How Indexing Works
Avvyr uses a search index to power the storefront. Product data from your PIM is indexed into a search-optimized format that the Storefront API serves to your online store.
The indexing pipeline
When product data changes in the PIM, it needs to be indexed before the changes appear in the storefront. The pipeline works as follows:
- Product data is saved in the PIM (attributes, categories, media, etc.).
- The indexing service reads the product data, applies market-specific pricing, resolves categories, and compiles the full storefront document.
- The compiled document is written to the search index for the relevant market.
- The Storefront API serves the updated document to your frontend.
What gets indexed
Each indexed document contains:
- Product attributes and metadata
- Market-specific pricing
- Category assignments and rules
- Stock levels per warehouse
- Media URLs
- Review data
- Variant group information
Propagation delays
Not all changes reach the storefront instantly. The timing depends on the type of update:
Stock updates — near-instant
Stock level changes propagate quickly because they use a lightweight incremental update path. When inventory changes (e.g., from an order or manual adjustment), the stock levels in the index are updated without reprocessing the entire product document.
Other changes — up to ~10 minutes
Changes to product attributes, categories, pricing, media, and other data go through the full indexing pipeline. Depending on system load, these changes can take approximately 10 minutes to appear in the storefront.
Full reindex vs incremental updates
| Update Type | What it does | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Full Reindex | Reprocesses the entire product document and writes it to the index. | Slower |
| Update Stock | Updates only stock levels in the existing indexed document. | Near-instant |
| Update Price | Updates only pricing data in the existing indexed document. | Fast |
| Update Attributes | Updates attribute data without full reprocessing. | Fast |
| Update Categories | Refreshes category assignments and category rules. | Fast |
| Update Reviews | Refreshes review data in the indexed document. | Fast |
When is a full reindex required?
A full market reindex is required when:
- You change the variant mode in PIM settings (Grouped ↔ Parent-Child).
- You modify variant group attributes or listing group attributes.
- Major structural changes are made to attribute templates.
- You want to ensure the entire index is consistent after bulk operations.
A full market reindex reprocesses all products in the market and can take longer depending on catalog size.
Per-market indexing
Each market has its own index. This means:
- Products are indexed separately for each market they belong to.
- Market-specific data (pricing, language, currency) is baked into the indexed document.
- Reindexing one market does not affect other markets.