June 21, 2024
A quick Google search will confirm that eCommerce is a thriving industry. Many people have quit their full-time jobs to open their own online store. While there’s no doubt that there is an increasing preference towards online shopping, it does not guarantee success for your store. The reason is that with everyone trying their hands at eCommerce, the competition is at an all-time high.
Additionally, users have become quite picky about what they buy and from where. Just because you have high-quality products at reasonable prices does not mean you can carve out a sizeable market share. Users look for numerous other aspects, including personalisation, website navigation, and more. In short, running a successful store requires a multifaceted approach.
One way to put your online store on the path towards sustainable success if product catalogue management. In this article, we will discuss the best practices for managing your product catalogue. Of course, every eCommerce platform has different tools and tips for product catalogue management. For example, when it comes to Magento 2, there are various third-party extensions such as Magento 2 product labels.
Other platforms may offer in-built features, doing away the need for an extension or plugin. However, this article will provide an overview which can be applied to any eCommerce platform without any hassle. Before delving into the best practices, we need to understand what we mean by product catalogues as not everyone may be familiar with the term.
The simplest way to define a product catalogue is that it is a detailed database covering every product within the store. The catalogue contains complete information about the products, including:
Suppose a user needs to find a product called ‘A1B2’. If they have trouble finding it, do you think they will keep trying? In most cases, the answer is no unless the product is highly unique and no other store offers it. What store owners needs to understand is that a carefully managed product catalogue allows users to find the products they need without any hassle. This enhanced user experience makes it more likely that the user will convert.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a mandatory marketing strategy for any online business. It helps improve your online rankings, resulting in an increase in organic traffic. Naturally, with more organic traffic, there is more likelihood of conversions. If a website is poorly designed, the web crawler will have trouble indexing the website. This means lower online visibility. On the other hand, properly structured product information guarantees greater ranking in search results.
When you have a streamlined product catalogue management process, it makes it easier update product information, assess a specific product’s performance, manage the inventory, and run promotions. The reason is that all the information is readily available in a structured format.
One of the most underappreciated benefits of a well-organised product catalogue is adaptability. Given the increasing competition and evolving customer preferences, adaptability is a must-have skill for online stores. It allows stores to update prices, change descriptions, and more based on the market conditions.
For example, an online toy store notices that in summer months, there is a sudden increase in water guns. Stores can use this information to update prices accordingly or create product bundles that will resonate with the audience. Naturally, this will lead to an increase in sales.
The first and most logical step is to use clear categories and subcategories. For example, consider an online clothing store. The parent category would be men, women, girls, and boys. For starters, this will help the audience navigate to the category that is most relevant to them. If not for these categories, women would have to browse through men’s clothing just to find the desired product.
Imagine how it will affect their user experience. Afterwards, add relevant sub-categories to make the search more refined. Another thing to remember when organising the structure is to use standardised naming conventions. This will help maintain uniformity across the catalogue. For example, the descriptions, product IDs, categories, or attributes must be based on a logic which is applied across the store.
Another thing to keep in mind when organising the product catalogue is to write clear but detailed product descriptions. What you need to understand is that the audience relies upon these descriptions to make an informed decision. If the details are lacking or written in a way that they lack clarity, the audience will simply move onto another store. The description should highlight the product’s key features, benefits, and various use cases. Try to include primary keywords in the content naturally to improve the rankings.
When shopping in a store, users have the luxury to try the product or at least view it from every possible angle. In online shopping, users have nothing but pictures or videos to rely on. Therefore, the least store owners can do for them is to provide multiple pictures or explainer videos of the product. It is imperative to show the product from different angles. Secondly, the images and videos must be taken in the right settings.
For example, if you are offering furniture such as sofas, take pictures of the show in a living room or the TV lounge. Similarly, have models market the clothes in case you are selling clothes. If you don’t have the budget for it, you can market the clothes yourself. Ensure that all images and videos are of high quality. This will help present your store in a more professional way.
What most store owners fail to realise that product information needs to be updated regularly. After all, customer preferences and market trends are always evolving. If you opt against updating product-related information regularly, you will start losing customers. Regular updates ensure that the information is accurate, and users can use it to make a decision.
Apart from this, regular updates ensure that the catalogue reflects changes in the market. One thing most store admins tend to forget is to remove products that are no longer on offer. If you don’t plan to restock a product, it is better to remove it from the catalogue or at least archive it. It will ensure that the product does not show up during searches, thereby avoiding confusion among the audience.
Firstly, incentivise customers to leave reviews. You can do this by offering them discounts or run other special promotions for users who leave a review. The reason is that most shoppers read at least one review before finalising a purchase as shown below.
Therefore, by encouraging users to leave reviews, you can build up social proof. Others will use the reviews to make an informed decision. A higher number of positive reviews will help increase your store’s sales. Do not forget to feature the highly rated products prominently across the website. Another option is to create a separate category for ‘Top-Rated’ items.
Today, more than 50% of the internet traffic comes from mobile devices as shown below.
Therefore, when organising your product catalogue, don’t forget about mobile optimisation. If users have trouble viewing the catalogue on their mobile devices, they have no choice but to move to another site which is mobile-friendly. A responsive design adjusts to different screen sizes, thereby increasing conversions.
You must offer users advanced search features such as allowing them to search using price range, colour, or size filters. This helps users find the relevant items quickly. At the same time, it reduces frustration as they don’t have to waste valuable time in finding the desired item. The enhanced user experience can compel them to reward your store by completing the transaction promptly. Another way to enhance the user experience through search features is by offering auto suggestions. This can help users complete the search faster.
After setting up your product catalogue using the above best practices, monitor the performance. There are various tools available for this purpose. For example, you can use Google Analytics (it is free) to assess a product’s performance using different parameters, including sales and views. Another method is to perform A/B testing on product pages. In other words, tweak the descriptions, images, and other information to assess which version works the best.
Lastly, we recommend using tools to automate catalogue management. For example, if you are using Magento, then there are various Magento 2 product labels extensions. These can be helpful in attaching text or images to products and product categories. Similarly, these extensions can be used to automatically display out-of-stock & most-viewed labels. If you are selling across multiple channels, an extension or software can ensure that product data is updated across multiple channels simultaneously. This reduces errors and ensures a consistent experience for all.
This concludes our article on the best practices for managing your eCommerce store’s product catalogue. By following the above best practices for catalogue management, you can enhance customer experience, boost SEO, and drive conversions. However, don’t forget to monitor the catalogue’s performance and adjust strategies accordingly to stay ahead of the competition.
