Datafeeds are the most commonly used form of data exchange for webshops, advertising networks, affiliate networks, comparison shopping engines and marketplaces. A datafeed in this context is a file that contains information about one or multiple products. Common examples of information given in a datafeed are the name, price, description and picture of the product.
Channable was originally a tool that imported and exported only datafeeds. It has since grown and now allows you to supply information in other ways as well and connect to platforms that use APIs instead of datafeeds.
So in short, no, you do not need a data feed. However, if you want to promote your products on any of the aforementioned platforms, you will need to use datafeeds and/or APIs. To supply us with information on your products you can use several different methods, including datafeeds. For more information on importing data in Channable, see the article on importing products in Channable.