Product Feed Optimization Guide for Awin Product Feed
Learn the required fields, format specifications, and optimization strategies for Awin Product Feed feeds.
What is Awin Product Feed?
Awin is one of the largest global affiliate marketing networks, operating across 180+ countries with strongholds in the UK, US, DE, FR, NL, BE, ES, IT, PL, BR, and APAC markets. Awin is majority-owned by Axel Springer SE, with United Internet AG as a minority shareholder (the two are separate German companies; Axel Springer is reportedly exploring a sale of Awin as of 2025). Awin acquired ShareASale in 2017 and operated both platforms in parallel for several years; ShareASale was fully consolidated into Awin's Accelerate Plan on October 6, 2025. Following the consolidation, Awin reports approximately 250,000 active publishers and 9,500 advertisers. For merchants seeking truly global affiliate distribution through a single integration, Awin is the largest platform option in Europe and one of the top three globally alongside Rakuten Advertising and Impact.
Awin ingests product data through Awin's Product Service - a feed system supporting CSV (tab or pipe-delimited) and XML formats. Required fields include id, title, description, brand, price (currency configured per program, VAT-inclusive), shipping_cost, delivery_time, stock, category, deeplink, image_url, and ean. Awin's Product Service is more sophisticated than typical affiliate feeds - it supports automated currency conversion for international affiliates, multi-locale variants per SKU, and integration with Awin's Mastertag tracking for cross-device attribution.
Awin's commercial model is CPA, with commission rates configured per category and per affiliate tier. Standard commission rates run 4-15 percent of order value; high-margin categories (luxury, beauty) can support higher rates. Awin's validation period is configurable (typically 30-60 days) and supports automated validation rules to streamline approval. The strategic value of Awin for global merchants is the breadth of its affiliate network - a single feed reaches voucher portals in the UK, content publishers in Germany, comparison engines in Brazil, and influencers in Australia. Mid-sized merchants serving multiple markets often run Awin alongside one or two regional networks (TradeTracker for NL/BE depth, Daisycon for NL/BE relationships) to cover both global breadth and local depth.
At a Glance
Awin Product Feed Field Requirements
Required and optional fields for your product feed
How Awin Product Feed Feeds Are Structured
Key structural rules and formatting requirements for this feed type
- 1
Use Awin's Product Service CSV or XML format
Awin's Product Service accepts tab- or pipe-delimited CSV (UTF-8 with BOM) and XML. Both formats are documented in the Awin advertiser dashboard. Field naming uses Awin's aw_ prefix on certain fields (aw_product_id, aw_deep_link) to namespace from generic catalog fields. The feed must be hosted on an HTTPS URL accessible without authentication.
CSV: aw_product_id\tproduct_name\tdescription\t...XML: <products><product><aw_product_id>... - 2
Submit prices in the program's configured currency
Awin programs are configured per locale, with one currency per program. UK in GBP, US in USD, EU programs in EUR (per locale), CH in CHF, etc. VAT/sales-tax-inclusive prices required where applicable. Period decimal separator (149.95). The currency field can be omitted if the program is single-currency, or specified per row for multi-currency feeds (rare).
UK: <search_price>129.95</search_price>Multi-currency: <currency>GBP</currency><search_price>129.95</search_price> - 3
aw_deep_link must be the clean unwrapped product URL
Awin wraps the deeplink with affiliate tracking (clickref, awc tag, p tag) at click time. Submit clean canonical URLs without query strings or your own tracking parameters - pre-wrapping conflicts with Awin tracking and breaks attribution.
Good: https://www.example.com/products/airmax90-black - 4
Identifier diversity: ean, isbn, upc, mpn
Awin's global reach means catalogs often include products with regional identifiers - ean (Europe), upc (North America), isbn (books), or mpn (manufacturer part number). Populate all available identifiers per SKU rather than just one. International affiliates use whichever identifier is conventional in their market, so multi-identifier coverage maximizes affiliate pickup.
<ean>0194501234567</ean><upc>0194501234567</upc><isbn>9781234567890</isbn> - 5
Use rrp_price and saving_amount for promotion display
Awin's product service supports rrp_price (Recommended Retail Price) and saving_amount as separate fields from the listed search_price. Affiliates render this as strikethrough pricing automatically (RRP £169.95, Save £20.00). This significantly outperforms free-form promotional_text strings because it lets affiliates filter and sort by discount amount.
<search_price>149.95</search_price><rrp_price>169.95</rrp_price><saving_amount>20.00</saving_amount> - 6
in_stock as binary integer (1 or 0)
Awin's in_stock field is conventionally used as binary 1/0 - 1 means available, 0 means out of stock. The Awin documentation accepts the broader Awin Product Service field set (including text values), but the 1/0 convention is what affiliates' comparison engines and content templates expect. If your data tracks unit counts, threshold to 1 for any positive count.
<in_stock>1</in_stock>
Awin Product Feed Optimization Tips
Proven strategies to improve your feed performance and product visibility
- 1
Use Awin's tiered commission structure aggressively
Awin's tiered commission feature is more sophisticated than most networks. You can configure base commission rates per category, plus elevated tiers for top affiliates and exclusive tiers for strategic partners. Use this to lock in your top 20-30 affiliates with 2-4 percentage point uplifts above standard. The compounding loyalty effect typically produces 30-60 percent more volume from those affiliates within 90 days of tier elevation.
Standard: 8%Top tier: 11%Strategic partners: 13% + exclusive code - 2
Configure Awin Mastertag for cross-device tracking
Awin's Mastertag is a JavaScript snippet that combines affiliate tracking, conversion tracking, and Awin's cross-device attribution into a single integration. Implementing Mastertag (vs the legacy pixel approach) typically lifts attributed conversions by 8-12 percent because cross-device journeys (mobile click, desktop conversion) are properly credited. Worth the engineering investment for any merchant doing more than 100K USD/year in Awin volume.
Mastertag <script> in storefront <head>Snippet from Awin advertiser dashboard - 3
Populate all available identifiers (ean, upc, mpn, isbn)
Awin's global affiliate base uses different identifiers depending on market. EU affiliates default to EAN, US affiliates to UPC, book retailers to ISBN, technical retailers to MPN. Populating all available identifiers maximizes pickup across affiliate types. The marginal effort is small - the data usually exists in source systems already.
EU SKU: <ean>0194501234567</ean><upc>0194501234567</upc> - 4
Use rrp_price + saving_amount instead of free-form promo text
Affiliates can filter and rank by discount amount when you provide structured rrp_price and saving_amount. Free-form promotional_text is unfilterable and gets less affiliate display. For temporary promotions, set rrp_price to the regular price and search_price to the promo price - affiliates render strikethrough pricing automatically.
Regular promo: rrp 169.95, search 149.95, saving 20.00 - 5
Set commission rates competitively against global benchmarks
Awin's benchmarks vary by region and category. UK fashion benchmark is typically 6-10 percent; DE electronics 3-5 percent; US beauty 8-12 percent; BR home & garden 5-8 percent. Set at or above regional benchmarks per category. Programs with below-benchmark commission see significantly reduced affiliate pickup compared to peers.
UK Fashion: 8% benchmark, set 9%US Beauty: 10% benchmark, set 11% - 6
Refresh feed daily, twice during peak windows
Awin polls daily by default. During Q4 (Black Friday through Christmas) and major regional retail moments (Singles Day in APAC, Boxing Day in UK), schedule twice-daily fetches. Awin's global affiliate base operates across timezones, so feed freshness affects the program 24/7 rather than just in the merchant's home market hours.
Off-peak: daily 03:00 UTCPeak: twice daily 06:00 + 18:00 UTC for global coverage
Common Awin Product Feed Feed Errors
Frequent feed issues and how to resolve them
- Error
Pre-wrapped aw_deep_link with merchant tracking
SolutionSubmit clean unwrapped URLs - Awin wraps with tracking automatically. Pre-wrapping breaks attribution.
- Error
Single identifier on global catalog
SolutionPopulate ean + upc + mpn together. Different international affiliates default to different identifiers; multi-identifier coverage maximizes pickup.
- Error
Mastertag not implemented or misconfigured
SolutionMastertag (vs legacy pixel) typically lifts attributed conversions 8-12 percent through cross-device tracking. Implement Mastertag for any program above 100K USD/year volume.
- Error
Below-benchmark commission rates
SolutionAwin's regional benchmarks vary - check the dashboard for your category and region. Below-benchmark commission dramatically reduces pickup vs peers.
- Error
Free-form promotional_text instead of structured rrp + saving
SolutionUse rrp_price and saving_amount fields - affiliates can filter/sort/render strikethrough automatically. Free-form text gets less display surface.
- Error
in_stock as integer count instead of conventional 1/0
SolutionAwin's in_stock is conventionally used as 1/0. Threshold any positive count to 1; submit 0 only when truly out of stock - the binary convention is what affiliate-side templates expect.
Feed Performance Metrics to Track
Key metrics that indicate how well your product feed is performing
Active Affiliate Count
Distinct affiliates promoting your program in trailing 30 days. Healthy global program: 100-500+ active affiliates. Awin's scale means well-tuned programs typically have 2-5x the active affiliate count of regional-only networks.
Affiliate Revenue Share
Percentage of online revenue attributed to Awin. Mature global programs drive 8-18 percent of total revenue; specialist categories (fashion, voucher-driven) can reach 25 percent.
Effective CPA (eCPA)
Total Awin commission divided by attributed orders. Healthy: 6-15 percent of AOV mirroring commission rates. Track per-region as eCPA varies significantly across UK/US/DE/EU markets.
Cross-Device Attribution Lift
Conversions attributed via Mastertag's cross-device tracking that legacy pixel attribution would have missed. Healthy: 8-15 percent uplift on Mastertag programs vs legacy pixel programs.
Validation Rate
Percentage of conversions surviving validation period (typically 30-60 days post-conversion) without rejection. Healthy: 90+ percent. Below 85 percent indicates return-rate issues or validation rule misconfiguration.
How to Set Up Your Awin Product Feed Feed
Step-by-step guide to creating and optimizing your product feed
Apply for an Awin advertiser account
Sign up at advertisers.awin.com. You will need a verified domain, a registered business entity, a published return policy, and a storefront with at least 6 months of order history. Awin requires a setup fee plus monthly platform fee for new advertisers - discuss the pricing structure during onboarding. Approval typically takes 7-14 business days.
Build CSV or XML product feed in Awin format
Generate a UTF-8 (BOM) feed with all 11 required Awin-prefixed fields plus all available identifiers (ean, upc, mpn, isbn). Use clean unwrapped aw_deep_link URLs. Use rrp_price + saving_amount for promotions. Validate against Awin's online validator before submission.
Implement Awin Mastertag on storefront
Add the Mastertag JavaScript snippet from the advertiser dashboard to your storefront <head>. Configure conversion tracking on the order confirmation page. Test cross-device attribution by clicking an Awin link on mobile and converting on desktop. Mastertag is the highest-leverage technical optimization on Awin.
Awin Global Affiliate Program Optimization Checklist
Download the complete Awin playbook covering the multi-region CSV/XML feed template, Mastertag implementation guide, the regional commission benchmarking framework, and the tiered-commission strategy for global affiliate cultivation.
- Multi-region Awin feed template with aw_-prefixed fields, multi-identifier coverage (ean + upc + mpn + isbn), and rrp_price + saving_amount for structured promotion display
- Awin Mastertag implementation guide with code snippets for major ecommerce platforms (Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, custom Node/PHP) and the cross-device attribution lift typical of well-implemented Mastertag
- Regional commission benchmarking framework with current Awin benchmark rates for UK/US/DE/EU/BR/APAC across the 30 most-active categories
- Global affiliate cultivation playbook covering the tiered-commission structure, exclusive-promotion configuration, and the per-region top-affiliate identification process
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Awin Product Feed product feeds
Google Product Category Lookup
Full taxonomy list, IDs, and how to map your products correctly.
Explore More Feed Guides
- Inventory all product sources
- Define your attribute schema
- Normalize brand names
- Add alt-text to every primary image
The product feed optimization checklist
Ten hard steps that bring your rejection rate down and your CTR up — from title templates to source-side structured data.
- Record your current rejection rate first as a baseline
- Per-channel title templates (no copy-paste)
- Pipe errors into Slack/email for same-day triage
One email, no follow-up spam. Print it and get to work.
Generate every feed automatically from one catalog
The WISEPIM Feed Hub turns your central product data into ready-to-publish feeds for every channel in this guide — and dozens more. Map fields once, schedule refreshes, monitor errors per channel, and push fixes back to the source. No manual exports, no format-juggling, no chasing rejections one channel at a time.
Ready to Optimize Your Awin Product Feed Feed?
WisePIM automatically generates optimized product feeds for all major channels from your central product catalog.