How to Create an idealo Product Feed Using an Existing XML Export

Idealo is one of the major price comparison platforms in Europe, and listing products there requires a properly structured product feed.

Many merchants already have product data exported from their store as an XML feed, but still run into issues when submitting that feed to idealo.

In most cases, the problem is not missing data, but mismatched structure and formatting.

What is an idealo product feed?

An idealo product feed is a structured csv file that contains product information such as:

• product ID
• title and description
• price and availability
• product URL
• image URL
• brand and category

idealo validates feeds strictly, and even small structural issues can cause products to be rejected or skipped.

Why existing XML feeds often don’t work out of the box

Many merchants already have an XML feed generated for other platforms, for example:

• Google Shopping XML feeds
• generic XML exports from ecommerce platforms
• custom XML feeds from internal systems

While these feeds usually contain the correct product data, idealo expects a specific structure and naming for required attributes.

Common problems include:

• missing mandatory idealo attributes
• incorrect availability or price formats
• fields that exist but are named or structured differently
• feeds designed for another platform’s specification

As a result, an XML feed that works perfectly elsewhere may fail during idealo validation.

Reusing an existing XML feed instead of rebuilding it

In most cases, rebuilding a product feed from scratch is unnecessary.

If you already have an XML export, you can reuse it by adapting the feed structure to match idealo’s requirements.

This approach focuses on:

• mapping existing XML fields to idealo attributes
• normalizing values such as price and availability
• generating an idealo-compatible csv output feed

It allows you to keep product data in one place while adapting it for idealo.

A typical idealo feed preparation workflow

A practical workflow usually looks like this:

1. Export an existing XML product feed from your system.
2. Review idealo’s required attributes and formats.
3. Map your existing XML fields to idealo fields.
4. Generate an idealo-compatible csv feed.
5. Upload the feed to idealo and monitor validation results.

This process reduces duplication and makes long-term maintenance easier.

When a feed converter makes sense

Using a feed converter is especially useful when:

• your ecommerce platform does not offer a native idealo export
• the native export does not match idealo’s structure
• you manage multiple platforms with different feed requirements
• feed specifications change over time

Instead of maintaining separate XML feeds for each destination, you adapt one source feed to multiple outputs.

An example approach

I documented this approach using a small, platform-agnostic product feed converter that adapts existing XML feeds into idealo-compatible formats.

It focuses on feed structure and field mapping rather than generating product data.

If you’re interested in the technical approach, you can find it here:
product feed converter

Final thoughts

Creating an idealo product feed doesn’t have to mean rebuilding your product data from scratch.

When an XML feed already exists, adapting its structure is often the most maintainable and scalable solution.