This section describes how the connector organizes and merges data during export, and how the available parameters influence the final CSV output.

1. Export model: Categories + Products + Variants merged

When the connector is configured with merging options enabled, it produces a single, consolidated table that contains:

• Category information for each product, if merged.
• Product (parent) information.
• Variant-level information.

This results in a dataset where every row is:

• A complete marketplace-ready record.
• Self-contained.
• Fully enriched with parent, variant, and category data.

Example A: Combined Category + Product + Variant Output

When Categories are merged:

Example B: Product with 3 Variants

PIM Input:

• Product P1
• Variants: VP1, VP2, VP3

Connector Output (merged):

2. Behavior of standalone Products

Standalone Products without Variants

If a product has no variants:

• It is exported as a single Parent record.
• All Variant-only fields remain empty.
• The row appears as a standard simple product.

This is especially important for catalogs that include both variable products and simple products.

Example C: Product without Variants

PIM Input:

• Product P2
• No variants

Connector Output:

3. When to use Add parents to variants

The parameter Add parents to variants generates an extra Parent row for products that contain variants.

Common Use Cases

Some marketplaces require a Parent record with no variant attributes, Type = Parent, and identifying information only, followed by Child rows for each variant.

In these cases, the feed must include:

• P1 (Parent)
• P1 + VP1 (Child)
• P1 + VP2 (Child)
• P1 + VP3 (Child)

This option is recommended when you need to display products as a single list with grouped variations, or when you want to distinguish Parent and Child rows using formulas such as IS_FUSION_VARIANT_PARENT().

It is not recommended when the marketplace only expects variant rows, when the target platform does not support hierarchical product models, or when you want a strictly flat list of variants.