Rakuten PopShops Retirement - March 26th, 2018

Thank you for being a valued PopShops client!

We have an important announcement regarding your account.

Rakuten Marketing PopShops Products & Deals cross-network feed aggregator service for Publishers will retire on Friday, June 29th, 2018. After this date, the Products API, Coupon/Deals API, Curate for PopShops product showcase tool & any legacy, ShopBuilder and Data Feed Download (FTP) services will no longer be available.

The decision to sunset this technology was not made lightly, as our service was developed in 2006 to provide our publisher partners with a business technology solution that would provide hundreds of thousands of products & deals through a single cross-network API source. Rakuten Marketing will continue to be dedicated to our Publisher partners through Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Network publisher tools, product APIs, Coupon Web Services, global networking events and more.

Your business success is our priority. Please view important dates and deadlines below, as well as alternative solutions that can support your business’ products & deals comparison needs.

RM POPSHOPS RETIREMENT CALENDAR

KEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

How can I prepare for the retirement?
We ask that you prepare to discontinue use of the Data Feed Download, Products API, Coupon/Deals API, Curate for PopShops product showcase and/or the ShopBuilder storefront tool; And remove any PopShops URLs from all desktop or mobile properties by 7:00PM ET, Friday, June 29th, 2018.

What will happen to my PopShops links or product tools?
Once the feed services are retired, any new advertiser products added after June 29th, will NOT show up in query results or be available through product showcase tools. All PopShops URLs will redirect to a 404 Error Page or will not track commissions earned for referred sales.

Will I still be able to access the product feeds and/or coupon/deal links for my advertiser portfolio?
Yes, by working directly within each specific affiliate network, you’ll be able to access your approved advertiser’s product and deals data. For example, Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Network has a Merchandiser Feed that aggregates product data and a Coupon Web Service API that aggregates coupon/deal links for all participating Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Network advertisers.

Check out our blog to see what new tools & events Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Network has for publishers:

• https://blog.marketing.rakuten.com/topic/publisher-updates
• https://blog.marketing.rakuten.com/topic/technology-new-releases
• https://blog.marketing.rakuten.com/topic/partnership-opportunities
• https://rakutenmarketing.com/events

Are there any alternative cross-network aggregator services that I could use to showcase products and/or deals on my web properties?

• For products specifically in the fashion vertical:
  • ShopStyle Collective: We are Collective — a network of elite publishers and influencers that give publishers the tools, data, opportunities, and guidance they need to grow their brand, their community, and extend the reach of their voice across all their platforms.
    https://www.shopstylecollective.com/landing
• For GENERAL PRODUCTS including fashion, work directly with Network Product APIs.
• For GENERAL COUPONS/DEALS, work directly with Network Coupon/Deals APIs or work with either of the below cross-network aggregators:
  • FMTC: FMTC specializes in aggregating affiliate content and making it available to affiliates and bloggers through a series of services and tools
    https://www.fmtc.co/
  • Coupilia: Coupilia was created in early 2012 to build a robust coupon aggregation solution, at an affordable price, for Publishers of all sizes
    https://www.coupilia.com/

The success of your business is important so if you have any additional questions, please contact support@popshops.com. We appreciate your partnership.

Best Regards,
- The PopShops Team