Product Categories in your B2B Store provide a powerful way to organise your inventory and help customers navigate your product catalogue efficiently. This feature allows you to create a hierarchical structure of categories and subcategories, making it easier for customers to find the products they need and place orders quickly.
Categories function as organisational containers for your products, enabling you to group related items based on product type, industry application, brand, or any classification system that suits your business.
Important: All new B2B stores created after 12 May 2024 automatically have Product Groups from Unleashed pre-populated as Categories, with products already assigned to their matching categories.
Benefits of using Product Categories
Implementing a well-organised category structure in your B2B Store provides several key advantages:
Enhanced Customer Experience: Customers can quickly navigate to relevant product groups without searching through your entire inventory, reducing the time needed to place orders.
Improved Product Discovery: A logical category structure helps customers discover related products they might not have initially searched for, potentially increasing order values.
Better Store Organisation: Categories allow you to group products by type, use case, brand, or any classification that makes sense for your business, creating a more professional and manageable storefront.
Streamlined Ordering: Regular customers can quickly navigate to familiar categories, making repeat purchases faster and more efficient.
Tutorial Video
B2B: Using Product Categories
Import Categories from Product Groups in Unleashed
If you've already organised products into Product Groups within Unleashed, you can quickly establish your B2B Store category structure by importing them. Sub-groups from Unleashed will not be imported into the B2B Portal. You'll need to create subcategories manually within the B2B Store.
WARNING: Only import product groups when you're first building your B2B categories. Importing after you've created custom categories will delete all existing categories and replace them with the current Unleashed product groups. This action cannot be undone.
How to import Product Groups
As the B2B Store Administrator, navigate to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Click the Import button.
Your Unleashed product groups will be imported and displayed as Categories.
Products will be automatically assigned to their corresponding categories.
Important notes
Changes made to B2B Store Categories will not affect your product groups in Unleashed.
Categories are specific to your B2B Store and operate independently.
You cannot selectively import new product groups after the initial import, any subsequent import will replace all existing categories
Creating Categories Manually in a B2B Store
To create a new B2B Store Category:
As the B2B Store Administrator, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Click Create Category.
Enter a descriptive Category Name.
Click Create Category to confirm.
Click Go to Settings/Products to begin assigning products to your new category.
Creating Subcategories
You can create up to three levels of subcategories under each parent category.
To create your first subcategory:
As the B2B Store Administrator, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Hover over the parent category.
Click +Subcategory.
Enter a name for the subcategory.
Click Done.
To add additional subcategories:
After creating the first subcategory, the parent category will display + Expand all instead of +Subcategory:
As the B2B Store Administrator, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Hover over the parent category.
Click + Expand all to expand the category tree.
Click +Subcategory to add more subcategories at the same or lower levels.
Enter a name for the subcategory.
Click Done.
Managing Categories
Once categories are created, you have several options for managing them.
Edit categories
To immediately update the name of a category or subcategory in the B2B Store:
As the B2B Store Administrator, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Hover over the category or subcategory name.
Click the pencil icon.
Make your changes.
Click Done to apply.
Delete categories
To remove a category or subcategory from the B2B Store:
As the B2B Store Administrator, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Hover over the category or subcategory name.
Click the bin icon
Select "Delete" to confirm.
Deleting a parent category will also delete all subcategories beneath it.
Reorder categories
Categories displayed in the B2B Store's "Products" menu will be listed in the same order as they are in the B2B Store's Settings > Categories page. To adjust their order:
As the B2B Store Administrator, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Hover over the category you want to move.
Click and drag the 6-dot icon to reposition the category.
Release to set the new display order.
Assigning Products to Categories
To ensure your products display correctly in categories and subcategories, you need to explicitly assign them to the appropriate levels:
As the B2B Store Administrator, in the B2B Store, go to Settings > Inventory > Categories.
Tick the checkbox next to each product you want to assign (you can select multiple products).
Hover over the action cog icon in the header.
Select "Add to Category".
In the pop-up window, select all relevant categories and subcategories.
Click "Apply".
Category assignment rules
Explicit Assignment Required: Products must be assigned to each specific level where you want them to appear. Assigning a product only to a parent category will not automatically make it appear in subcategories.
Multiple Category Assignment: Products can be assigned to multiple categories and subcategories as needed, allowing them to appear in various sections of your store.
How Customers Use Categories
Once your categories are properly configured, customers can use them to efficiently browse your B2B Store:
Customers click on the Products menu at the top of the B2B Store's page.
Initially, top-level (parent) categories are displayed.
Categories with an arrow icon indicate the presence of subcategories; clicking these opens a submenu displaying its subcategories.
Categories without an arrow icon filter the store to show only assigned products when selected.
Products displayed respect all visibility and status settings.
Best Practices
Plan Your Structure: Before importing or creating categories, sketch out a logical hierarchy that reflects how your customers shop.
Use Descriptive Names: Choose clear, intuitive category names that customers will immediately understand.
Regular Maintenance: Review and update your category structure periodically to ensure it remains relevant as your product range evolves.
Test Customer Experience: Navigate your store as a customer would to verify that categories display correctly and products are easy to find.
Start Simple: Begin with a basic structure and refine it based on customer feedback and usage patterns.
By implementing a thoughtful category structure, you'll create a more professional, user-friendly B2B Store that makes it easier for customers to find what they need and complete their orders efficiently.
Troubleshooting
Why are Subcategories not showing in the B2B Store?
If subcategories are not appearing in your B2B Store, the most common cause is that products have not been explicitly assigned to those subcategories. Subcategories will only be visible to customers if products are directly assigned to them. Assigning products only to a parent category will not make subcategories appear.