Product Content Critical To Customer Experience
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Product content can help or hurt your brand, according to a Shotfarm Product Information report.
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Using the views of more than 1,500 consumers and the importance they place on quality product content, Shotfarm Product Information compiled a report outlining the importance of quality product content.
“Quality and completeness of product presentation in online retail has a quantifiable and direct impact on product sales,” explains the report, “But often, data is inaccurate, inconsistent, incomplete, and even outdated, leading to increased returns, serious brand erosion, and lost sales — all of which have significant financial ramifications for both retailers and manufacturers.”
Of the consumers surveyed, 78 percent said product information was very important, 17 percent said it was important, 3 percent said slightly important, and 2 percent said it was not important.
Fierce Content Management reports 87 percent of consumers said they would be “unlikely to consider a retailer again if it provided incorrect information for a purchased product.” Additionally, one of four consumers failed to complete a purchase because of poor product information.
Forty-two percent of consumers have returned an online purchase in the past year specifically because of poor product content. A quarter of consumers have returned a clothing or apparel item due to inaccurate product information.
“The quality of product data impacts all facets of the online retail business. In the eyes of the digital consumer, a product is only as good as the information associated with it. If that information is incomplete in any way, purchases are delayed, products are returned, and brand equity is lost,” concluded the report.
“To meet the ever-growing requirements of their trading partners, to offer higher-quality content across channels, to provide a better online shopping experience to consumers, and to realize more digital sales, manufacturers need to address the shortcomings inherent in their current processes. One way is to employ a content management and distribution solution that moves product information from Point A to Point B in the simplest, most efficient, and most affordable way possible.”