Below are answers to frequently asked questions about content and the Category Advisor's role in updating content in Item 360.

Access

1. Should Category Advisors already have access to Item 360? What should I do if I get an error when logging in? 

If you have issues accessing Item 360, Category Advisors may contact WalmartCatAdvisor@walmart.com. 

2. Will Category Advisors automatically be assigned all items they have access to? Currently, I only see my company's items in Item 360. 

Category Advisors have visibility to items in the Walmart Departments and Finelines that you have access to across different Suppliers. If you have issues viewing the correct items in Item 360, contact WalmartCatAdvisor@walmart.com. Please include your User ID, Department, and the Finelines you support.  

3. Where can Category Advisors find the Item 360 foundational courses before getting started in Item 360?  

These foundational courses provide overviews of basic item concepts, tool navigation, maintenance specs, content quality, and the style guides.  

• Path: Retail Link > Academy > 1. Getting Started (under Quick Learning Articles) > Item Setup and Management Basics (under Walmart Item 360 Item Setup)  
  • Item Basics | Item 360 & iSAM  
  • Item 360 | Basics  
  • Item 360 | Basics & New Omni Item Spec  
• Item 360 Content Quality (this is a pre-recorded course that is not available in Retail Link > Academy)
• Style Guide 101 

Scope

1. Are Walmart Merchants aware of the roles and responsibilities of the Category Advisors in Item 360? 

Merchants who have Category Advisors were invited to a similar inform session to the one you attended, and they have been made aware of the roles and responsibilities of Category Advisors in Item 360. 

2. Who should initiate a need for item maintenance/web enrichment/content health for my category in Item 360? Is it the Merchant or an ongoing process for the Category Advisor to maintain? 

We recommend working closely with your Merchant to gain clarity and prioritization of these content improvement efforts to ensure the desired results. As Category Advisors, you are able to initiate content enrichment recommendations in Item 360.  

3. What should I expect my Merchants to prioritize for content enrichment?

Merchants may target events (big modular relays, holidays, marketing events), site experience (items on first three pages of a site shelf or category), items with a poor content quality score, specific attributes that we’re focusing on for the site, etc. You'll work closely with your Merchant to incorporate content enrichment priorities into your routine.

4. Why is the Supplier who owns the item not the one responsible for maintaining their items content quality? 

A key takeaway from the first Category Advisor Summit in August 2022 is that we must continue evolving to meet omnichannel needs as retail constantly changes. While Suppliers do have responsibility for maintaining the content quality of their items, Category Advisors continue to provide important support to our team including day-to-day support on our most critical tasks. By assisting with product content attributes, you can help improve our customers’ search results which can help convert those searches to increased sales in the category. You’ll work with your Merchant to prioritize content enrichment efforts, directly make recommendations for attributes in Item 360, and provide feedback on opportunities you see across the category.

5. My employer has a team that focuses on content. Won’t we be overwriting each other?

Most brands do a great job of providing content, and it's likely you'll contribute more on items from Suppliers that don’t have the same resources to provide great content. However, all items you support are in scope, and regardless of who owns the content, high-quality and consistent content, in alignment with our Style Guides, is the goal.

6. Are content updates required for items that are no longer traited and have no inventory in Fulfillment Centers? 

Work with your Merchant to ensure the proper guidance.

7. Is there a way for Category Advisors to discard/delete items in our catalog? 

No, Category Advisors do not have the ability to discard or delete items from the Item 360 Catalog. If you identify items that you think should be discarded or deleted, work with your Walmart Merchant so that they can evaluate the item and determine whether to follow up with the Supplier. As a reminder, Category Advisors should not contact the sales team for your employer or other Suppliers directly. 

8. For discontinued or duplicated items found online, do we advise the Merchant since we cannot discard/delete them? 

Yes, work with your Walmart Merchant so that they can follow up with the Supplier on these items. 

9. Are Category Advisors able to submit images to Retail Link for items? 

No, Category Advisors cannot update imagery or rich media in Item 360. However, you may provide recommendations to your Walmart Merchant. 

10. How do Category Advisors help with images?

The Supplier is responsible for providing imagery that meets the Style Guide standards. When imagery doesn’t meet those standards, assist your Merchant in identifying the issues so the Merchant can follow up with the Supplier directly.

11. Are Category Advisors going to be responsible for items that are on the modular for content?  

Item 360 currently supports 1P items for Walmart stores and online, and you may assist with item attribution for any of these items.  

12. Are Category Advisors also going to be responsible for marketplace items? 

No, you will not be updating content for marketplace items.

13. Are Category Advisors also maintaining product content for all Puerto Rico items? 

Any active published 1P items within your category should be evaluated and/or updated to ensure proper content. If information is needed for Puerto Rico items, work with your Merchant.  

Finding Items

1. How do I filter the Item 360 Catalog to see just my category/categories? 

In the Item 360 Catalog, Category Advisors have visibility to items in the Walmart Departments and Finelines that you have access to across different Suppliers. You can narrow down the list of items by clicking the Filter icon and applying selections. Refer to this article for instructions on filtering items in the Catalog. You do not have the ability to filter items by a specific Walmart Merchant. 

2. The UPCs and Item Numbers did not pull up in the Maintenance Hub. Where do I find the GTINs? 

To find GTINs, go to the Item 360 Catalog. Copy and paste the 12-digit UPCs (each has a check digit) or Item Numbers into the Product ID search bar next to the Filter icon (all the Product IDs you enter must be the same type). After applying the search, you can find the GTIN next to the Product Name at the top left corner of the item cards. 

• Tip: You can start the bulk maintenance workflow for up to 5,000 items at a time from the Catalog by clicking Export Insights & Edit Content.
  • If you select Export all available attributes, your spreadsheet will automatically start downloading.
  • If you select Export a custom set of attributes, open the drop-down menus and select the attributes that you want to provide recommendations for. 

3. Why can't I find items that I saw or updated previously?

If you don't see items in your Catalog that you could see before, it's because those items are not in the Walmart Departments and Finelines that you have access to as a Category Advisor across different Suppliers (i.e., you may no longer see items that you have maintained in the past or be able to maintain them moving forward).

Maintaining Items

1. Under the export menu in my Item 360 Catalog, Export Insights & Edit Content is grayed out and I cannot click it. 

To enable Export Insights & Edit Content in the Item 360 Catalog export menu, make sure you have fewer than 5,000 items. That is the maximum number of items you can export at one time in an editable spreadsheet. To narrow down your list of items, apply filters or select individual items by clicking the check box on the item cards. 

2. How do I pull a group of items without having to key in each item? For example, I want to pull all items with a low content score. 

In the Item 360 Catalog, click the Filter icon. These filters are organized by groups of attributes. Under Content Improvement, select the Content Quality range you want to view and apply the filter. Once you have the list of items, you can export up to 5,000 at a time.  

3. I identified items needing updates to attributes that Category Advisors cannot maintain. What should I do? 

Work with your Walmart Merchant so that they can follow up with the Supplier. As a reminder, Category Advisors should not contact the sales team for your employer or other Suppliers directly.

4. What if I don't have the information?

For attributes that are missing, you won’t always have the right information to enter. In these cases, assist your Merchant in identifying the issues so the Merchant can follow up with the Supplier directly.

5. Will there be an Item 360 API to use for content enrichment? 

Item Setup and Maintenance APIs that align to the new product type specs are in development. As implementation plans are finalized, a communication will be sent to all Suppliers later this year.  

6. What if I can’t find my Style Guide? 

From the Item 360 Help menu, try searching for Style Guides using alternate terms or navigate to all Style Guide articles by selecting Item 360 > Style Guides > the category to narrow down the options. 

Content Ranking and Ownership

1. What ranking do Category Advisors have in making content updates? For example, if I use a 3rd-party content service provider like Salsify, will category updates revert back because Suppliers have higher ranking? 

Category Advisor recommended edits are sent to the Walmart Content Operations Team for review and approval. Once approved, those updates will stick and should not be overwritten. If you see anything outside of the norm or have concerns about content sticking, please work with your Merchant.  

2. If a Category Advisor’s recommendation is adopted in Item 360, will that force Suppliers to submit a de-ranking request to allow their PIM tool (like Salsify) to have priority status in updating their PDPs? 

Category Advisor recommended edits are sent to the Walmart Content Operations Team for review and approval. Once approved, those updates will stick and should not be overwritten. If you see anything outside of the norm or have concerns about content sticking, please work with your Merchant.  

Support

1. Who should Category Advisors contact for questions about our day-to-day responsibilities?  

Contact WalmartCatAdvisor@walmart.com.   

2. Where can Category Advisors find help for navigating and using Item 360? 

Get started with this Category Advisor Overview for Content Enrichment. You can always click the Help icon in Item 360 to search all available articles, but keep in mind that Category Advisors do not have access to all the functionalities in Item 360.  

3. How do Category Advisors get support if we run into issues while using Item 360? 

File a case ticket to Partner Support using the instructions in this article.