E-commerce reached new records in 2020 with 112 billion euros in sales in France, an increase of 8.5% over one year¹. Indeed, the pandemic context has led to an acceleration of internet sales as well as an acceleration of the digitalization of retail. Many players then started to sell their products online.

Particularly dynamic and attractive, e-commerce is attracting more and more people, pushing everyone to constant optimization in order to stand out. A highly competitive environment in which digital product content, through product data and visuals, has a crucial role to play.

The role of the product sheet

Digital product content, via the dematerialized product sheet, is a real prerequisite when selling products. This is all the more true when these products are distributed on e-commerce platforms, like drives or marketplaces. The product sheet then has a central place because it helps to guide consumers through their online shopping journey. It is thanks to this document, sent in advance to all of your retailers, that consumers will be able to access all the information they want to know before making their purchase. The product sheet has therefore a double stake. It brings together a set of BtoB data, intended for your retailers (logistics information, marketing, packaging, etc.), as well as a set of BtoC data, intended for end consumers (allergens, nutritional information, etc.). The quality of this data will have a major impact on the online performance of your products.

In e-commerce, your product, through its dedicated product sheet, is in direct competition with those of many other brands. The consumer can move from one product sheet to another and be able to compare the information of each product with just a few clicks. Or, if some information included in your product sheet is missing or simply does not seem reliable to the consumer, your product may be sacrificed for the benefit of a competitor. On the other hand, if your product sheet is exhaustive and it includes additional information such as labels for example, the end consumer will be informed about the characteristics of the product and will be able in all conscience to choose it.

Having a product sheet whose content is elaborated is a real asset to establish the credibility of your brand. Today, consumers are particularly vigilant about brands and are demanding about what they consume: they want to know everything. In this sense, the product sheet is a real gateway to the purchasing act. It is a very strong point of contact with your consumers and the better it is, the more effective it is, and the more it improves the conversion rate and therefore your sales.

The role of product visuals

In the world of e-commerce, product visuals also have a major role to play. Indeed, they make the act of purchase possible because they contribute to the attractiveness of the product. On the internet, the products that are sold are not palpable. Consumers cannot touch or see, in the true sense of the word, the products. In this sense, visuals are a strong source of information for consumers. Indeed, to allow consumers to correctly visualize the product, it is practically imperative to include at least one visual in your product sheet, our advice being to provide a visual from all sides.

Also, giving an attractive appearance to your products is essential. The more attractive the product visual, the greater its impact. It is essential to keep in mind that in the majority of cases the consumer will always start by looking at your product visual in detail, and if he considers it satisfactory, he will then consult the associated data. Therefore, the images used in the product sheet must be as close as possible to the final product, and consistent with the data entered in the product sheet. This will save consumers a lot of disappointment and once again improve your conversion rate. 

To help trigger the act of purchase, the quality of the visual is also essential: a blurry photo, too small or not zoomable are all errors that can lead to poor perception of the product by consumers. The quality, but also the variety of content disseminated allows you to enhance your product in e-commerce. In terms of alternatives, several options are available to you depending on your needs: professional photo shooting, 3D modeling or even Mobile Ready Hero image.

Make your digital product content more reliable

While digital content plays an important role in the performance of your e-commerce products, ensuring its reliability is also essential. Improving the reliability of product information is an essential step in order to obtain better results in e-commerce. Unfortunately, it is a fact that today there are still a lot of data sheet errors in the FMCG segment. Spelling mistakes or typos are all human errors that it is essential to eradicate from your product sheet. In-depth proofreading, correction, and verification at all levels of the chain are required.

When making your product data more reliable, it is important to check that all the mandatory information is entered correctly. As well as certain non-mandatory data, which are, in some cases, just as impactful. This non-mandatory data will allow e-commerce sites to offer filters to consumers in order to refine their search. Give priority to both mandatory and non-mandatory data, without forgetting the data required by each brand according to their specificities. Data reliability is a process that may seem time-consuming, but the return on investment is real and measurable via your commercial performance.

The reliability of your digital product content also involves your product visuals. Checking the freshness of these and their synchronization with the other information on the product sheet is an essential step. Likewise, when a modification is made at the packaging level, for example, the modification must be charged in the product sheet, but also at the visual level. You will understand that the reliability of your product information directly impacts the brand image and by extension online sales. It is important to ensure that the product information is perfectly up to date and well informed. In short, that the information is well aligned with the products you are going to sell.

Some tips to improve your digital product content

• Take stock of your product sheets. Identify the gaps in terms of quality for the visuals and the data.
• Using a PIM solution will allow you to do this job once and benefit from it across all your sales channels.
• Update your visuals database. Going through a specialized studio will ensure optimal quality and compliance with the expectations, in particular, of your retailers.
• Offer up-to-date and verified data. Digitize absolutely fresh data from the product packaging into your PIM solution.
• Make sure you match the visuals with your data and have no gaps. 
• Comply with GS1 norms and standards by using a GDSN certified PIM solution and using a specialized photo studio.

You will understand, in this increasingly dynamic e-commerce sector that continues to attract new players, the quality of product information plays a central role in allowing you to stand out. Do you want to obtain better performance and boost your e-commerce sales? So, what are you waiting for to upgrade your digital product content?

¹Source : FEVAD