The term Product Information Management (PIM) has almost as many meanings as “Marketing.” We won’t bore you with all of them. However, it’s important to understand a bit about how PIM started to know how it relates to today’s in-store and e-commerce product content world.

At its most basic, Product Information Management (PIM) is the means of managing all the core product information that is needed to market, merchandise and sell products through channels including e-commerce websites, distributor/wholesaler catalogs, on store shelves and in advertising circulars, as well as through marketplaces such as Amazon or Google. It is important to note that PIM is not simply technology, but rather a process of collecting, validating, formatting and monitoring the information that is related to distributing and selling consumer products.

The (R)evolution of PIM

Within the last decade, the focus on PIM has been magnified. Traditionally a PIM served as an organizational system and process for documenting and tracking products from manufacturing through inventory and delivery. However, with the explosion of e-commerce and expanding shopping channels, the need for more and more data, in different formats or with differing requirements from retailers, have stretched the capabilities of the traditional PIM.

Even a few short years ago, e-commerce was a tiny portion of overall consumer goods sales. Food and household goods were largely shopped in person. Now, with the growth of third-party delivery services, more online shopping platforms, and a busier-than-ever consumer, the online-first (or online-only) shopper is a major force. According to the Forrester, global e-commerce spending is on track to hit $6.8 trillion by 2028.

That’s more of a revolution than an evolution. And it has caused a need for more – more content, more flexibility and more distribution than before. Basic core product content is often not enough for the harmonized online and in-store needs of today.

At one point in time, the information within a PIM was structured to the needs of the individual manufacturer, distributing their information to a set number of recipients. However, today’s digital content must be delivered to an ever-changing list of recipients, each requiring a different set of data or format that also can change regularly. Capturing information at this level of detail means that the data requirements continually grow, must be updated, or that automated rules must format and validate the information based on a recipient set of requirements. While the basic principles of a PIM are still very important, this flexibility in formatting creates an additional layer of complexity that traditional PIMs were not designed for.

That’s why in many cases, companies currently using PIM systems also utilize other systems or software to deliver the content needed. They may combine PIM with creative marketing assets contained in a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system for example, plus include custom syndication to deliver information to recipients in necessary data formats.

These expanding data management and distribution needs also add to the requirements for monitoring a brand’s product consistency online. And, the in-store component must still be managed, along with logistics data that is required to ship, house and set products in stores. So although PIM capabilities are still critical in today’s ecosystem, it’s easy to see why the “traditional PIM” could use an upgrade.

Is PIM Suited for e-Commerce?

In a word, yes…but with help. Any brand that sells a number of products through different online channels will certainly need the elements of PIM in order to operate effectively. A PIM solution may also be able to distribute supplier data to different recipients. However, PIM is not the only piece to the e-commerce puzzle.

In order to be truly effective online, a brand must supply more than the core product information; there is also a need to deliver brand- and product-level creative content that might be tied to a single product or an entire line. This requires Digital Asset Management, a separate but necessary component that is needed to efficiently market and sell products online.

A modern PIM should include:

• Integration that can connect with internal systems including MDM and ERP;
• Content intake that includes validation, workflows, and individual retailer taxonomies;
• Data flexibility to format and update programs on the fly;
• Direct syndication to recipients in the format(s) they require;
• Analytics to allow for optimization of content in real time.

Finally, to operate successfully, a supplier needs effective syndication. The best data can still fall short if the supplier content is not delivered in the proper formats to the recipient. If the proper file formatting is not followed, as well as the type of connection to the recipient, then there can be delay in products being displayed. Managing connections to each retailer is an additional capability that is required for a platform to be effective. Traditional PIM’s can only work successfully if they are combined with DAM and syndication capabilities to distribute content wherever it needs to go – not the optimal approach.

The ‘Modern’ PIM

This brings us to the systems today, that meet the needs of suppliers, distributors/wholesalers, retailers and other recipients. They must incorporate key elements of traditional PIM, with additional information coming from a DAM, plus syndication capabilities to distribute content to all any recipients.

A modern PIM combines the most important capabilities needed for managing product content today: Ingestion of content from multiple sources and formats; integration within the platform of core descriptive content with enhanced content and rich media; and direct syndication to retail platforms in their specifications. This also requires that the platform is comprehensive enough to include validation, workflows, and analytics that deliver content flexibility and real-time optimization of product pages.

Analytics: Closing the Loop

Content delivery shouldn’t be a one-way street. With all the work that goes into producing e-commerce content, there should be some return benefits. A brand should be able to improve on their existing product information. The interactions shoppers make with the content you have online can be measured for their effectiveness in generating conversions – and sales.

This is where analytics come in: For example, use a customized report that compares your submitted content to what’s presented online… Or where out-of-stocks are happening for your competition… Or list price comparisons… Or which seller is winning at the buy box (and is it you?). Analytics can help a brand understand how online partners are presenting your content, what may be missing, and what is working, as a way to continually monitor and improve your content’s online performance.

These reports are a few examples of the analytics capabilities that can help continually optimize your product performance and give you more visibility on how your content is performing. While they don’t often come integrated into a PIM, they can work with PIMs to gather more information that can allow more real-time updates to manage the process.

Evolution of the modern PIM

Syndigo has always focused on comprehensive product information management. Rather than look for point-solutions to solve specific needs in the industry, Syndigo instead looked at the end-to-end process of data creation, management, enhancement, syndication and optimization. We developed a platform that brings together the capabilities of PIM, DAM, Syndication and Analytics to deliver a more complete product picture and value proposition for shoppers.

The end-to-end eCommerce process for retailers has a lot of moving pieces and can be overwhelming—which is why we created a playbook to get them through it! But some retailers have another nuance that adds yet another layer of complexity to this process: private label products. Syndigo is here to guide retailers through that aspect as well.

Why optimize private label content?

While being the owner of a private label grants retailers certain benefits, it also brings the challenges that come with having a brand. There is a whole other end-to-end process they need to manage as a “supplier,” all while navigating the responsibilities of being a major retailer.

But these challenges have proven to be worthwhile, especially in the past year. Particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers made the choice to try new brands as they shopped—and nearly one in five U.S. grocery shoppers reported buying more private label products than ever before.

From developing the product to gathering the Core content, imagery and on-pack information, having a private brand is a great opportunity for retailers to have creative control over a product and really make it their own—but there’s a lot for them to manage, all while racing to keep up with national brands (not to mention balancing these tasks with the ever-evolving and pressing responsibilities of being a retailer). This all highlights the importance of having support to ensure the product content is the best it can be.

One platform to address both recipient and brand goals

What’s unique about Syndigo is we have one comprehensive solution to support retailers through their entire eCommerce process on both sides: as the recipient and as the supplier of their own brands. The following three steps are how our Syndigo platform streamlines the overall process for retailers, including those who have private label products.

1. Create best-in-class content

Content creation is often one of the heavier lifts for brand teams. That, on top of the fact that private label teams often don’t have the resources to create content in house, means an integrated system that offers content creation is invaluable. By working with Syndigo, private brand teams can have the content created for them if they don’t have it already—and with the Syndigo platform, that trusted content can even serve as the foundation for Enhanced Content (rich, interactive capabilities that can be managed by simple widgets and drive higher conversions).

Content types that Syndigo creates include digital assets serving a variety of use cases, such as space management and eCommerce. In addition to creating these valuable assets, Syndigo also codes the package information, weights and dimensions.

Syndigo guides the content through a rigorous quality assurance process, so when the private brands hand this task off to Syndigo, they can rest easy that the content is captured in the correct sizes and formats for each usage, verified for completeness, meeting the unique requirements of other recipients where applicable and compliant with GS1 standards.

2. Strategically drive sales

Capturing impactful imagery and creating private brand content is just the beginning. A key differentiator of using the Syndigo platform for private brand teams is that it helps ensure the content drives sales. Private brands often face pressure to stack up with national brands, and our capabilities support this effort by doing more than just showcasing basic product data.

Optimized content comes into play in a big way. Syndigo applies this to eCommerce content as well as space management strategy. Our platform supports the various types of images and other product content needed for each scenario, tailored to fit the goals and priorities of the private label at hand.

For food products specifically, Syndigo can power SmartLabel pages that incorporate nutrition/wellness details where applicable to help shoppers make more informed purchase decisions, regardless of the brand. Our 78+ wellness claims, all validated by registered dietitians, provide a wide library for Syndigo platform to tap into when it comes to matching relevant campaigns with private label food items, such as gluten free, carb friendly, paleo, vegan and more. Moreover, the ability for online shoppers to filter their searches by these claims leads to more satisfied consumers and fewer returns.

3. Syndicate to recipients of choice—and assess performance along the way

Outside of the retailer who owns the private label, of course, there may be other recipients to which the private brand wants to syndicate. Whether it’s grocery delivery, non-competitive retailers, creative agencies or anywhere else, Syndigo platform can seamlessly syndicate private brand content to select recipients—all with the goal of giving the product more visibility in more places!

And by leveraging the eCommerce Analytics within Syndigo platform, the private brand has everything they need to fully evaluate performance and measure results across their recipients. This not only helps the private brand expand its network, it enables refined product content strategy. Such improvements are critical to future sales, conversions, brand awareness and overall success.

If you manage a private label, use one solution to support both your recipient and private brand needs for maximum success. Contact us today to start incorporating the Syndigo platform into your end-to-end strategy.

Business Impacts: Inaccurate & Incomplete Data

Inaccurate data creates massive inefficiencies to the global commerce ecosystem. Without quality data at the beginning of a process, it is extremely time consuming and costly to manage later.

Does This Sound Familiar?

Without guidelines to your data entry process, you risk errors in your data, redundant work, and items sitting idle that could be selling.

Business Impacts: Inaccurate & Incomplete Data

Inaccurate data creates massive inefficiencies to the global commerce ecosystem. Without quality data at the beginning of a process, it is extremely time consuming and costly to manage later.

Why Is Having Good Data Quality Difficult?

Companies often struggle to stay updated with changing requirements and efficiently manage content across multiple channels and siloed data sources.

Creating Data Stewardship Through Continuous Improvement

Establishing a data culture and improving data quality is not a one-time project. It is an ongoing discipline that drives breakthrough results and critical competitive advantages. A simple approach involves the following steps:

Data Quality Dimensions

There are many elements that determine data quality, and each can be prioritized differently by different organizations based on their goals.

Data Quality Engine: Completeness, Readiness, Accuracy

Syndigo’s robust Data Quality Engine performs thousands of validations to ensure not only the completeness, but also the readiness and accuracy of your data.

Short-Term Wins: How to Create & Manage Quality Data

Here are some basic ways to take charge of your data quality and give your customers the best shopping experience online and in-store:

Product Information Management System: Accessible to all with workflows and protections consistent with governance.

Photographer: Hire a professional who understands GS1 Standards and your governance procedures.

Connections: The GS1 Network is important, but also consider other places that your data needs to go.

Data Quality Principles

When the right data is delivered to the right place at the right time, your business wins. Your data should be:

Custom Dictionary: Spell Check, Grammar

Real-Time Readiness Scores: All Products

Custom Audit Rules: Supplier Quality Management

Comprehensive Validation Rule-set: Recipient/Industry Specific

After the eCommerce boom of 2020, retail as we knew it transformed. While it was already heading into a highly digital presence, the drastic growth of eCommerce activity accelerated that change. What has this led to? A bigger need for compelling product content, streamlined processes, transparency and more.

However, those top challenges retailers have faced for years remain largely the same. At the end of the day, retailers want to drive revenue and brand loyalty by staying ahead of the competition and meeting consumers where they are (with the items they want). More than ever, these companies need a single solution that addresses their challenges and enables them to achieve these goals.

Syndigo, the first Active Content Engine, is that solution. It ingests, validates, manages, enriches, and optimizes both supplier and private label content—with the objective of meeting retailers’ unique requirements and maintaining consistency across all their channels.

Board-level challenges of a retailer

At Syndigo, we understand the highest priorities that retail leaders have in their organization. Our decades of experience working with 1,750+ global retailers, including many Fortune 500 enterprises, has given us deep insight into the most pressing challenges retailers face.

We are continuously enhancing our solutions to ensure these companies are equipped to deal with those challenges—and overcome them with confidence. Whether it’s supply chain efficiencies, vendor management, driving incremental revenue or growing private label sales, we know these top-level challenges are always on the brain. Add in the fact that these challenges are now occurring in the face of accelerating eCommerce, and it’s crystal clear why retailers have their hands full. The culmination of all this leads to some key priorities across retail businesses.

Here are the priorities that are integral to retailers managing those board-level challenges:

Solving Your Challenges Through the Smart Application of 3 Primary Data Sources

Vendor Data

Vendor data is needed for retailers to get up and running with a large supplier community—things like brand names and primary product images.

Operational Data

Operational data is crucial to effectively packaging, shipping and fulfilling product orders, as it transforms the product from a submission to a reality.

Selling Data

Selling data is the icing on the cake to make sure those product pages and packages are truly compelling with elevated content experiences that educate the buyer.

Challenges addressed by operational data

It all begins with vendor data. Syndigo’s robust network means we already have a lot of the data needed for supplier onboarding, which helps streamline the process of sourcing new vendors and new items, as well as ensuring any of the retailer’s changing requirements get into those vendors’ hands early. Essentially, Syndigo acts as the retailer’s advocate with brands—not only supporting alignment between both sides, but being willing to broker a conversation for any that they’re hoping to make a connection with.

Last but certainly not least, selling data is crucial. Manual/spreadsheet work gets reduced by using the Active Content Engine to input and enhance product data. With Syndigo’s solution managing this data category, retailers can ensure complete and accurate content on their website and in-store, improve shelf merchandising, incorporate wellness claims for food/health-based products and enable all their internal teams to be aligned on changes.

Challenges addressed by selling data

Engaging your shopper is the most important element to driving better engagement and sales online. The product content you provide for each Product Detail page is the core to that engagement.

Here is a checklist to consider as you plan or evaluate your product information management and syndication strategy.

Coordinate With Internal Departments

Many departments may need product content. Before capturing information, consider reviewing across your organization. It is often more efficient to capture all information at once than through multiple stages or vendors.

Consider Your Options for Content Creation And Validation

Content can be captured manually, and while you may be able to upload content to a retailer, the burden is on you to ensure proper specifications or your item may not be accepted. A quality content partner should have multiple ways to accept your information, with relationships across suppliers and recipients. That way, your items are displayed accurately, to each recipient’s requirements.

Build Enhanced Content into The Plan

Accurate Core product content is only the beginning. Shoppers are accessing more Enhanced content than ever. Top retail sites (Amazon, Costco, Google, Lowe’s, Target, Walmart) favor or even require additional Enhanced content such as Engaging Hero images, comparison charts, usage videos or other marketing content to meet content readiness requirements.

Choose Your Platform / Portal for Management And Syndication

Not all portals are created equal. The Syndigo Content Experience Hub (CXH) connects your entire content process – ingesting, managing, syndicating, enriching and optimizing your digital assets through a single platform. It’s all connected, so you can add and update information in real time, any time.

Confirm Retailer Acceptance, Not Just Distribution

Suppliers may tout a large retailer network, but if they simply distribute content for free, there may be no validation that it is being used. There is little incentive to ensure retailer needs are met and your content is in the proper format. At Syndigo, our retailers are also clients, which means they are invested in having the proper content requirements needed for their systems.

Optimize Content And Quality Scoring (Real Time)

By understanding your product activity across PDPs you can continually improve performance. In CXH, Syndigo provides a data quality score for each item and for your data across each recipient, with workflows to manage your progress and improvement. Syndigo’s analytics capabilities help you implement real-time adjustments to continually optimize your pages for better results.

In today’s consumer-first world, there is a lot of focus on product content. Shoppers look for sites and brands that can provide in-depth product information, easily. The more a shopper can learn about products, the more opportunity there is to build a relationship…and a sale.

Retailers must maintain their presence both online and in-store, while managing content from multiple suppliers. Unfortunately, this means that there are many potential places for cost and inefficiency to creep into the supply chain.

And that’s with good product information. As brands continually update and add new items, there is even greater potential for content to be incorrect, out of date, or missing. Costs grow as well: Suppliers with missing information may not be listed on retailer sites, losing sales; worse, they may be fined by retailers for having inaccurate information.

The consumer goods industry – automotive, foodservice, grocery, hardlines, healthcare – relies heavily on core content for standards and consistency. In this post, we’ll define what core content is and why it’s important to ensure yours is accurate and up to date.

What Makes Up Core Content?

Core content is a component of Master Data Management (MDM) that is focused on the descriptive information and imagery that defines a consumer product. Things like the brand name, the ingredients, nutritional value, and weight and dimensions are all part of the group of core content. However, there is much more.

Most of the product content that a shopper sees in the first screen on a website or mobile app, (sometimes called ‘above the fold’), is considered core content. It’s easy to see why it’s so important; however it fuels much more than upfront shopper information.

Makita Tools Google Shopping Core content provides the backbone of the consumer goods industry. For example, it can be used by foodservice retailers to post FDA-required nutritional information; by eCommerce sites for product images and ingredient lists; on automotive store shelves to identify the product and its UPC code; or in supply chain warehouses to track cases coming in and out. The importance of core content is what has driven digital asset management (DAM) and Product Information Management (PIM) companies to build large (and sometimes expensive) data systems to help manage it all.

The impact of good core content cannot be understated. The top online retail sites require an item’s complete content, plus images, to be delivered in the retailer’s format, or it may not even be listed. Simply having no item photo (or a picture in the wrong format) could cause the item to be banished to the second, third or last page.

The physical world needs this content to be complete and accurate as well. Retailers may fine a brand – sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars – if core product content such as weights and measures are inaccurate. Add to that the potential impact that a mis-labeled or mis-identified ingredient could have on a consumer with allergies or health requirements, and it’s easy to see that accurate core content is imperative.

Examples of Core Content

From Syndigo’s experience working with many of the world’s leading consumer brands and retailers, there are many core data attributes that need to be captured for quality. And although many retailers require their data in varied formats, there are two main ways to think about core content: Online (eCommerce), and in store (space/shelf management, merchandising). With Syndigo’s integrated data capture and distribution platform, this can all be done within a single solution. Even if different departments need to manage or access the data, it can all be housed together.

In store content – in-store purchases (including click-and-collect) still comprise the largest portion of consumers’ overall shopping. Store layouts, warehousing, shelf stocking and merchandising/advertising all require extensive information on products. Some of the important attributes that a brand must include for each of their items in order to be accepted at a retail partner include the name, weight, actual dimensions, nutrition, ingredients and other label attributes. Some retailers may require additional information as well.

eCommerce content – it’s no surprise that online content is booming, and even if consumers buy in-store, most interactions begin online. In addition to the information required in store, eCommerce sites generally require additional attributes that a brand must include for each of their items in order to be submitted to a retailer partner.

Capturing this data and keeping it accurate can be a daunting task for brands, especially with large numbers of items needing to be published across multiple retailers. It may require unplanned resources to manage any item updates and changes, to ensure content remains accurate over time.

Having an active product content strategy is essential to winning in today’s consumer-first marketplace. While many organizations are entering the world of digital transformation, shoppers are already there. One single online entity controls more than $230 billion in sales, across most every consumer product or service – and it’s expanding rapidly. But it’s not enough to take the basic PIM/DAM data that fuels in-store planograms and merchandising programs. Today’s content must work in the way shoppers do – integrated interactively, across mobile, desktop, TV, tablet, and into the physical store (when there is one). Although consumer product images and label content are critical – they provide the bare minimum when it comes to presenting content online.

Syndigo has compiled the playbook below to help you better understand the key areas of importance when it comes to eCommerce digital product content from a retailer perspective, with suggestions on how to begin (or improve) your organization’s product content strategy. We have divided the process into four key areas:

Build & Organize

To build an effective eCommerce program for promoting consumer products, you need to start with Core product content – table stakes for both brands and retailers, and the foundation of supply chain efficiency and eCommerce. Here are a few checklist items to consider as you build your Core content requirements:

Content Creation / Collection – In order to deliver the most complete, robust and up-to-date content to your shoppers online, it is important to institute requirements that include a repeatable, sustainable approach for suppliers to deliver content for new items or package changes quickly. It is equally important to have your retail systems able to implement these changes in real time as well. Using a content provider like Syndigo can help ensure a brand’s eCommerce content strategy includes updating any changes that occur to the final approved product, including weight and dimensions, across individual items, packing sleeves and cases. Syndigo provides tools which enable brands to manage their content real-time, leveraging the same platform which Syndigo retailer clients can utilize for accessing content across eCommerce, planogram, marketing, advertising and other content-driven programs. Syndigo also provides services to support private brand content creation and collection to help you bring your own differentiated products online.

Validation – Every retailer’s data requirements and formats are unique. Things as simple as measurement units, the order of attributes listed in a description, or even how words are capitalized can all be unique, making validation of the brand’s content essential to ensure it is both complete and correct. Syndigo’s data creation processes, dedicated taxonomy data scientists and validation engine together ensure that brands can align their content to each retailer’s needs, so retailers receive higher data quality to increase conversion. The fact that Syndigo works closely with retailers as clients also ensures the best coordination of content for eCommerce sites.

Nutrition / Off-label attributes – Shoppers today crave information, and some seek specific product information that influences their purchase. Some eCommerce retailers require additional content that is not specifically provided on the label to be included on their site, such as country of origin, bioengineering status, or compliance with certain diets. What may seem like a minor detail can make or break a purchase. Again, being able to add this additional information helps Syndigo optimize the product page for better search and listing results. Many of these derived claims can be compiled by a full-service provider like Syndigo to enhance both a retailer’s website and a shopper’s ability to search and sort based on dietary preferences or guidelines.

Taxonomy – In order to make the most of the data collected in the above examples, it is crucial to employ a taxonomy strategy. A taxonomy is simply a hierarchical system of categories to organize product information to make it easier for customers to find and buy. For example, different consumers might search for “cold medicine” or “decongestant”, or search for flavored waters under “soft drinks” or “sports drinks” rather than “water”. Understanding that different people need different terms and information to make a purchase decision is at the heart of taxonomy, which is why Syndigo has invested in this capability. Having the tools to research and categorize these terms can help build long-term shopper engagement. While the concept is simple, having a formalized process and tools for item taxonomies is complex.

Network – Finally, the network is as important as the content. The more easily a retailer can gain access to a large, consistent source of content for their categories, the more efficient a retailer can be in providing the best shopping experience for their customers. Simply collecting product images or descriptive text is a start, but to ensure the best possible accuracy and completeness, it is best to work with a partner with a large network of brand clients that have real-time access to product updates and syndication.

Enhance

Once you have a solid process and requirements for obtaining Core content, the next thing to consider is Enhanced content. While the depth and quality of Core information helps shoppers make their purchase decisions, Enhanced content – through rich media or interactive applications – lets shoppers engage more. And greater engagement leads to more sales. Our own client case studies have shown a lift of as much as 36% when shoppers are exposed to high quality content. Here are a few items for consideration when building out site to enable Enhanced content:

Use Mixed Media – Core content includes a set number of product images (usually up to six). But what about the additional creative assets that can extend the visual aspect of the products you carry? Consider incorporating a brand’s advertising “glamour” shots and descriptors that go beyond basic descriptions. Image galleries that show uses for the product can also be helpful, as well as short (1-2 minute) product videos or commercials. With Syndigo capabilities, you can also incorporate 360 product spins, key call outs or comparison charts published by brands. Syndigo also provides the tools for a retailer to assemble enhanced content for a retailer’s private brand items.

Complete the story – Put yourself in the position of the shopper. What would you want to know about the product? What is an engaging part of the product that may be a differentiator? Consider your product page as a digital showroom that helps to tell the product story while answering the questions or ideas for use that a shopper may have. By optimizing your product pages with rich media and other enhanced content in this manner, you can drive even higher levels of add to cart rates.

Engaging Hero and in-line – Typical layouts will show a product image with basic Core content at the top, with in-line Enhanced content to follow. However, with the increasing use of mobile to access product content, as much as 57% of consumer time is spent above the fold – on the first screen or swipe. That means if you can engage shoppers in selecting products with Engaging Hero Enhanced content, there is an even greater potential for conversion and success. With Syndigo’s capabilities, you can create interactive content experiences directly on your websites through expanded thumbnail images and interactive hot spots, in the prime first-screen area.

What are Contextual Hotspots, and how do they work?

Contextual Hotspots help with product page optimization, by creating interactive “hotspots” on a main hero image, placing essential product information on the part of the product it describes. These interactive elements entice shoppers to engage, quickly. They also pack a lot of information in a small space – these hot spots open up different windows that can contain rich media content including product videos, 360 views, feature/benefit captions, and much more, all within the engaging hero.

Contextual Hotspots are one of several interactive tools to build greater engagement through telling the product story. Research shows that product pages with Contextual Hotspots generate an average of 13% more in add-to-cart rates.

Syndicate

Syndigo provides a single platform, that enables brands to easily and efficiently syndicate their core and enhanced product content to retailers, while adhering to retailer-specific formats and specifications. This single platform also enables a retailer to use a single source for multiple program needs that all rely on accurate, complete and consistent product content. Syndigo’s CXH platform makes it all work, together. Consider:

Single Hosting platform – CXH is Syndigo’s data connection platform, designed to be the single source of truth for any and all digital product content related to a brand’s or retailer’s items and sites. By integrating all content inputs into a single entity, including Core, Enhanced, GDSN, nutrition, and auditing / analytical reporting capabilities, both retailers and supplier brands gain significant efficiencies.

Integration / Syndication – By working with both brand and retailer clients, Syndigo ensures proper inputs are provided by the brands, which ensures data delivery in the formats required by the retailer. In addition, Syndigo’s audit capabilities compare what is presented on the eCommerce site to what was delivered, in order to track and document the areas where content could be improved for better interactivity.

Optimize

Much like content management, content optimization is a continual process. As consumer behaviors change and become more demanding for complete and rich content, it is important to monitor the content you are providing to your shoppers on your sites, to ensure you are providing the richest content experience.

Depending on your current content acquisition strategy (using a single source such as Syndigo or pulling from multiple content providers), there can be gaps in the product content over time – either within your site or compared to other competitive sites. By accessing analytical tools to understand product or content gaps, your digital content can be more accurate, complete and effective. Syndigo can also work with you to fill the gaps in product assortment across national brands, regional items, private brands and even perishables.

Building Your Success

Understanding these four key elements of a successful approach to digital product content – Build & Organize, Enhance, Syndicate and Optimize – will help to create online product content that meets your shopper’s expectations, enables more efficient sharing and updating of information, and increases engagement, conversion and sales lift.

Syndigo provides many tools and capabilities for our clients to optimize their product content across the ecosystem. If you are looking to implement or improve your eCommerce content strategy, consider Syndigo’s free content health checkup. It will provide a no-obligation look into the areas your content is succeeding and where there are gaps. To schedule your free content health checkup, just click the button below and we will have one of our account representatives connect with you.

Recently we had the pleasure of surveying several of our clients who shared some valuable insights around eCommerce trends affecting their personal and business decisions in this fast-changing environment.

The Modern PIM

57% said their biggest obstacle in increasing the value from their PIM is attributed to the effort involved in managing content.

Most PIM systems aren’t designed for today’s fast-moving retail market and are more focused on the input aspects of product content. They can be complex systems that require months and years to fully implement.

Or they lack audit capabilities to identify whether the product content has gone live in retailer systems. This creates added complexity, and it’s up to the supplier’s Content, eCommerce, and Supply Chain managers to manage.

74% said syndication is the most important feature in a modern PIM for their business.

The ability to syndicate product data to retailer partners depends on the level of retailer engagement you may be able to cultivate. For a modern PIM to be a successful business solution, it also must be integrated into a syndication network. A PIM with little to no syndication capabilities is not a successful solution.

Challenges of Syndication

71% said their biggest challenge when syndicating content is keeping track of multiple, evolving recipient requirements.

The changes to retail workflows and requirements can happen unexpectedly and often. Without full-time monitoring and communication, items that once were listed and compliant may disappear online without much notice.

Creating Engaging Shopping Experiences

Enhanced Content tells engaging product stories that translate into best-in-class shopper experiences and checkouts. Since the advent of COVID-19, enhanced content – video, image galleries, comparison charts – has seen a dramatic uptick.

74% said they are trying to recreate in-store shopping experiences online.

In recent months, there has been as much as 400% increases in visitors who engaged with Enhanced Content. Our clients see a lift of 90% on average in conversions when shoppers engage with Syndigo’s Enhanced Content.

Enhanced Content helps shoppers engage with products online when they are less inclined to physically touch them or be in close proximity of in-store shoppers.

Ratings and review content is having a greater impact on consumer behavior in the COVID-19 era. Consumers are interacting more with product content, including review content.

63% said ratings & reviews are the most valuable online shopping experiences

One example is to think about how low inventory levels are forcing shoppers to buy different products and seek validation accordingly from ratings and reviews.

This is the perfect opportunity for you to capitalize on accurate, complete meaningful review content from consumers.

Driving Sales with eCommerce Analytics

By using incremental lift, you can also calculate incremental revenue, which tells you exactly how much additional revenue is attributable because of incremental lift.

75% said the impact of content changes on sales lift is the most critical analytic to measure for the future.

With an increase in online spending during COVID-19, this metric helps provide clear evidence and attribution of the returns for your business from your marketing investment. Our eCommerce Analytics can provide many clear insights including incremental lift, to help you better understand what your consumers want and how you can reach them more effectively.

58% said they assess their product’s eCommerce strengths and weaknesses with content health rules and digital shelf analytics reports.

Leveraging analytics to navigate COVID-19 and the new normal has become non-negotiable. in today’s unprecedented times, analytics is crucial for measuring shopper behavior and content performance against competitors. With our eCommerce Analytics, it is easy to understand and improve your product performance at a much deeper level.

Our robust reporting capabilities answer important questions like “Is my content performing as well as it should?” or “Did my search rank go down?”