5 must-have PIM features every eCommerce retailer should look for

Online shopping continues to see a surge since its genesis. Easy access via mobile applications, quick and seamless returns, hassle-free doorstep delivery, etc. are some of the key reasons. Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation restricting in-store purchases but on the other hand, it has created a thrust for online retailers. It is not a surprise when statistics say that retail e-commerce sales across the globe will touch $4.9 trillion by 2021. 

Whether Covid-19 ends or not, the uninterrupted online shopping experience altogether will attract more people than it did before. Great product experience is what most eCommerce retailers are striving to deliver, to retain their buyers. One bad product experience ruins your brand reputation and pushes your customers away. 

The wide range of information available on the product site helps people make informed decisions. If you are selling your product on various platforms like eBay, Amazon, Walmart or so, maintaining your brand credibility with peace, is close to impossible. Product Information Management (PIM) software and products can help you deliver on that front by enabling great customer experience in a short span of time with minimum efforts in the above-mentioned platforms. With magnifying customer demand for online purchases, product data management tools will help you maintain your brand’s credibility and deliver great product experience.

Stumbling Blocks in Product Information Management

Assembling the right sets of product information on the website plays a crucial role in making customers buy a product. To be precise, delivering accurate information about each product and monitoring them from time to time for credibility is no easy joke. 

If you had to do it manually, updating just a handful of products and its variants would take you forever to complete. A lot more unfolds when you begin.

• Retailers handle humongous data. However, any data when manually handled is prone to errors.
• Collaborating across different domains and with multiple resources is a tough task without a unified communication platform or a tool. 
• When retailers publish product details across diverse platforms manually, the errors pose a potential threat to the accuracy of information. 
• With that said, doing precision checks on product details without an automated tool consumes 90% of the retailers’ time.

5 PIM Features You Can’t Miss!

A product information management software not only helps you restructure the product data it also supports you to distribute your product content across different platforms. However, these are not the only qualities of a product content management platform. The most crucial traits that you should look for, are here:

Integration and connection

• You may have to deal with high volumes at any time. Hence, it is important that you buy a scalable product information management solution, with high potency.
• Your product information management solution should let you integrate with your internal ERP systems. Besides this, your internal and external teams should be able to coordinate without disruptions. These are the primary PIM features.
• Apart from being able to derive details from multiple repositories and distribute data across varied platforms like mobile apps, suppliers, online storefronts, POS systems, your solution should also be robust.

Intuitive User Interface and beyond

• Resources from different domains may have to use your PIM software. Do a quick check if the tool has a friendly UI with all the key features handy. 
• Your PIM platform should let you take advantage of the best features it serves. 
• Also, a user-friendly interface should let you have a concise view of the whole product catalog’s status. 

Omni-channel publishing

• Product information needs to be published on various channels. A PIM software should let you automate the process and empower you to increase your productivity. 
• With your PIM platform, you should be able to post the exact information about the products on the platforms with the right optimization. 
• The PIM software should help you meet the guidelines of different platforms with details such as product titles, features, images, and descriptions.

Better authority on data

• A well structured PIM application acts as a centralized repository and aids in publishing various data simultaneously on multiple sites.
• Data mapping and categorization modules should come in handy when you need to work with bulk information.
• A fully automated data enrichment module will be a bonus if your firm deals with extensive product categories. 

Data Quality Checks

• Above all, the quality of product data can make or break the sale. Product data faces quality issues like misinformation or inappropriate, obsolete, or inadequate information.
• The product information enhancement attribute in the PIM software that you choose should help you fix it. 
• Your PIM software must let you run precision checks periodically with customizable sampling methods.

Choose to Step Up Your Business!

Researches state that 72% of satisfied customers spread the word with 6 or more people. However, 13% of the customers are likely to share their negative experiences with more than 15 people. In PwC’s research 72% of people state that product experience plays a major role in decision making. There is no doubt that the majority of the companies will pay attention to product experience just as much as they would to rev up their ROI. It is important that you are not left behind.

The sole purpose of a PIM software should be to curb back and forth processes that are time-consuming. It is important that you choose PIM solutions like PIMworks that help your clients have a seamless product experience. Curious to know more? Drop your comments below!