Skip to main content

Requesting New Category Approvals on Target+

S
Written by Sam E.

When you sell on Target+, every product you list must be mapped to an Item Type that Target has approved for your account. If you want to start selling in a category you're not approved for yet, you'll need Target's approval first, then a matching posting template in Acenda.

The approval itself happens entirely inside Target's own Partner Portal — Acenda can't request or change it for you. Once Target approves the category, come back here to set up the posting template.

Step 1: Check your approved Item Types (Target-side)

Before requesting anything new, confirm whether Target has already approved the item type you want. This happens in Target's own Partner Portal, not in Acenda.

  1. Log in to your Target+ Partner Portal.

  2. Go to Reports.

  3. Download the Allowed Item Types report.

  4. Check the report for the item type you want to list under.

If your item type is already on the list, you're clear to list under it — skip ahead to Step 4.

Note: Target occasionally renames menus in its Partner Portal. If you don't see an option with exactly this name, look for the closest equivalent (usually still under Reports), or check Target's own Partner Portal help.

Step 2: Request a new category approval (Target-side)

If your item type isn't on the approved list, submit a request directly to Target:

  1. In the Target+ Partner Portal, go to Support.

  2. Select Open Cases.

  3. Click Create a New Support Case.

Include in your case:

  • The exact item type or category name you want added.

  • A short description of the products you plan to list.

  • Any supporting details Target asks for, such as sample images, brand information, or an example SKU (a placeholder like YOUR-SKU-123 is fine if you're just describing the product line).

Step 3: Wait for Target's response (Target-side)

Once you submit the case:

  • Target's support team reviews the request.

  • They may follow up inside the same case for clarification or more detail.

  • You'll get a confirmation once the category is approved, or next steps if it can't be accommodated.

Step 4: Set up the category in Acenda

Once Target approves the category, build the posting template that uses it:

  1. In the sidebar, under CHANNELS, click Integrations.

  2. Click Edit next to your Target+ integration.

  3. Open the Posting Templates tab.

  4. In the Category dropdown, search for and select your newly approved category. Leave Version on its default unless you know your Target+ setup uses more than one.

  5. Click Create.

  6. Open the Commonality tab (same Edit view, next to Posting Templates) and map any required fields the new category needs. For a walkthrough of both tabs, see Building a Posting Template: A How-To Guide and Setting Up Commonality for Channel Posting Templates.

  7. Back on the Posting Templates tab, find your new template in the Current Posting Templates list and click its download icon to get a Download Blank Super Template. Fill it in and import it to start populating products in the new category — see How to Generate and Import a Super Template.

  8. To bring in product data directly instead, go to DATA TRANSFERS > Imports, click New Import, set Import Type to Catalog, and click Start Import (accepts .xlsx or UTF-8 .csv). See Using the Import Feature: How to Import Product Data into Acenda for the full walkthrough.

Good to know: Acenda usually sends new or edited listings to Target+ within an hour, and Target may take longer to process them, so they won't appear instantly.

Troubleshooting

Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and include the category name and your Target+ subscription.

Did this answer your question?