Where can you find the most profitable ecommerce businesses? Sorry, trick question: the answer is, everywhere.
They’re on your phone, in your inbox, and on social media platforms. And no matter where you shop, you always feel in control of your shopping journey, with personalization, synchronized carts, and a seamless experience from beginning to end.
Want to make this a reality for your business, too? Combining a PIM system with your omnichannel retail operations is the first step. This creates a centralized hub for all your product information so you can easily update product data and create better customer experiences. It’s a match made in heaven, like peanut butter and chocolate, or pineapple on pizza (don’t knock it ‘til you try it).
This guide explains how to find the perfect omnichannel PIM system for your business. It also explains key features and benefits so you can make an informed decision.
Omnichannel retail creates holistic buyer experiences by providing coherent, cohesive brand touchpoints from any channel or device.
The short version?
It’s about helping customers pick up wherever they left off, whether that’s browsing products, purchasing items, or chatting with a customer service rep.
Harley Finkelstein says it best:
“Omnichannel is not just a strategy, it’s the new reality. Customers expect a seamless experience across all touchpoints, and brands that don’t deliver will be left behind.”
Harley Finkelstein, President @ Shopify
A great real-world example of omnichannel ecommerce is Crate & Barrel, an international furniture and home décor store. Because its customer data seamlessly moves between its mobile app and website, shoppers can always pick up where they left off and receive personalized suggestions from any device.
Things didn’t always used to be that way, though—Crate & Barrel had a pretty rough brand identity in the past. But with its revamped omnichannel strategy, it’s seen a 10% revenue increase from higher conversions. All it took was an omnichannel approach, plus acquiring the right tools for it along the way.
Close, but no. Although you’ve probably heard people use the terms interchangeably.
In a multichannel strategy, your primary goal is selling products on multiple channels. If you’re posting products on Facebook, Instagram, and Google Shopping, then you’ve already got a multichannel retail strategy.
Omnichannel strategies are about creating unified user experiences—sharing data between all of your channels and recognizing individual users as they move from one channel to the next. You’re still managing data on multiple platforms, but you’re taking it to the next level by making every customer touchpoint feel integrated and connected.
With this in mind, you should know that omnichannel strategies involve more than just sales channels. Communication channels like text and email may also be included in the mix. You’re probably already using channels like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business, or AI chatbots—which don’t expressly sell ecommerce products, but do make it easier to build better relationships with your customers.
If you want more nitty-gritty details, check out our guide to multichannel vs omnichannel commerce.
There’s a lot in the way of achieving true omnichannel excellence—especially when it comes to managing product information consistently.
Here are three such challenges to keep in mind:
Whether you’re listing products on your website or printing physical product catalogs, incorrect product data could cost you time, money, and effort. It’s even more frustrating for offline channels like in-store shopping because as you know, there’s no easy way to update a paper brochure in real time.
With omnichannel strategies, you’ll have to be prepared for:
At no surprise to virtually anyone, inaccurate product data makes customers upset. If they get enough bad data, more than half will go shopping elsewhere. Can’t really blame them when there are 14 million competitors.
The average online store has around 4,538 SKUs, all of which require a certain set of product information. Considering that sales channels like Amazon require 200 attributes for a single product listing, it suffices to say that omnichannel retail creates a lot of data.
Monitoring, editing, and updating this content will get more and more complicated the more your business grows. If you’re doing this manually, it could also leave you vulnerable to human error, not to mention hours of wasted time probably better spent on other tasks.
Which leads into our next point:
In omnichannel commerce, clean data is king. And if your data isn’t clean? Well, prepare for one-star reviews.
Let’s say you order breakfast sandwiches on a fast food company’s mobile app. But when you get to the location, your order isn’t ready. A sheepish attendant lets you know they’ve been out of those sandwiches since 7 AM—but because there wasn’t accurate data in the app, you’ve essentially paid for products that don’t exist.
This is just one example of what can happen when errors and inconsistencies sneak into your sales channels. It’s even more devastating in an omnichannel context when the goal is to meet and exceed your customer expectations.
As you can see, omnichannel retail isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s borderline impossible to manage on your own—without a PIM, that is.
Product information management (PIM) is a type of software that stores and distributes product information. That way, it’s easier to keep product data accurate, consistent, and up to date across all the platforms and channels you sell on.
You can use a PIM system to:
The takeaway? A PIM system is a single source of truth for your business. And when paired with an omnichannel strategy, it can be a powerful force indeed.
We’ll let Dirk Hoerig summarize the rest:
“PIM is not just a technology investment; it’s a customer experience investment. Brands that prioritize clean, organized, and enriched product data are the ones that win in omnichannel commerce.”
Dirk Hoerig, Founder @ commercetools
Learning how to implement an omnichannel selling strategy will boost your brand image and your bottom line.
No need to take our word for it, though.
Here are a few key benefits of using PIM for your omnichannel retail business:
If you’re looking to create a seamless brand experience for customers, you need to make sure you’re showing up the way you want. This means pushing accurate, up-to-date, and relevant product information to every single one of your customer’s touchpoints.
Accuracy also creates a consistent experience for customers, which does wonders for building brand trust and loyalty. After all, no one likes adding an item to their cart only to realize it’s a different price at checkout. 😬
Personalization is everything in the omnichannel world—and we’re not just saying that, either. Studies show 80% of frequent shoppers prefer buying from brands that offer personalized experiences.
When storing your data in a PIM system, you can easily keep tabs on mission-critical information. You can also:
Managing inventory without an ERP and PIM is like trying to make the perfect sandwich while missing half your ingredients (or worse, not realizing you ran out of bread).
A PIM tool can stop this from happening by integrating directly with your ERP. That way, you can easily avoid collecting unsellable stock, running out of products, or inaccurately forecasting future sales.
To put it simply, headless commerce separates your ecommerce store’s frontend from its backend so you can easily customize your customer’s experiences.
This means you can:
Of course, none of this is possible without a single source of truth—AKA, a PIM system. If you want to go headless, then you’ll need a PIM. This will allow you to push product data to whatever frontend, sales channels, or platforms you want.
Whew, okay. That was a lot to cover. But it’s pretty clear that PIM software is a helpful tool for executing any omnichannel strategy.
But this is only the first half of the equation. Because the real problem is: no two platforms are alike.
So this begs the question. . .
There’s no such thing as the “best” PIM platform: only the option that makes the most sense for your business.
But while you’re comparing your options and drilling down into providers, keep a close eye out for:
A good PIM should grow alongside your business so you can upgrade (or downgrade) whenever the need arises. It should also be easy to customize the platform to your needs, whether that’s to a specific number of users or a specific number of SKUs.
You should have at least the basics on the base plan, like world-class security, compliance, and access to a digital asset management system (DAM). But there should also be room to upgrade when you’re ready for more, including PIM features like webhooks, advanced formulas, third-party connections, and more.
And while we’re on the subject of third-party connections:
The last thing you want is another data silo, so your PIM of choice should allow you to connect with other omnichannel tools. You shouldn’t just focus on sales channels, though. The best PIM platforms also connect with:
Some PIM providers expect you to learn the system yourself. Others offer lengthier onboarding support.
Either way, you need the system you choose to be intuitive. You don’t want problems arising from simple user error, after all.
You should also keep your eyes peeled for solid customer support. This should include at least chat and email support, plus a self-guided help center for DIY troubleshooting.
AI is the future of product information management—and omnichannel retail too. This means you’ll want to choose a platform that offers tools that save time and are constantly looking for ways to add more options to the toolbox.
For example, keep an eye out for platforms offering:
A good omnichannel strategy creates a seamless experience for customers. But a great omnichannel strategy also creates a seamless experience for your business. It all goes back to finding the right PIM—the easiest way to manage your data as it flows from one platform to the next.
Ready to dive deeper into how PIM works in omnichannel retail?
Check out our ebook on going omnichannel: