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These use a connection between the host of your online store and the channel you want to sell on. Some ecommerce hosts like Shopify, Bigcommerce and 3dcart all have different versions of these API available in their app stores. 

The good thing about this is that it's quick and easy. The bad thing is the total lack of any kind of customization and optimization of your product data. It will be sent to those channels exactly as it appears on your online store. As we looked at above, that isn't always the best case when channels have their own specific recommendations and preferences for how they want your product feed to look and be structured.

Unless you are a first-time seller who has only recently created an online store, using automated product feeds is the best option.

Having the process automated saves digital marketers hours of time, meaning they can focus on other tasks and be safe in the knowledge that their feeds will be updated and optimized for each channel they're selling on.

The best technique to use when weighing up which product feed management tool to use is to look at the scalability of the product. If it lets you in at entry level for a low price and a basic package for optimizing feeds, as well as the features and support to allow you to scale up, then it's the tool for you.

Check out our Tool Comparison where we contrasted some of the key features of the available tools.