Import or send item data

Item collections in Data hub provide a unified way to manage your business data across Bloomreach products. This guide covers the methods for sending product, variant, and custom data to an item type in a collection.

Prerequisites

Before you send data, create an item collection with at least one item type. Each API request or import sends records to one item type. To target an item type, set it in the API request path, or open the item type, go to the Imports tab, and click + New import.

Ingestion methods

Item collections API

The Item collections API is the foundational method for ingesting data into item collections. All other ingestion methods are built on top of this API, making it the most powerful and flexible option available.

When to use

• Your organization has development resources or a technical partner.
• You need complete control over data flow and timing.
• You want access to features as soon as they're released.
• You require real-time or near-real-time updates.

How it works

The Item collections API uses a patch-based protocol where you send operations that describe changes to your records. Check the detailed guides on How to use the API to update item data.

Imports

Imports allow you to extract data directly from source systems without custom API development. 

When to use 

• Your data resides in flat files, databases, or data warehouses.
• You want scheduled, automated data extraction.
• You prefer configuration over custom code.
• You don't need updates more frequently than every 15 minutes. 

How it works

Configure the connection to your data source, map source columns to the record fields of the item type, and schedule extraction runs. The system automatically converts extracted data into the patch format and processes updates. Read the detailed Imports setup guide.