Optimized shopping has become an integral part of our everyday lives. The share of sales from e-commerce in Germany and the number of web shops are constantly increasing. Where in 2000 the turnover in Germany was 1.3 billion euros, by 2012 it had risen to 20.2 billion euros. In 2020 it was already 72.8 billion euros. For many companies, the competitive pressure increases with the growing number of web shops. Webshop optimization is therefore playing an increasingly important role. Product information management systems are an important building block. We explain what is behind the buzzword and what advantages PIM offers for online optimized shopping.
What is PIM?
PIM stands for Product Information Management and is the central management point for product data and optimized shopping. External and internal sources provide data. This can be, for example, manufacturer information, assets such as photos or videos, translations, or manual work. These are collected centrally in the PIM. There they can be efficiently processed, consolidated, and checked for quality standards.
Efficiency is created, among other things, by avoiding unnecessary work steps during optimized shopping. The processed product data is exported to marketing and sales channels: online shops, external sales platforms, social media sites, or print catalogs. A PIM is therefore suitable for omnichannel use.
Improved product experience thanks to consistent product data
Inconsistent product data on different output channels and sales platforms or within a shop leads to customer dissatisfaction and leaving the shop. They can give the impression of a lack of professionalism or lovelessness toward their own products.
If customers see information about the material at a certain point on the PDP (Product Detail Page, item page), they expect the information to be in the same place and in the same form for another item. Other representations cause irritation.
In this aspect, PIM systems score with excellent product data management: with central maintenance of all data and applicable rules. These include tools for structuring and classifying product data or managing media content (assets).
“Right” data: Marketing requirements for optimized shopping
In order for customers to get to a company’s online shop, the product data stored there must match the search queries. The task of corporate marketing is to find out which target group-specific search terms are used by customers. These must then appear in the description of the corresponding article.
A good example is the trend color taupe, which ten years ago might have been referred to as brown, grey, brown-grey, or grey-brown. With central data management in a PIM, such adjustments can be made to all “taupe-like” products with the help of search and bulk processing. The same applies, of course, to other trends affecting wording and presentation on the PDP.
Filters in the product search are also important marketing information. In addition to the usual filter options (size, prices, brands), these should also show trend topics. Current colors and designs must be taken into account by filters in order to improve the optimized shopping experience for customers.
Big data
The larger the amount of data in a company, the more complex and error-prone management becomes. This is the area of application of a product information management system. It enables the fast and efficient processing of large amounts of data using various tools such as families and catalogs as well as the use of filter options.
The use of rules also supports your own quality requirements. For example, a minimum number of characters can be required for a product description.
Fixed spellings for product titles are also conceivable, such as brand names in capital letters only. Depending on the provider, the rules can be dynamically expanded and adapted.
The selected control system, in combination with a view of the processing history, is the basis for maintaining qualitative product data. The processing history creates traceability and transparency of the work steps in the system.
An optimal optimized shopping experience with high-quality product data is thus ensured for customers.
Flawless collaboration between departments
A large number of employees at different locations make error-free and consistent product data in the web shop a real challenge. With a PIM system, all those who are responsible for product maintenance in different departments access the same system from different locations.
External service providers (photo studios, text agencies) can also benefit by being able to enter their data directly into the PIM. These accesses can be configured and restricted by assigning roles and rights. Workarounds and additional work steps on both sides are no longer necessary. A PIM can act as a single point of truth for all relevant product data.
Roles and rights ensure that only the relevant data can be accessed. The rules already mentioned also ensure quality-assured and error-free product data.
Variant depth
Variants are differentiations of a product. For example, for a shirt of the same type, the variants size, design, collar, and cuff size can be maintained in a product.
Instead of having to maintain this information for the differentiation of a product individually for each variant and thus for each article, all information in a product can be edited. Variants represent real products better and workarounds can be avoided. This means cost savings and increases product quality at the same time.
Variants enable customers of the web shop to have a clearly optimized shopping experience. Instead of having to click through an endless number of individual article pages, articles in the shop can be easily compared, selected, and ordered on one page.
Cross and Upselling
PIM systems that can map product relationships offer the opportunity to display recommendations to customers. These can consist of cross-selling products, i.e. additional items to the selected goods.
Upselling suggestions are also conceivable, i.e. products of a higher quality or of the same type. The relationships between the articles, which are created in the PIM system, ensure that the recommended articles actually match each other.
Internationalization: translations and market requirements
Cross-border e-commerce is no longer a marginal phenomenon. It can be assumed that cross-border trade will continue to grow.
Anyone who wants to address an international audience and develops an internationalization strategy is supported by a PIM system. On the one hand, it will be possible to edit specific content separately. For example, products may have country-specific properties such as language, unit, and currency systems that should be maintained independently. Channel-specific processing is also possible.
On the other hand, entering translations is made easier and there is the option of connecting translation systems. There are also specific overviews for all required languages. For customers, the possibility of internationalization is reflected in consistent and correct product data.
Time-to-market is actively shortened
Bringing new products to market as quickly as possible is more important than ever. Because the earlier a product appears in your own shop and is visible, the faster sales can be generated with it.
Markets are fast-moving and customers are more critical due to the large selection of products. A smooth, efficient, and error-free process, which is made possible by using a PIM system and its tools, is, therefore, all the more important for the time to market.
Fewer returns thanks to correct product data
High return rates are a burden in several respects. The effort for customers and retailers is sometimes enormous, and there is also the environmental factor due to additional delivery routes and packaging waste.
A possible reason for returns is incorrect product data. In addition to descriptions, and information on sizes and colors, this also includes product photos and their quality and significance. In online retail, product data replaces the tangible item in the store and must therefore be as meaningful as possible. They are shop windows and goods at the same time.
The aim must therefore be to provide online shops with high-quality product data so that the criteria for a purchase decision are in no way inferior to those in brick-and-mortar retail.
A PIM addresses this topic from two sides:
- PIM systems enable all product information to be maintained centrally. Errors are avoided through clarity, sorting options, and bulk processing of data. Customers get exactly what they chose online.
- Roles, rights, and regulations for the product maintainers can be used to rule out further sources of error. These sets of rules can be, for example, a minimum number of characters for a text, a minimum number of assets, or similar. Rules can also be applied at other points, for example when importing product data. In this way, employees can quickly locate and eliminate sources of error.
Interim conclusion: Optimized shopping with PIM offers numerous advantages
From the customer’s point of view, the nine points can be broken down into the following core statements.
- If the product data in the shop match the search query, the prerequisite for the customer to reach the shop is met.
- The descriptions of the items must be formulated in such a way that customers feel sufficiently informed.
- Item descriptions must be understandable, complete, correct, and accurate to avoid returns and provide the best product and customer experience.
- In the case of recommendations, it must be ensured that items actually fit together in order to avoid returns.
- The information must be prepared in a media-neutral manner for all sales channels – whether online shop or print catalog.
- Product information is consistent across channels to avoid confusion.
These requirements can be reliably implemented with a PIM.
Implementing a PIM: The first steps
You have now recognized the benefits of a PIM and want to move on to implementing one. how do you start
The first step should be to define your own objectives and strategic direction. It makes sense to work out the pain points. Here it can become clear at which points in the product data workflow a PIM system should enable improvements.
Technical requirements must also be clarified. This includes, for example, your own IT landscape with its possible interfaces.
The search for providers can then begin. Demos and test accesses provide initial insights into the systems. A detailed comparison is advisable since the providers work with different features and license models. It should be possible to reconcile these with your own requirements.
One last tip: Product Information Management systems are products that require a lot of consultation. It makes sense to get in touch with the providers at an early stage.
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