What is PIM?
Today, consumers turn to various e-commerce sites, other online channels, and mobile searches when looking for product information. According to Retail dive, more than 65% of consumers conduct product research online before entering a store. More than 55% of consumers visit stores before buying online, underscoring the idea that high-touch omnichannel and physical experiences are critical to modern retail. As a result of changes in consumer behaviors and the growing demand for seamless shopping experiences, companies have started to use digital marketing strategies in a generalized way.
With the increasing use of digital, it has become important for all businesses to communicate consistent branding and accurate product information across the omnichannel landscape. Therefore, a product information management system is required to overcome the complexity and scale that have been created by various offline and online channels.
PIM is widely used by e-commerce managers, online merchants, marketers, and product managers who are always looking for friendlier tools that allow them to manage all their product information in one place without having to constantly ask their colleagues for information. and partners through emails and calls. .
Why is PIM important?
The product information management system is necessary to manage the customer-facing product strategy. This is because today’s consumers spend a lot of time researching a product online before making a purchase. Consequently, the need for high-quality product content has become more important to CPG manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and companies. Product description today has an important role to play in making a sale happen online.
In fact, retailers are now prioritizing online content improvement over a variety of other merchandising ventures, such as product recommendation, A / B testing, and personalization. Here are the two main reasons why this is the case:
- Having detailed product descriptions is the main differentiator in the customer experience. Studies have shown that 30% of US online adults would rather buy from online retailers who have never made any purchases if the product information on the website is detailed.
- There is a new generation of buyers due to the increasing demand for consistent, high-quality product information. As a result, 33% of channel strategy professionals and e-businesses mentioned that investing in a product information management system is their top priority.
Why do companies invest in PIM?
The decision to buy a PIM solution is not the same for everyone. The needs of retailers differ by industry and type of business. There are many scenarios that cause customer-obsessed companies to invest in PIM. The main scenarios are shown below.
- The need for a single view of the product data that is facing the customer. Companies creating their own products have used product information management systems since time immemorial to obtain supply chain related data from the buyer’s side, such as product weight and dimensions. These companies also need the PIM for a repository for trusted, approved, and consumer-ready product content that is accessible across their business to internal users and also accessible to external channel partners such as resellers and retailers.
- Reduce the time required to market new products launched. Manual processes get in the way of streamlining goal such as design, create, publish, and approve. PIM helps automate most of the processes required in product creation.
- To be able to support larger product catalogs. PIM offers scalable solutions that allow companies to increase their SKUs and products without worrying about system scalability.
- Support the increasingly demanding channels of distribution partners. PIM provides the ability to manage unique product content for each channel partner and the tools necessary to deliver product content to the required pre-defined specifications.
- To ensure a consistent customer experience across all channels.