Product catalog management 101 [definition + 6 tips to improve]

Published on

June 9, 2022

5
MIN READ
Site Search & Product Discovery
Ecommerce product catalog

If you have an online store, you need to be organized and make your ecommerce products visible to optimize conversions. Good catalog management can help you achieve this. 

We know that organizing large amounts of data can be challenging. But, it’s not impossible!

Customers today want detailed, reliable product information. If yours falls short of their expectations, they will be hesitant to buy from you. 

In this article, we’re covering the following topics: 

  • What is catalog management? 
  • Why does catalog management matter? 
  • 6 tips to improve your ecommerce catalog management 

Let’s learn how to do digital catalog management more efficiently. 

What is catalog management?

To develop a brand, engage customers, and give a great experience, retailers must generate and manage correct product information.

Catalog management is an ongoing process of making your e-commerce product data systematic. This means that your product database is organized and up-do-date at any given moment. The goal is to get consistent product data across all channels. 

Catalogs can include data points like color options, pricing, sizes, place of origin, materials, and more.

The traditional way of collecting all this information has been endless Excel spreadsheets. However, thanks to advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computer Vision, this complex process can be done in just a few clicks. 

Why does catalog management matter?

Ecommerce product catalog management

Having a digital catalog management is an important part of establishing an online brand. It allows customers to locate exactly what they're searching for. Moreover, they feel confident in buying a product based on the information presented.

It assists retailers in managing product catalogues for diverse consumers and tracking inventories across many channels for ecommerce logistics.

The customer journey must be simple to understand and navigate. Buying the wrong things should be nearly impossible. 

A buyer who visits one of your rivals after leaving your site may never come back.

Poor catalog management might result in inaccurate or inadequate product information. This leads to customers who aren't confident in buying from you and lost sales numbers. 

It might also imply more returns, which could result in delayed and negative income streams. 

Finally, it can do permanent damage to your brand image.  

Suggested read: Advantages of digital catalogs and how to use them in e-commerce

Top 6 tips to improve your ecommerce catalog management

Top 6 tips to improve your ecommerce catalog management

Map out data cleaning

As there will be a number of people involved in the catalog management process, you should map it out. This means that you should plan activities, assign owners, and affected parties. 

This way, you’ll have a timeline that shows all the touchpoints with other people, when they should get involved, and how they get affected. This should include roles like website managers, photographers, copywriters, warehouse managers, suppliers, etc. 

Guarantee quality product information

When it comes to maintaining your digital product inventory, the most important thing to remember is that your clients should feel at ease when browsing on your e-commerce site. 

Online shop visitors should trust the information they get. This way, they will be more inclined to make a purchase.

It is critical that you present precise and detailed information in your ecommerce product catalog. When the information they use to evaluate your brand and products is thorough and correct, your prospective buyers will trust you.

When adding data, make sure you’ve included descriptions, photos, tags, headlines, links, videos, and everything else that might be relevant. 

Conduct regular inventory checks

Periodic inventory checks guarantee that the items you show as available online correspond to what you actually have in stock. You should modify your product page if a product is out of stock to avoid shipping delays or offering an item that won't be refilled.

Inventory inspections also assist you in identifying bottlenecks such as overstocking slow-selling items and inventory loss.

Add alternative products

Product Similar Recommendations

In a physical store, the products you are most likely to forget are always next to the counter. Just think of how many times you’ve added something to your basket right before you paid. 

Online stores should provide the same experience. Customers should be motivated to explore if they haven't found what they're looking for. To improve average order value, don't be hesitant to upsell and cross-sell similar and complementary products.

Provide this experience right from the catalog. Group ecommerce products that could go together in a purchase. 

Suggested read: The What, Why, and How of Product Recommendation Engines

Create an intuitive experience 

There are some customers that hesitate a lot. Give them an option to compare products and see what’s better. Help them make a decision easily. 

Don’t insist on one-size-fits-all product descriptions. Adapt to the product and to the customer. Add options for more intuitive search queries. 

There will always be a visitor who can’t find something. Make it easy for them. Add an AI-based chatbot or more search filters to improve product discoverability. 

Include smart tags and categories 

Automatic tagging powered by Pixyle.ai

Allow your clients to effortlessly navigate your digital product inventory by letting them filter, enhance, and sort the product information on your web shop. Do this by classifying and tagging all of your items in a methodical manner.

Make sure you're thinking about it from your visitors' point of view. Consider how people seek for information and how they wish to use your website.

Before the rise of new technologies, the only way to do this was manually. Manual tagging is a very exhausting and time-consuming process. However, that’s now a thing of the past. 

The alternative that takes up much less of your time is called automatic tagging. 

Automatic product tagging is a way of organising and labelling product photographs based on their details using AI algorithms. The tagging process is automated and executed effectively without the need for human participation thanks to powerful image recognition algorithms that employ deep learning.

This is an automated way to get metadata for your ecommerce product catalog. It analyzes the image and looks for patterns that are associated to specific keywords. ‍

Tags generated this way may gather data not just on catalogue data, but also about how and where they're used, who's searching for them, and how they relate to other tags as their use grows.

Suggested read: The Complete Guide for Automatic Product Tagging in E-Commerce

‍Wrapping up 

Good catalog management is crucial to improved product visibility and increased revenue. Here’s how to do it: 

  • Map out data cleaning
  • Guarantee quality product information 
  • Conduct regular inventory checks
  • Add alternative products
  • Create an intuitive experience
  • Include smart tags and categories 

An automatic tagging solution, such as Pixyle.ai, will cut down on the time it takes to tag items. At the same time, it will improve the reliability and significance of the fashion tags that drive improved product discovery.

Take Pixyle.ai for a spin now!

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