Catalog API
activeSponsored Ads promote real products from your store, so the platform needs to know your catalog: the products, categories, sellers, and which seller sells which product. You sync this with the Sync API.
Display Ads can run without a catalog, but Sponsored Ads cannot be filled without one. Syncing the catalog also improves targeting across all of Retail Media.
Get a catalog connection first
Create a catalog connection (see
Connection, credentials & host URLs) to obtain your
sourceIdentifier and API key (Bearer token). All Sync calls are POST requests
authenticated with that Bearer token:
POST {apiPath}/api/tracker/catalog/{sourceIdentifier}/{entity}
Each call returns {"status":"QUEUED"} — ingestion is asynchronous.
The four core entities
| Entity | Endpoint suffix | Why the platform needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Category | /category | Builds the category tree (parentCategoryId, level, isLeaf) so the platform can walk neighboring categories when filling a slot. |
| Product | /product | The main entity. Powers matching a search query or page context to the closest product. Each product links to a leaf categoryId. |
| Variant (seller product) | /productVariant | The connection between sellers and products (variantId + productId + sellerId), with price, stock, and isBuyBoxWinner. This is how the platform knows which seller sells which product. |
| Seller | /seller | So the platform can create seller accounts and let sellers run campaigns on their own products and categories. Flags like isBrand, isMarketPlaceOwner, isActive matter here. |
There's also a Sync General Catalog API
(/general) for flexible, arbitrary entities — an escape hatch for data that doesn't fit
the four core shapes.
How the pieces fit
- Categories form a tree. A product attaches to a leaf category. When a slot's context has no eligible ad, the platform may walk to a neighboring category and fill from there — this is a platform-side decision, not something the request controls.
- Products are what the platform matches to a search query or page context.
- A variant (seller product) ties a seller to a product. The same product can have several variants from different sellers at different prices; the Buy Box winner is the one surfaced most prominently.
- Sellers get accounts so they (or their campaign managers) can create campaigns and see which of their products and categories they can promote.
Field reference
The full request/response schema for each entity — mandatory fields, constraints, and examples — is in the Sync API reference.
Next
With inventory (media property + slots), credentials, and catalog in place, wire up the shared runtime concerns:
Then integrate your family: Display Ads · Sponsored Ads.