Manage Stores Data

Selecting Content Management > Stores from the menu bar displays a screen for uploading and managing data for your retail stores. 

Note: If stores data has already been uploaded to the ViewSpot Studio database, the Stores Data View displays instead of the screen shown below.

Stores management involves a three-step process:

1. Upload a CSV file containing the geographical areas, territories, districts, and other data for your retail stores. (See CSV format.)

2. Select one of the data columns from the CSV file as the top-level identifier for the stores you want to support with Price Cards or Experiences. 

3. Select additional data columns as filters for targeting subsets of those stores. The filters you select are then available on the Add Store Group form when creating a Store Group.

The following sections provide instructions for each of these steps.

Upload Stores Data

In this step, you upload a CSV file containing data for your retail stores so you can use the data to target stores when creating Price Cards or Experiences.

To upload a CSV file, follow these steps:

1. On the initial stores management screen, click Choose File to open a browse screen.

2. Navigate to the desired CSV file, select it, and then click Open.

3. Click Upload File to upload the CSV file data into the ViewSpot Studio database.

4. Click Next and continue with the instructions in Select Top-level Store Identifier.

Select Top-level Store Identifier

In this step, you select a single data column that serves as a unique identifier for your stores. This identifier is commonly called a Store ID, but goes by many other names as well. In the example below, "NetAce ID" serves as the Store ID and would be selected as the store identifier.

You can then select filters in the next step to target subsets of those stores.

To select a data column as a top-level store identifier, follow these steps:

1. Check the box for the data column that should serve as the top-level store identifier.

2. Click Next and continue with the instructions in Select Filters.

Select Filters

In this step, you select the column headers from the CSV file to use as dynamic filters to support subsets of stores (Store Groups) that you want to target with Price Cards or Experiences. 

The filter list order determines the filter hierarchy on the Add Store Group form when creating a Store Group. When structuring your filter list, think about how the data can be used to create subsets of stores you want to target with Price Cards or Experiences. 

For example, let’s say you choose a column header called StoreID as the top-level store identifier that uniquely identifies each store. You may want to create subsets of those stores using the Area filter (North, South, East and West), and then filter Area-based stores by Territory (city/state), and Territory-based stores by District (specific region within a Territory). You can even group stores down to the individual store level by including StoreID (top-level identifier) as a filter. 

To support these store subsets, you would order your filters as:

● Area

● Territory

● District

● StoreID

The column headers are listed in alphabetical order in the Available Fields column, an example of which is shown here.

Note: The number of columns and the column names will vary based on customer requirements. 

To select data columns from the CSV file to use as filters, follow these steps:

1. Click and drag a column header from the Available Fields area to the Filter Fields area.

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2. Continue to drag over column headers until the filter list contains all desired filters.

3. Click Done. These filters will now be shown on the Add Store Group form in the order you selected.

Note: After you select Done, the stores data configuration is locked down and cannot be edited. If you need to make changes to the configuration (for example, add a new column header), a user with an assigned user role that includes the required permissions must reset the stores data and import a new CSV file.

Reset Stores Data

The reset option lets you redo the three-step process for managing stores data, either before or after locking the stores data configuration. To reset stores data, follow these steps:

1. Click Reset. The screen for uploading a CSV file displays.

2. Click Choose File to open a browse screen.

3. Navigate to the desired CSV file, select it, and then click Open.

4. Click Upload File to upload the CSV file data into the ViewSpot Studio database.

5. Click Next. The screen for selecting a store identifier displays.

6. Select the desired store identifier, and then click Next. The screen for selecting store filters displays.

7. Follow the instructions above for selecting the column headers from the CSV file to use as dynamic filters.

Stores Data View

The Stores screen shows the stores data that was uploaded from the CSV file into the ViewSpot Studio database. To access this screen, select Content Management > Stores from the menu bar.

The following options are available for viewing this data.

Filter Data Columns

Hover the mouse to the right of any data header to display its filter icon, and then click the icon.

Use the drop-down list to select your filter criteria, and then enter keyword(s) in the Filter field. As you enter keywords, a second drop-down list appears to aid in filtering the data. The Stores list dynamically updates with stores that match the filters.

Sort Data Columns

Click any data header to display an arrow icon. An up arrow indicates data in ascending order and a down arrow in descending order. Click the header to toggle the order.

Page Navigation

Use these icons to navigate the stores data pages (first page, last page, single page back and single page forward).

Last CSV Upload

This information relates to the last upload of stores data to ViewSpot Studio. It includes the timestamp of the upload, who uploaded the stores .csv file, and the name of the file.

Note: Your user role must include the user:read permission to view this information.

CSV File Format

When creating a CSV file for uploading to ViewSpot Studio, please follow these guidelines:

● Any UTF-8, BOM (Byte Order Mark) encoded CSV file can be imported.

● First row should contain header data.

● Comma (,) should be used to separate values.

● Special characters (for example, $ % # ! /) are valid.

● Blank spaces are valid.

● Missing values are valid.

● Duplicate data rows are valid.

Upload New CSV File

If you need to update stores data such as adding several new stores, you can simply upload a new CSV file to the ViewSpot database.

Important! To maintain your existing Store Groups and their associated stores data, the new CSV file must also include those stores. For example, if you want to add fifty new stores to the database, the new CSV file must contain all store data uploaded in the previous CSV file plus data for the fifty new stores. 

Note: The new CSV file must contain the exact data format as the previous CSV file. If the format is different (for example, additional column headers), a user with an assigned user role that includes the required permissions must first reset the stores data before uploading the new CSV file.

Tip: You can also manually add, delete, and edit stores rather than upload a new CSV file.

To upload a new CSV file, follow these steps:

1. Select Content Management > Stores from the menu bar.

2. On the Stores Data View screen, click Choose File to open a browse screen.

3. Browse to the desired CSV file, select it, and then click Open.

4. Click Upload File to upload the CSV file data into the ViewSpot Studio database.

Add a Store

To add a store manually to the current Stores list, follow these steps:

1. Log in to ViewSpot Studio. 

2. Select Content Management > Stores from the menu bar.

3. Click Add Store.

A form appears with data fields that correspond to the other stores’ data. 

4. Click a data field and type the new store’s data. 

Note: You must enter a value for the unique store identifier. All other fields are optional.

5. Click Add.

The store is added to the end of the Stores list.

Note: An error message displays if you attempt to add a store using an existing store identifier. 

Delete a Store

To delete one or more stores from the current Stores list, follow these steps:

1. Log in to ViewSpot Studio. 

2. Select Content Management > Stores from the menu bar.

3. Select the store(s) you want to delete.

Tip: Use Ctrl key + left mouse click to select or deselect multiple stores, and Shift key + left mouse click to select a range of stores.

4. Click the Delete Stores button.

A message appears asking you to confirm the deletion.

5. Click Delete.

Edit a Store

To edit data for a store, follow these steps:

1. Log in to ViewSpot Studio. 

2. Select Content Management > Stores from the menu bar.

3. Locate the store you want to edit.

4. Edit the desired data by double-clicking the data field to highlight it, and then overwriting the data with your edit. Click outside the field to save the update.

Note: All data fields are editable except for the Store Identifier field.

Export Stores Data

This feature lets you export the current list of stores data to a comma-separated value (.csv) file. This task is useful for ensuring all manual updates to the data (additions, deletions, and edits) are captured in a file that can later be imported into ViewSpot Studio if desired.

To export stores data, follow these steps:

1. Log in to ViewSpot Studio. 

2. Select Content Management > Stores from the menu bar.

3. Click Export Stores.

4. Once the file downloads to your default download folder, an indicator appears on the screen.

Click the filename to open the exported file, or hover the mouse over the icons to view file options.

Tip: Rename the file to help identify the exported data, and store it in a dedicated folder.