Every autumn at the online store MirZvuka, the “hot season” began. Ahead of New Year’s sales, suppliers would send expanded price lists, adding new speaker, headphone, and audio models. The problem? Half the partners worked in XML—huge, deeply nested files that looked like impenetrable jungles.
In the sales department, they joked: “XML is like a Tolstoy novel—only instead of a plot, it’s all markup.” Marketing wanted the new products on the site “yesterday,” but developers spent weeks trying to make these files play nicely with the store’s engine.
That’s when MirZvuka decided to try automation with NotPIM.com. The result was a surprise: now XML feeds from every supplier are processed in seconds, automatically normalized to a single format, and published to the site without delays.
What XML Is and Why It Matters
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a tag-based data format originally designed for storing and exchanging complex, structured information. It can describe products in a way that multiple systems can understand—preserving hierarchy, relationships, and extra parameters.
Where JSON is built on simple “key: value” pairs, XML uses nested tags that wrap data into a defined structure. This makes it incredibly flexible: you can describe a product at any level of detail—from basic name and price to technical specs, related accessories, delivery terms, and images in multiple resolutions.
Why XML Is Popular in E-Commerce
XML has become a kind of “universal language” for data exchange in e-commerce thanks to its advantages:
- Flexibility — supports both simple product lists and complex category hierarchies with variations.
- Standards support — many platforms (e.g., Yandex.Market, Google Merchant) require XML.
- Extensibility — you can add new tags without breaking compatibility.
- Clear structure — easy to validate and check for errors.
Where XML Is Essential
In e-commerce, XML plays a key role in many scenarios:
- Uploading products to marketplaces — platforms like Wildberries, Ozon, and Yandex.Market accept XML feeds to ensure consistent data.
- Sending data to ad systems — Google Shopping and Yandex.Direct use XML to generate dynamic ads with real-time prices and stock levels.
- Integration with ERP and CRM — warehouse systems like 1C or SAP often use XML as their main exchange format.
- Logistics synchronization — XML files can carry complete order data, including products, addresses, statuses, and tracking numbers.
- Partner catalogs — distributors send XML catalogs to retailers to preserve structure and relationships between products.
The Challenges of Working With XML
XML’s structure is its strength—but also its pain point:
- Hard to read — without proper tools, navigating a large XML file is challenging.
- No single standard — every supplier names tags differently and organizes data their own way.
- Large file sizes — an XML feed with 50,000 products can be hundreds of MB.
- Update frequency — infrequent updates quickly lead to outdated products and prices.
For a small store, that means hiring a specialist. For a large one, integrating with a new supplier becomes a slow, resource-heavy project.
How Automation Simplifies XML
NotPIM.com solves these problems by:
- Accepting XML from any supplier, in any format
- Automatically recognizing the structure and converting it to the store’s standard
- Converting XML to other formats (JSON, CSV) or vice versa
- Generating DeltaFeeds for partial updates
- Scheduling updates as often as needed—even every minute
For small stores, this removes the technical headache—they can work with any supplier without custom development. For large stores, it means faster onboarding of new partners without bureaucratic delays.
How It Works in Practice
Today, MirZvuka receives XML feeds from eight suppliers—each with its own tags, structure, and quirks. NotPIM.com standardizes them all, updates the site every 10 minutes, and generates separate XML feeds for ad systems and marketplaces.
The result? Marketing launches campaigns the same day new products are sourced. The IT team no longer drowns in integration work. Sales grow because products are always up-to-date.
Conclusion
XML is a powerful, flexible data exchange format for e-commerce—but its complexity and lack of standardization can slow your business down. Automation removes these barriers, letting small stores integrate with anyone and helping large retailers react to market changes instantly.
With NotPIM.com, bulky XML becomes a streamlined tool that keeps your products in sync with partners, marketplaces, ad platforms, and logistics—reliably and effortlessly.