"e" leaves "Commerce"

We carried out an online seminar in the USA on "eCommerce meets PIM" together with Bryan Walker (principal analyst at Forrester Research). We had a far bigger response to our invitation than we planned, with over 600 registrations.


Multi Channel Reality

Bryan used his presentation to clarify the meaning of product content in all modern sales channels. Multi channel has long been a reality since its implementation. More than 70% of US consumers research first online before they – however they do it – buy products. 85% of US consumers use multiple channels. They purchase in stores but also, at the same time, over the Internet, by phone and more and more with mobile equipment such as iPhones and now even iPads.


Direct sales are changing the distribution channels

Another figure shows how important it is for manufacturers to be have direct customer contact via the Internet: 46% of all consumers already research directly on manufacturers' Internet sites. In addition, more and more manufacturers are opening stores on the Internet. Production and retail are increasingly growing together. Or, put less positively: more and more retailers are facing direct competition from manufacturers. This represents a definite danger for retailers stretching far beyond the question discussed up until now of what influence Internet shopping has on the prices for specialist retailers with stores. Such questions are rather irrelevant to consumers. They click on the "checkout" which they completely trust and where they can get a good price. Trust is based on security. And security has lots of aspects on the Internet.


Limited investment in product content

Some of the questions that web providers have to answer for consumers online today, before they order a product, concern the product content. Perfect product descriptions; detailed pictures and videos; as well as tests, reviews and ratings strongly influence people's decision to buy products. However, in relation to the relatively high investment in online stores and customer portals, very little is invested in content management.  Distributors spend less than 3% of their costs on product information management. It's no wonder that many stores with products that don't display commodities (such as cellphones, digital cameras etc.) are not successful. The customer gets an unsatisfactory idea of the product and is not prepared to go ahead with the purchase.


Multi channel PIM strategy

The Forrester analyst leaves no doubt that retailers need to draw a clear picture of their customers' behavior. Today, a retailer needs to know where their customers go on the Internet; where they get their information; what motivates them to purchase something; and why they have decided on a specific channel. But manufacturers must also understand that the product content they generate will be automatically replicated on the Internet and reappear in all channels without them being able to control this flow of information. They can, however, control the quality of their product information, creating a USP amongst their competitors. Bryan Walker recommends that retailers and manufacturers "develop their own product information strategies because your customers expect this from you."

When choosing the suitable PIM solution, he recommends that they look closely at the technology providers. I can only agree with him on this. The differences are quick to see when it comes to complex processes and large amounts of data. One more thing can be said: multi channel almost always puts you in control of complexity. Which is why the old IT themes of user friendliness, stability and performance still play a dominant role.


"e"

Following Bryan Walker's presentation, one can remove the "e" from the term "eCommerce". Commerce without the "e" no longer exists in the real world. I agree with his view that: "commerce meets PIM" and have forgotten the "e" already.