How often to update products: finding the right balance
"As often as possible" is the instinctive answer, and usually the wrong one. Different kinds of product data change at very different speeds. Updating everything at the highest possible frequency wastes resources and can even cause problems. Updating too rarely leaves customers looking at wrong prices and stock. The right balance depends on what you update.
Match frequency to the type of data
Stock
Changes the fastest and matters the most. Update it as often as your suppliers publish new data, typically once to several times a day.
Prices
Supplier prices change less often than stock, but exchange rates and competitor prices can move daily. Update prices with every stock update; the recalculation itself costs little.
New products
Add them daily, so new items appear while they are still new.
Descriptions, images and attributes
Change rarely. Refresh them when the supplier's content changes or when you improve it yourself, not on every run.
Signs you update too rarely
- Orders get cancelled because items turned out to be out of stock.
- Your margin on some products is lower than your rules intend, because costs went up.
- Customers point out that your price differs from the supplier's or the market's.
Signs you update too often
- Updates overlap: a new run starts before the previous one finished.
- The store slows down during updates.
- You hit API limits on your platform or marketplace.
- Prices change several times a day, confusing returning customers and ad platforms.
A practical starting point
For most stores selling supplier products: a full run with prices and stock every morning after suppliers update, a second run in the afternoon, and content updates only when something actually changes. Adjust after a few weeks based on cancellations and on how long each run takes.
Update frequency in YfiFX
YfiFX runs import, recalculation and export as one scheduled chain at the times you set. The Free plan includes one automatic run per day, Business up to four, and a custom plan can include more. Runs can also be started manually when a supplier sends an urgent update.
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