining mandatory attributes within the transition period from rollout in June to the end of September 2021.
• During our transition period, you may still update your listings without filling in missing mandatory attribute information; after the transition period, if there are products with missing mandatory attribute information, they will be flagged when you try to make an edit (e.g. when you try to update a product’s stock count).
• When a listing is flagged, you will be required to fill in the missing mandatory information before updating other product information.

For new listings:

• New listings will need to be uploaded based on the new category tree structure.
• You will be required to fill in mandatory attribute information.
• Mandatory fields will differ depending on the category.
• You can explore Shopee’s Product Category Guide to better understand our categories and their related attributes.

Q2: Will this adjustment affect how categories look to buyers? Will it be harder to find my products?

The categories that sellers on Seller Centre may slightly differ from the categories that buyers see when they are browsing on the Shopee platform.

For example, you may upload a listing under this category “Women Clothes > Tops > T-Shirts” with the attribute value “Sleeve Length: Long Sleeves”

Buyers would see a different category on Shopee platform “Women Clothes > Tops > Long Sleeve T-Shirts”, as what they see during search is based on the mandatory attributes and brand information that sellers provide for their listings.

This improves search results and allows for more relevant searches.

Q3: My brand is not available in the list of selection, what should I do?

You can fill in a form to add your brand to the Shopee database. Please reach out to your Account Manager or our Customer Service team for assistance. Once added, the brand(s) can then be tagged to your listings and help boost search visibility.

If you have further enquiries, let us know via openapi@support.shopee.com.

开发者您好，

感谢您对Shopee于今年 2 月发送的品类结构更新公告作出了反馈（详细内容可参考此处）。

Shopee品类结构将分批次在各市场上线更新：

更新内容：

• 不同市场之间的品类结构将会变得更加一致*。
• 增加更多必填的商品属性。
• [v1] GetAttribute接口入参shop_id变为必填项。
• 增加更多的属性输入格式**。

- Multi-select dropdown

- Multi-select combo box

• 请注意各市场的品类结构会因禁运禁售品类不同而存在大同小异的情况。

** 新增输入格式仅支持 OpenAPI 2.0 用户，1.0 用户仅支持单选。

*** 对于已对接CNSC的开发者，需要调用global product相关接口更新/上传全球商品信息。

为确保您有充分准备以及足够时间适应新的品类结构以及商品上传流程，烦请在沙盒环境中完成品类结构更新的测试。（测试内容可参考之前的公告）

关于此次更新的影响，请参考以下常见问题：

问题1：品类结构的调整对卖家的影响是什么？

回答：

对于存量商品：

• Shopee已经基于商品信息调整了存量商品的品类。如果您觉得Shopee调整结果不合理，可为商品重新选择合理的品类。
• Shopee也已经基于商品信息调整了存量商品的部分属性。但，烦请在截止九月末的过渡期结束前，检查以及填入存量商品缺失的必填属性，否则您将无法更新商品。
• 在过渡期间，即使您不填入必填属性也允许更新商品；过渡期结束后，更新存量商品必须填入必填属性，否则无法更新。

对于新增商品：

• 须在新的品类结构下上传新商品。
• 必填属性会因品类的不同而不同。
• 您可以查阅 Shopee商品品类指南 来了解我们的品类以及相关的商品属性。

问题2：品类结构的更新对买家的影响是什么？发现我店铺的商品会变得更难吗？

回答：

• 卖家在卖家中心面对的品类结构会和买家在前台商城看到的品类会有少许差异。

比如，您在 “女装 > 上衣 > T恤” 品类中上传了一件商品，并填入属性 “袖长：长袖” 。那么买家在前台所看到的将会是 “女装 > 上衣 > 长袖T恤” ，这是因为前台的品类结构是通过组合后台品类、商品属性和商品品牌而成的。

• 前台的搜索结果会根据搜索内容进行推荐相关品类、属性和品牌的商品。买家在搜索中可以更容易发现其想要购买的商品。

问题3：上传/编辑商品时，在品牌下拉列表中未发现店铺自有品牌，我该怎么办呢？

回答：您可以通过品牌注册页面填写表单申请注册品牌。请联系您的客户经理或者客服团队进行协助。品牌一旦被注册，您的商品都将会被标注您的品牌名，在前台可见亦可被搜索。

若您有更多想要咨询的问题，烦请通过邮箱openapi@support.shopee.com让我们知道。