Physical retail

What this Offering represents

The travel-mug-20oz-blue Offering represents one blue 20-ounce travel mug. It is not a general record for every mug variation. An Agent can discover this exact variant, present its advertised details, and request current terms without inventing a separate option-selection model.

{
  "odp_version": "1.0",
  "id": "travel-mug-20oz-blue",
  "name": "Insulated travel mug, 20 oz, blue",
  "description": "A vacuum-insulated stainless-steel travel mug with a leak-resistant lid.",
  "images": [
    {
      "alt": "Blue 20-ounce insulated travel mug",
      "height": 1200,
      "src": "/images/products/travel-mug-20oz-blue.webp",
      "type": "image/webp",
      "width": 1200
    }
  ],
  "web_url": "/products/travel-mug-20oz-blue",
  "price": {
    "type": "fixed",
    "amount": "34.95",
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "schema": {
    "url": "https://retail.example/schemas/physical-retail-3.json"
  },
  "attributes": {
    "sku": "MUG-20-BLU",
    "brand": "Northstar",
    "color": "blue",
    "capacity_ml": 591,
    "tax_classification": "general-merchandise",
    "inventory": {
      "region": "US-CA",
      "status": "in_stock",
      "observed_at": "2026-08-01T18:30:00Z"
    },
    "fulfillment": {
      "shipping_supported": true,
      "pickup_supported": true
    }
  },
  "actions": [
    {
      "id": "request-quote",
      "rel": "quote",
      "description": "Request current inventory, tax, shipping or pickup options, and final price.",
      "http": {
        "href": "/quotes",
        "method": "POST",
        "request": {
          "content_type": "application/json",
          "schema": {
            "url": "https://retail.example/schemas/retail-quote-request-2.json"
          }
        },
        "response_content_types": [
          "application/json"
        ]
      },
      "authentication": "required"
    }
  ]
}

Identify each purchasable variant

The color and capacity identify the item a buyer can act on. If a red mug or a 16-ounce mug can be independently referenced, quoted, or purchased, the retailer publishes it as another Offering with its own ID.

Present the product image

The first entry in the ordered images array is the primary image. Its src resolves against the Service Origin, alt describes the subject, and width and height report intrinsic pixel dimensions. The optional type hints that the resource is a WebP image before it is fetched; the live response remains authoritative.

Images are standard Offering metadata. An Agent retrieves them anonymously and must not attach Service credentials, payment credentials, cookies, or caller authorization. It can present them without interpreting the retailer's Attribute Schema, but an image does not reserve an item or promise that the pictured item remains available.

Describe the merchandise

The retailer's Attribute Schema gives the item-specific fields a defined shape. These are Service-owned attributes rather than a universal ODP merchandise model.

Treat inventory as a snapshot

The Offering reports that the item was in_stock in US-CA at 2026-08-01T18:30:00Z. The region and observation time give the status necessary context.

This snapshot helps an Agent evaluate the item during discovery. It does not reserve inventory or guarantee availability when the buyer later requests a quote or completes a purchase. In this example, the quote response supplies current availability.

Advertise possible fulfillment

shipping_supported: true and pickup_supported: true state that the retailer supports both fulfillment categories for this Offering. They do not promise that a particular address is serviceable or that a particular store has pickup inventory.

The quote operation evaluates the buyer's actual delivery or pickup request. ODP publishes the supported categories so an Agent can decide whether asking for current terms is worthwhile.

Separate the preview from the quote

The fixed Price Preview advertises an item price of 34.95 USD. It is not an invoice, payment instruction, inventory guarantee, or calculation of the buyer's final total.

The quote determines current availability, applicable tax, shipping or pickup choices, and the final price for the buyer's circumstances. If the quote or a later live payment requirement differs from the preview, the Agent uses and presents the authoritative value.

Request current terms

The caller explicitly selects request-quote before the Agent invokes its compact HTTP target. The Action posts a JSON request to an origin-relative URL and expects a successful JSON response.

The retail.example request-schema URL is illustrative, and that schema is not included with this example. A deployed Service must publish the referenced schema so an Agent can determine the required quote inputs before sending the request.

Follow discovery to quote

The ODP flow ends with current terms, not a completed purchase.

Keep retail operations outside ODP

ODP publishes discovery metadata and identifies the operation that requests current terms. The retailer's application owns inventory updates, address validation, tax calculation, shipping rates, pickup eligibility, orders, payment, returns, and fulfillment.

The quote Action does not purchase the mug. Any subsequent purchase or payment follows a separately advertised or Service-defined contract and the live responses from that endpoint.

Inspect the example artifacts

The example domains and inventory timestamp are illustrative. A deployed Service must host the referenced schemas, image, web page, and Action target and keep their metadata current.

• Generated example: open the published physical retail example and its source files
• Full Offering: inspect the variant, retail attributes, and quote Action
• Attribute Schema: inspect the types and constraints applied to the retail attributes

Next steps