4 Tips for Online Marketplace Architecture With Extensive Catalog Data

4 Tips for Online Marketplace Architecture With Extensive Catalog Data

Establishing a successful marketplace model can be challenging. You will obviously need to generate buyer interest in your platform, but a successful marketplace platform also necessitates interconnection between your vendors and users, as well as engagement with the products and content presented within.

Your marketplace’s operation is dependent on a growing user base and a continuously updated catalog. A thriving platform relies on well-designed online marketplace architecture. Actionable data is key to your architecture’s effectiveness. 

How rich catalog data boosts the success of your marketplace architecture: 

Real-time data to enable growth

For an online marketplace framework to succeed, it must possess the ability to onboard vendors and products continuously while maintaining accuracy and customer trust. You need to provide consistent and complete data about products sold by each of your vendors, even though they fluctuate regularly.

How to go about it: 

AI-based marketplace APIs enable you to acquire complete product intelligence on each and every item in real-time. In addition, a Product Identification API gathers a list of products that match a search term, allowing grouping of identical and similar items as well as sorting by demand.    

Prevent mismatching and disgruntled customers

Sometimes different vendors provide incomplete data about their items, leading to customer frustration and abandonment. It is crucial to provide all of the most relevant product information consistently in order to enable accurate product identification and easy comparisons.

How to go about it:

Neural network modelling automatically captures both similarities and differences, enabling effective e commerce marketplace management. Regardless of the type of data provided by the vendor, you are able to feature a complete set of information about each product, boosting sales and customer loyalty.

Ensure prices are within range

At times, vendors set product prices outside of the current price range. This kind of overpricing must be avoided as it can put off customers permanently. However, keeping up with fluctuating prices is a difficult task considering the huge inventories handled by marketplaces.  

How to go about it:

Smart outlier detection techniques enable the identification of vendor set prices that are outside the current range. Using AI-based price modelling tools, automated pricing can be applied to products as they are being uploaded by vendors. 

Display products based on demand

Sometimes, the customer may not have the precise name of the product they are looking for. As a result, they may just search for the name of the brand rather than the exact item they want. In order to boost sales and increase customer satisfaction, items in demand must be displayed prominently on the product page. But how can you tell which products are most relevant at any given time?

How to go about it: 

Using specific search criteria, machine learning algorithms enable the ongoing ranking of products based on demand and attractiveness. The items that have the greatest appeal for the buyer will be displayed prominently based on a confidence score. According to research, accurate product assortment leads to a 5% increase in the add-to-cart ratio.   

To learn about additional ways extensive catalog data can enhance your online marketplace architecture, schedule a demo now.  

The Complete Guide to ASIN Product Numbers

The Complete Guide to ASIN Product Numbers

We understand the importance of Amazon ASIN numbers and how they can impact your success as a seller. In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss everything you need to know about ASIN numbers, including how to get them and why they matter.

What is an ASIN?

Amazon Standard Identification Number, or ASIN, is a unique identifier assigned to each product in the Amazon marketplace. It is a 10-character alphanumeric code that is used to identify and track products on the platform. Each product listed on Amazon has its own unique ASIN. This helps Amazon manage product data and ensure that each product is correctly identified, sorted, and displayed in the right categories and search results.

When a seller lists a product on Amazon, they either match it to an existing product detail page or create a new product detail page. If the product already exists in the catalog, the seller will use the existing ASIN. If not, Amazon will assign a new ASIN to the product. ASINs are used by Amazon to organize and classify products in their catalog, and they play an important role in the search and discovery of products on the Amazon platform.

How to Find Your ASIN

To find the ASIN for a product on Amazon, simply navigate to the product detail page and look for the 10-character alphanumeric code in the product information section. If you are a seller and want to list a new product on Amazon, you will need to create a new product detail page and Amazon will assign a new ASIN to the product.

If you are selling a product that is already listed on Amazon, you can simply search for the product on Amazon and locate its ASIN number on the product detail page. However, if you are selling a new product that is not yet listed on Amazon, you will need to create a new listing and obtain a new ASIN product ID.

To create a new listing, you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account and navigate to the “Inventory” tab.
  2. Click on “Add a Product” and search for your product in the Amazon catalog.
  3. If your product is not found, click on “Create a new product listing.”
  4. Follow the prompts to enter all of the necessary information about your product, including the product’s title, description, and images.
  5. Once your listing is complete, Amazon will automatically generate a new ASIN number for your product.

Why are ASINs important?

ASINs are important for several reasons. They help to streamline product management on Amazon by making it easy to track and manage products across the platform. They also help to improve the user experience by ensuring that products are correctly classified and listed in the right categories, improving search relevance, and enabling easy product comparison.

ASINs are also important for Amazon sellers as they help them manage their product listings, analyze product performance, and optimize their listings for better search visibility. By tracking ASINs, sellers can monitor product performance, identify areas of improvement, and optimize their listings for better search rankings.

How are ASINs assigned?

ASINs are automatically assigned by Amazon when a product is listed on the platform. Amazon uses a sophisticated algorithm to assign ASINs based on product attributes such as title, description, and category. If a product has unique attributes, such as size or color, Amazon will assign a separate ASIN for each variation.

In some cases, sellers may need to request a new ASIN for a product that does not yet have one. This is typically required for products that are not yet listed on Amazon or for products that have unique attributes that are not covered by existing ASINs.

ASINs and SEO

ASINs play an important role in Amazon’s search algorithm, as they help to classify and categorize products based on their attributes. By optimizing product titles, descriptions, and other attributes, sellers can improve the relevance and visibility of their listings in search results. This can lead to increased traffic, sales, and revenue.

However, it’s important to note that ASINs are not a direct ranking factor for Amazon search results. Instead, Amazon uses a complex algorithm that takes into account various factors such as sales history, customer reviews, and product relevance. Therefore, optimizing your ASINs alone is not enough to guarantee high search rankings on Amazon.

Using ASINs effectively

Now that you understand what ASINs are and how they work, it’s important to use them effectively to optimize your Amazon product listings. One important thing to keep in mind is to make sure that your product is properly matched to the correct ASIN in the Amazon catalog. This means ensuring that the product details match the information on the product detail page, including the product title, description, images, and other attributes.

How to Find a Product With ASIN

ASIN lookup on Amazon is easy. Simply go to Amazon’s website and type the ASIN code into the search bar. If the product is available on Amazon, it should appear in the search results. You can also find the ASIN on the product detail page, located in the product information section. ASIN number lookup to search for products on Amazon is an efficient and effective way to find the specific product you are looking for.

There is no official Amazon ASIN database that is publicly available. ASINs are unique identifiers that are assigned by Amazon to products in their catalog, and are subject to change over time as products are added or removed from the catalog.

However, there are several third-party databases and tools that exist which allow you to search for and obtain ASINs for products on Amazon. These databases are created and maintained by companies that collect and organize data about products on Amazon, and can be used to search for specific products or to perform bulk lookups of product identifiers.

How to Perform a Bulk ASIN Lookup

This can be done through various third-party tools and services that allow you to upload a list of product identifiers, such as UPCs or EANs, and receive the corresponding ASINs for those products.

One popular tool for performing a bulk ASIN lookup is the Amazon ASIN Bulk Lookup Tool, which allows you to upload a CSV file containing your product identifiers and receive a file with the corresponding ASINs. There are also many other similar tools and services available online that offer similar functionality.

Performing a bulk ASIN lookup can be a valuable time-saver for sellers who need to list a large number of products on Amazon. By using a bulk lookup tool, sellers can quickly obtain the ASINs for their products and avoid the time-consuming process of manually searching for each product on Amazon.

How Cluster can Help you with ASIN Lookup

Cluster can offer a variety of features beyond simply looking up ASINs, such as product research and analytics, keyword research, and more. We also have the largest structured SKU-level dataset available with over 1B items with full product level attributes (SKU, UPC, EAN, ASIN, GTIN, Color, Dimensions, etc.). Book a demo now!

ISBN Numbers: The Ultimate Guide

isbn

What is ISBN?

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a unique identifier assigned to books, e-books, and other publications. This system was first introduced in 1967 and has since become the global standard for identifying books. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide everything you need to know about ISBN numbers, including their history, how they are assigned, and their importance in the publishing industry.

History of ISBN

The ISBN system was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the late 1960s to address the growing need for a standardized identification system for books. The first ISBN was assigned to a book titled “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain in 1967. Since then, the system has been widely adopted and expanded to cover other forms of media.

ISBN Format

An ISBN is a 13-digit number that is divided into four parts, each separated by a hyphen. The first part identifies the language or country of origin, the second part identifies the publisher, the third part identifies the title of the publication, and the fourth part is a check digit that ensures the ISBN is valid.

The ISBN Five Parts

The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is composed of five parts, which are:

  • Prefix Element – This identifies the specific language or geographic location in which the publication was issued. It is represented by either a 978 or 979 prefix.
  • Registration Group Element – This identifies the country or group of countries participating in the ISBN system. It is a number between 0 and 9.
  • Registrant Element – This identifies the publisher or the individual responsible for publishing or distributing the book.
  • Publication Element – This identifies the specific title, edition, and format of the publication.
  • Check Digit – This is a single digit at the end of the ISBN that is calculated using a mathematical formula to ensure the accuracy of the other digits in the number.

ISBN-10 vs. ISBN-13

In 2007, the ISBN system was updated to a 13-digit format to accommodate the growing number of publications and the need for more unique identifiers. While the ISBN-10 format is still used in some countries, it is gradually being phased out in favor of the ISBN-13 format, which provides more options for identifying publications.

How to Obtain an ISBN

Obtaining an ISBN is a relatively simple process. In most countries, you can apply for an ISBN through your national ISBN agency. The application process typically involves providing information about your book, such as the title, author, and publisher. Once your application is approved, you will be assigned a unique ISBN that can be used to identify your book in the marketplace.

The Importance of ISBN

ISBNs are essential for the publishing industry as they provide a standard method of identifying books and other publications. They are used by booksellers, libraries, and publishers to track inventory and sales, and they enable readers to easily find and purchase books online and in stores. Additionally, many retailers and online marketplaces require books to have an ISBN in order to be sold.

Who needs an ISBN number?

The use of an ISBN is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended for authors, publishers, and distributors who wish to make their books available to a wider audience.

Here are some of the reasons why an ISBN may be required:

  1. Sales: Many booksellers and online retailers require an ISBN in order to sell books. Having an ISBN makes it easier for booksellers to identify, list, and sell books in their inventory.
  2. Libraries: Most libraries use ISBNs to catalog and identify books in their collection. Without an ISBN, it may be difficult for a book to be added to a library’s collection.
  3. Discoverability: Having an ISBN makes it easier for readers to find and purchase books online and in bookstores. This can increase the visibility of a book and make it more accessible to potential readers.
  4. Distribution: Distributors often require an ISBN in order to track inventory and sales of books. Without an ISBN, it may be more difficult to distribute books through various channels.
  5. Credibility: Having an ISBN can lend credibility to a book and its author. It shows that the book has been professionally published and is part of the global publishing industry.
  6. Copyright: In some countries, having an ISBN is a requirement for copyright registration. This can provide legal protection for authors and publishers, as well as help prevent copyright infringement.
  7. International Distribution: If an author or publisher wants to distribute their book internationally, having an ISBN can make the process easier. The ISBN system is used in more than 200 countries, which means that books with an ISBN can be easily identified and sold in multiple markets.

In general, any individual or organization that plans to publish, distribute, or sell books should consider obtaining an ISBN. It is an essential component of the publishing industry that can make it easier to market, distribute, and sell books to a global audience.

The Differences Between an ISBN and a Barcode

While an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and a barcode may appear similar, they serve different purposes.

An ISBN is a unique identifier used to identify books, e-books, and other publications. It consists of a 13-digit number that is divided into five parts, which provide information about the language or geographic location, country or group of countries participating in the ISBN system, publisher, title, and a check digit to ensure accuracy.

On the other hand, a barcode is a graphical representation of a product’s unique identifier, which can be scanned at the point of sale to identify the product and retrieve its price and other details. Barcodes can be used for a variety of products, not just books.

While an ISBN is not always required, it can be beneficial for authors, publishers, and distributors who want to make their books more discoverable and accessible to potential readers. A barcode, on the other hand, is often required by booksellers and retailers to track inventory and sales of books, as well as facilitate the checkout process at the point of sale.

How do I look up an ISBN number?

An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) lookup can be done through a variety of methods. Here are some of the most common ways to do an ISBN lookup:

  • Online Databases: There are several online databases, such as the ISBN Agency or Bowker Books In Print, that allow you to search for books by their ISBN. These databases can provide information about the book’s title, author, publisher, publication date, and other details.
  • Library Catalogs: Many libraries use ISBNs to catalog and identify books in their collection. You can search for books using their ISBN in a library’s online catalog or by using the library’s physical card catalog.
  • Booksellers: Booksellers, both online and in physical stores, often provide an ISBN lookup feature that allows you to search for books by their ISBN. This can be useful if you are looking to purchase a specific book.
  • Smartphone Apps: There are several smartphone apps, such as Book Crawler or ScanLife, that allow you to scan the ISBN barcode on a book and retrieve information about the book.

Is there an ISBN database?

There are several ISBN (International Standard Book Number) databases that are available online. These databases are designed to provide information about books and other publications by lookup by ISBN.

Here are some of the most commonly used ISBN databases:

  • International ISBN Agency: The International ISBN Agency maintains a database of all ISBNs assigned to books and other publications. This database can be searched by country, language, or publisher.
  • Bowker Books In Print: Bowker Books In Print is a database that provides bibliographic information on over 20 million book titles. It can be searched by author, title, or ISBN.
  • Google Books: Google Books is a database of millions of books that have been scanned and digitized. It can be searched by author, title, or ISBN.
  • Library of Congress: The Library of Congress maintains a database of books and other publications that have been cataloged by the library. This database can be searched by author, title, or ISBN.
  • Open Library: Open Library is a free, open-source database of over 20 million books. It can be searched by author, title, or ISBN.

How Cluster Can Help

Looking up an ISBN can be done through an online ISBN database, barcode scanner app, library catalog, or bookseller. These methods allow you to quickly and easily find information about a book, including its title, author, publisher, and publication date. Cluster can identify products from both structured and unstructured data so customers can enhance their product listings with more attributes and robust data. Book a demo now!

How to Optimize your products with Catalog Enhancement

eCommerce catalog enhancement is a process that uses digital channels to gather customer information from shopping carts, web analytics, customer feedback, and other sources.

We know that optimizing your product catalog can be a daunting task, but it is essential for the success of your business. A well-optimized catalog can lead to higher sales, increased customer satisfaction, and better search engine rankings. In this article, we will provide you with some tips and tricks to help you optimize your product catalog and outrank your competitors.

What is Catalog Enhancement?

eCommerce catalog enhancement is a process that uses digital channels to gather customer information from shopping carts, web analytics, customer feedback, and other sources. This data is then used to analyze customer preferences and create product catalogs that are tailored to the customer’s individual needs. In other words, eCommerce catalog enhancement is a way of understanding customer needs and preferences and then creating custom product catalogs that are tailored to those needs. 

Catalog enhancement is the process of improving the quality and effectiveness of your product catalog. It involves adding detailed product descriptions, high-quality images, and additional product information such as size, weight, and dimensions. A well-optimized catalog makes it easier for customers to find what they are looking for, leading to higher sales and increased customer satisfaction.

eCommerce catalog enhancement is a relatively new concept and is becoming increasingly popular among businesses. It is an effective way of understanding customer needs and preferences and then creating product catalogs that are tailored to those needs. It allows businesses to get an in-depth understanding of customer needs and preferences, allowing them to better serve their customers and provide them with a more personalized shopping experience. 

Benefits of eCommerce Catalog Enhancement 

There are numerous benefits to eCommerce catalog enhancement. Firstly, it allows businesses to get an in-depth understanding of customer needs and preferences, allowing them to better serve their customers and provide them with a more personalized shopping experience. Additionally, eCommerce catalog enhancement allows businesses to create targeted product catalogs that are tailored to individual customer needs. This can help businesses improve their customer service and increase their sales and profits. 

Furthermore, eCommerce catalog enhancement helps businesses to optimize their product catalogs and increase their visibility on search engines. This helps businesses to reach a wider audience and increase their chances of success. Additionally, eCommerce catalog enhancement helps businesses to track customer activity, allowing them to better understand their customer base and create marketing campaigns that are tailored to their needs. 

Finally, eCommerce catalog enhancement helps businesses to reduce costs. By creating product catalogs that are tailored to customer needs, businesses can reduce their costs and make their products more affordable. Additionally, eCommerce catalog enhancement allows businesses to increase their efficiency by reducing the time and effort required to create product catalogs. 

How to Implement eCommerce Catalog Enhancement 

Implementing eCommerce catalog enhancement is a relatively straightforward process. Firstly, businesses need to gather customer data from their shopping carts, web analytics, customer feedback, and other sources. This data should be analyzed to understand customer needs and preferences. Once this data has been analyzed, businesses should create product catalogs that are tailored to the customer’s individual needs. 

Additionally, businesses should optimize their product catalogs for search engines. This will help businesses to reach a wider audience and increase their chances of success. Furthermore, businesses should track customer activity and create marketing campaigns that are tailored to their needs. Finally, businesses should continually review and update their product catalogs to ensure they are up-to-date and relevant to their customers. 

Tips for Optimizing Products with Catalog Enhancement

1. Use high-quality images.

High-quality product images can make a big difference in how your product catalog performs. Use high-quality images that showcase your products in the best possible light. Avoid using stock photos or low-quality images that don’t accurately represent your products.

Make sure to optimize them for search engines. Use descriptive file names and alt tags that include your target keywords. This can help your images appear in image search results and drive more traffic to your store.

2. Include product descriptions.

Providing detailed product information is another important aspect of product catalog optimization. Make sure to include all the information customers need to make a purchase decision, including product dimensions, materials, care instructions, and any other relevant details. They should include information about the product’s features and benefits.

Product descriptions can help customers learn more about products and make informed decisions. Descriptions should be clear and concise. 

3. Include customer reviews.

Customer reviews can be a great way to help customers make informed decisions. Reviews should be honest and provide an accurate representation of the product. Customer reviews can help build trust and credibility with potential customers, and they can also provide valuable feedback that you can use to improve your products and services.

4. Optimize Prices

Prices are also an important factor when it comes to product catalogs. It is important to optimize product prices so that they are attractive for customers. This could involve adjusting prices or offering discounts. Discounts and promotions can be an effective way to draw attention to products. They can also help encourage customers to purchase products.

5. Crafting Product Titles and Descriptions

Once you have identified your target keywords, it’s time to craft product titles and descriptions that are optimized for search engines. When writing product titles and descriptions, make sure to include your target keywords in a natural and compelling way. Avoid keyword stuffing, as this can harm your search rankings and turn off potential customers.

Product titles should be clear, and descriptive, and include the most important details about the product. Avoid using vague or overly creative titles that don’t accurately describe the product. Product descriptions should be detailed, and informative, and provide customers with all the information they need to make a purchase decision.

How Cluster Can Help

Catalog enhancement is an important process for eCommerce businesses. It can help to maximize the visibility of products, increase sales, and build a competitive edge. The Cluster product data catalog is the industry’s most comprehensive at 1 billion items and growing, enabling customers to efficiently enhance their own complete and accurate product data content. Book a demo now!

CEO Chat on Changing the Product Data Catalog Ownership Story

CEO Chat on Changing the Product Data Catalog Ownership Story - Ori Greenberg

For eCommerce marketplaces, it’s always the same story: they rely on sellers to provide complete and accurate product data, but what if changing ownership were a possibility? What if marketplaces actually owned their own product catalog data and took the reliance off of seller inputs, while still being able to provide accurate product information for consumers? 

There are many roadblocks typically that prevent marketplace enterprises from achieving this outcome, but it is not an impossible feat. That’s why we caught up with Cluster CEO Ori Greenberg, in an interview to talk about the challenges, opportunities, and best practices for driving this industry to change. By transferring ownership of product catalog data from sellers onto marketplaces – success becomes possible for all parties involved, and below we dive into how and why. 

Q: Who owns the product data catalog today in the eCommerce market and why? Is this the standard for most marketplaces? 

GREENBERG: In the eCommerce marketplace landscape it always tends to be the same story. A marketplace starts by relying on sellers or merchants to provide product data, but quickly realizes it is a mess: 

  • The data is insufficient, and not normalized
  • The marketplace catalog experience is bad for consumers.
  • The marketplace catalog is underperforming in SEO and marketing in general.
  • It is actually hard for sellers to list items and causes friction, sending 50% of them to abandon the onboarding process.

However, owning the product data catalog makes so much sense. The sellers can help, but the marketplace must own the process, the guidelines and the standards – to help your sellers comply with those standards.

And if you’re thinking this is not possible, this has been done successfully by enterprises like Amazon’s marketplace, and Google Shopping – and in looking at those examples, the results are clear. That being said, no one has the breadth that Amazon and Google have by themselves – and that’s why Cluster was created.

Q: What does the ideal marketplace product data catalog look like?

GREENBERG: The ideal marketplace product data catalog should be: 

  • Rich with structured product data.
  • Detailed in taxonomy.
  • Inviting, filterable and pleasant in every way.

Q: What is the best practice when it comes to ownership of the product catalog data?

GREENBERG: As mentioned earlier, marketplaces should own the catalog onboarding process, guidelines, and standards – and marketplaces need to help their sellers and merchants comply with those guidelines. 

Q: Why is it so essential to follow these best practices?

GREENBERG: Loosening the rules on product data catalog ownership can cause a mess that spills into other business aspects across the board, and result in poor customer experience, bad seller experience, and poor performance overall.

Q: What are the roadblocks that keep marketplaces from gaining ownership of their product catalog data?

GREENBERG: Gaining ownership of your product catalog data is hard to set up, and taking the first steps can be difficult. You’ll ask yourself why would the sellers go through all the trouble to onboard their product information, and how do I even decide what to ask from them? 

The reality is that it is a lot easier just to tell people, “Here you go – a platform – now just list your products! We’ll use Machine Learning and AI in the future to make sense of what you write!” And then you find out you can’t accomplish this, and the technology just isn’t there – but it’s too late. And, changing your practice becomes even more difficult. 

Q: How can marketplaces work with sellers to create a mutually beneficial catalog onboarding process?

GREENBERG: First, marketplaces need to realize what data they need in order to provide a good customer experience and a frictionless seller experience. Next, help the existing sellers by adjusting their current catalog data. Provide clear guidelines on what is needed moving forward, and proactively help them provide the required catalog data. Examples of how to do this include: 

  1. Pre-build a product data catalog. Start with top-of-mind categories,
  2. Match existing items with the ones in the pre-defined catalog.
  3. Provide matching tools for new products added to the catalog.
  4. Enhance items that are not in that pre-defined catalog on the fly using advanced tools and third-party data providers like Cluster.

Q: How does Cluster help?

GREENBERG: Cluster is an eCommerce data provider that solves for creating a superior online shopping experience through quality catalog and product data for marketplaces and online enterprises (including adjacent markets like eRetail, brands, and financial institutions).

When marketplaces do not have a complete understanding of their product variants, they can oftentimes end up with duplicate listings, which confuses shoppers and in turn, sends them to competitor sites. Building a quality product data catalog is a challenge, but Cluster can identify, validate and enhance product data by matching duplicate products, so inaccurate information doesn’t find its way in front of your shoppers.

Q: What does the future of eCommerce marketplace data look like? 

GREENBERG: No new marketplace can provide an Amazon-like experience, which consumers are now expecting, from the get-go without requiring any help. From the product data catalog to the fulfillment of orders, marketplaces will need to partner with industry-leading vendors to get ahead of the game.

Mutual Marketplace and Merchant Benefits

Changing the script of a story (especially in the middle) is not an easy task, but the results can make for a much happier ending. In this case, restarting can seem daunting but the mutually beneficial results for merchants, marketplaces, and ultimately consumers, can make a major impact on success. Talk with a Cluster expert today and see how our game-changing insights can work for you. 


FUN FACTS

Little-Known Fact: 

When time allows, I love to geek out with customers’ data. Even if the customer didn’t ask for anything, I love finding trends, data gaps, assortment gaps, and insights in general that are intriguing. Usually, I keep it to myself, but sometimes I can’t help but share it with the customer/account owner. 

Quotes to Live By: 

Be kind.

Favorite Marketplace:

For basic purchases, Amazon and Walmart. For fun, spontaneous or emotional purchases: Facebook Marketplace. I love the sustainability aspect, plus the fact I can ‘Uber’ a product my way in 20 minutes!

Favorite Snack:

Coffee.

Describe Cluster in 5 Words: 

  1. Comprehensive
  2. Granular
  3. Accurate
  4. Unique
  5. Insightful

Catalog Integrity: Trust Your Backend Data and Shift Focus to Winning the Basket

Catalog Integrit Trust Your Backend Data and Shift Focus to Winning the Basket

Algopix has had the privilege of working with some of today’s leading marketplaces including Facebook Marketplace, Google Shopping, Mercari, Walmart, and others. Through our partnerships we have learned what works and what doesn’t, and our goal is to support our partners in tackling their most pressing challenges. So to that end we all know that eCommerce isn’t static. It is why many marketplaces can’t answer seemingly simple questions like:

 
  • Is my catalog data accurate?
  • Am I presenting the most relevant items at the right prices
  • Do I have the right mix of products to please shoppers? 
  • And lastly, how can I target the right sellers for my marketplace so I can keep shoppers coming back time and time again?
 

On December 8, 2021, during a live webinar, we dove into the most popular ways our team works with these marketplaces, starting with the importance of catalog integrity as the foundation of any marketplace business. Read the transcript below and watch the accompanying video.

Trust Your Catalog Data

First, catalog integrity is being able to trust your backend or canonical catalog data to support two fundamental processes for your business. The first is to improve seller onboarding by automating the listing process. This will release the reliance of your sellers to input accurate and robust information creating a frictionless onboarding process: What I like to call, the gold standard.

 

Then the second pillar I’ll touch on is the importance of having the backend data to consolidate duplicate listings of the same product for a better shopper experience. 

 

So let’s start from the beginning with the first pillar around disparate data and insufficient product content input by thousands of sellers, which leads to incomplete, miscategorized and duplicate product data entries. Let me ask you, what is more attractive to a power seller?

  1. A time consuming and manual process that can fall to easy inputs or 
  2. An easy automated and seamless product onboarding experience with recommended inputs that takes the responsibility out of the seller’s hands?

Well, I’ll answer it for you. It’s the latter. Our team has heard from one of the top marketplaces in the world that on average over 25% of sellers’ submissions are declined due to insufficient inputs because they require too much from sellers. This will create inconsistencies from the start.

 

Help Your Merchants Want to Work with You

The first step of the onboarding process input should be automated; where a seller starts typing in the name of a product in which your marketplace immediately starts suggesting products. This enables the merchant to auto-populate the product information.

 

Now, why is this important? As a marketplace it is your responsibility to make this process as easy as possible, to make your merchants want to work with you. This right here is a huge value making sellers want to list on your marketplace. Most marketplaces that we speak to are requiring a ton of attributes aspart of their product submissions and many sellers don’t have this information. This leads them to abandon the process resulting in poor product listings.

 

So, let’s make it easy for them. How will this impact your marketplace shoppers? We look at your business having two very important clients: your shoppers and your sellers. So we just talked about the sellers’ portion. Now we’re going to dive into how this is going to impact your shoppers. The answer is trust, and trust is one of the most important components for drawing shoppers to your marketplace.

 

Be the Gold Standard, Pivot to Winning the Basket

Marketplaces that aren’t thinking about enhancing backend data with the most accurate and robust product details will lag behind. And it starts with the aforementioned first pillar – having really strong recommendations for your sellers. This, in turn, will impact your shopper’s experience. If you see your product listing with disparate details on the product, the click-out rate of the external research will limit the chances of your marketplace winning the sale versus your competitors.

 

The ‘gold standard’ is being the product expert for your shoppers. An example of another large challenge is duplicate listings of the same products. Here, you will see three of the same products with different photos, titles, prices scattered throughout the DSLR camera category page on Facebook marketplace. This could be totally confusing and on off putting to some shoppers:

Group identical products by sellers

As illustrated above, it’s hard to see what is actually accurate, what’s fraudulent, if it’s the same product that is actually being searched, etc. So, if you have a robust catalog like Facebook marketplace does here, consolidating duplicate items into one listing can improve the shoppers experience. 

 

However, below shows the after view that we have been able to help our marketplace clients achieve:

Here you will see an example of a product listing with all the sellers that are selling this particular item. All the shopper needs to do is choose which offer makes the most sense to them based on price and other things like shipping, or what type of conditions it is in. So, as shown here, you’ve just limited a three-plus click process down to one or two by consolidating those listings into one. 

 

In closing, understanding the importance of the two main building blocks of your marketplace’s catalog will impact your seller and shopper experience. Next, be sure to dive into the importance of promoting the most relevant products with the most informed, competitive pricing – and learn the characteristics of A+ sellers that are right for your marketplace.