Profit from the perfect product data

As retail sales fall, it is critical for retailers to protect their margins. A central database of all product information – from dimensions to photography and multimedia content – will be essential for any large retailer to retain their agility.

The most profitable retailers have built their businesses on ensuring that the information about their products is accurate, rich, consistent, compelling and competitive. But it only takes a few description errors and inconsistencies for reputation – and balance sheet – to be tarnished. One small error in product data can quickly become a big problem for the business.

The margins in e-tailing are small, with large vendors reporting a profit margin of less than 4 per cent overall. Mistakes made with product information might not seem like a big issue, but when multiplied across its sales base and multiple channels it could mean a significant loss in revenue. If current predictions are to be believed, that’s a loss no retailer can afford.

Mark Thorpe, UK Managing Director, Stibo Systems