Savvy retailers and brands invest in automation, inventory systems, and high impact campaigns to optimize the customer journey. Despite this, they face challenges in operations and execution with a silent killer that hides in plain sight: bad product data. Preparing for Festive eCommerce readiness requires robust product data management and governance foundational elements that many retailers overlook until it’s too late. According to industry studies, poor data quality can cost organizations an average of 15% to 25% of their total revenue annually and businesses lose, on average, $9.7 million each year due to poor quality data.
Product data is everywhere: in your ERP systems, marketplaces, webstores, POS, vendor systems. Most of these systems depict the data differently and lack an easy method by which they can be mapped. This fragmentation destroys the potential for product data accuracy for omnichannel retail, thereby causing customers to see conflicting information wherever they shop. Adding to the problem is inaccurate, inconsistent, or incomplete product information that can bleed your business dry, erode customer trust, and ultimately cripple your festive success. The good news? There’s a powerful solution: Product Information Management (PIM).
There are hidden costs associated with bad product data, and a PIM software, particularly for omnichannel retailers, is no longer a nice to have, but absolutely essential for a truly triumphant festive season.
The Grinch-Like Grip of Bad Product Data
The Real Cost of Poor Product Data Quality in Omnichannel Commerce
Consider this scenario: a customer excitedly clicks on a new “must-have” toy for their child and makes a purchase. It is only later that the customer finds conflicting descriptions across your website, marketplace listings, and in-store displays. Perhaps the dimensions mentioned are also inconsistent and wrong. Adding to the confusion, some accessories needed (shown in Table 1) do not have clearly defined specifications. These seemingly small inconsistencies cause a product return that adds up to significant losses. This isn’t just a one-off mishap; it’s a systemic failure. When it happens during the holidays, the cost isn’t just financial; it’s deeply reputational and emotional, eroding trust when you need it most.
Product Category |
Urgent Need / Context |
Critical PIM Data |
---|---|---|
Batteries & Chargers | The gift is secured, but the child needs to play now. | Compatibility, Size (AA, AAA, C, D), Voltage. |
Consumables / Refills | Play-Doh, Kinetic Sand, LEGO expansion packs, craft supplies. | Color, Age Range Match, Compatibility. |
Protective Gear | Headphones, cases, screen protectors for new tablets/consoles. | Model Number Match, Compatibility (e.g., “Fits iPad Pro 11-inch 2024”). |
Controller/Add-ons | Extra controller for a new game console (PS5, Xbox, Switch). | Platform/System Compatibility, Connectivity Type (Wired/Wireless). |
Table 1: Festive-critical accessories where missing specs trigger abandoned carts, costly returns, and customer frustration
Here are just some of the ways bad product data can quietly sabotage your festive season:
When customers see bad product data, they don’t complain: they just click away and rarely return.
1. Lost Sales and Abandoned Carts:
- Lack of Detail: Shoppers need complete information to help them make a purchasing decision. Poor quality images, missing or incomplete specifications, or an absence of key features hinder product discovery and will send them straight to a competitor.
- Inaccurate Information: Incorrect pricing, availability status, or product descriptions cause confusion and a lack of trust, resulting in abandoned carts. Nearly 40% of customers abandon purchases when product information is not accurate and nearly 30% of shoppers abandon their cart when product descriptions are poor.
- Poor Searchability: If your product data isn’t rich with relevant keywords and SEO optimized attributes, customers won’t be able to find your products, even though the products themselves are great.
2. Skyrocketing Return Rates:
- Mismatched Expectations: The number one reason for returns? Bad product descriptions and the customer’s expectations not being met as a result. About 25% of returns can be attributed to this problem. Returns aren’t just a logistics cost – they’re a symptom of broken trust.
- Logistical Nightmares: Each return incurs significant costs in shipping, handling, restocking, and potential repackaging, eating into your already tight festive margins.Cost reductions of up to 30% are achievable with a PIM, thereby improving profitability.
3. Damaged Brand Reputation:
- Customer Frustration: Bad data leads to bad customer encounters and negative reviews. In the age of social media, one bad experience can quickly go viral. Nearly 85% of customers say they are less likely to buy from a brand that does not provide good product information. In the age of viral reviews, bad data becomes public fast.
- Loss of Trust: If customers can’t rely on your product information, you will lose brand trust and lose this sale and all future sales.
4. Inefficient Operations & Wasted Resources:
Behind the scenes, bad data creates chaos – slowing teams, draining budgets, and delaying product launches.
- Manual Data Entry Errors: Without a centralized system, teams spend countless hours manually updating product information across each sales channel, increasing the likelihood of errors and inconsistencies. Keeping up with product specifications and APIs (Application Programming Interface) across multiple channels is a monumental task.
- Slow Time-to-Market: The festive season demands speed. Products have to be made live quickly and this is not possible when data is messy.
Increased Support Costs: Customer service teams spend valuable time answering questions that should be easily available in your product descriptions, diverting resources from other important tasks. Nearly 50% of their time is wasted when product information is poor.
PIM: Your North Star for Festive 2025 Success
PIM doesn’t just clean up your data – it transforms how you sell, scale, and satisfy
This is where a PIM steps in as the ultimate holiday hero. A robust Product Information Management system acts as a single, centralized source of truth for all your product data and has a direct impact on fill rates and attribute completeness. In an age of AI-driven commerce and hyper-personalization, high-quality product data is no longer just a backend concern—it is your most valuable customer-facing asset.
Here’s how PIM transforms your festive preparations and sales for omnichannel commerce operations:
- Centralized Data Hub: Imagine all your product descriptions, images, videos, specifications, pricing, and marketing copy living in one organized central platform. No more disparate spreadsheets or conflicting information.
- Enhanced Data Quality & Consistency: PIM allows you to enforce data standards, validate information, and ensure consistency across every sales channel – your website, marketplaces, social media, and even print catalogs.
- Faster Time-to-Market: With streamlined data workflows, you can onboard new products and launch campaigns significantly faster making the whole process effortless.
- Enriched Product Experiences: PIM allows you to create compelling, detailed product pages with rich media, engaging descriptions, and accurate specifications that delight customers and drive conversions, and enhance the digital shelf experience.
- Streamlined Product Content Syndication: PIM also streamlines product content syndication, ensuring consistent, channel-ready data across marketplaces, webstores, and social platforms.
- Reduced Returns & Increased Customer Satisfaction: When customers have accurate information upfront, their expectations are met, leading to fewer returns and happier holiday shoppers. This is the core strategy for reducing product returns through better data.
- Global Reach with Localization: For brands with international ambitions, PIM facilitates easy translation and localization of product information, ensuring your festive offerings resonate with diverse audiences.
- Scalability for Growth: As your product catalog expands and you enter new markets, a robust PIM scales with you, preventing data chaos from impeding your growth.This capability ensures true PIM for retail scalability.
- Improved SEO & Discoverability: PIM enables consistent product attribution, rich schema markup, and optimized product feeds that improve search rankings across Google Shopping, marketplaces, and your webstore.
Don’t Let Bad Data Steal Your Holiday Season!
Festive 2025 is an opportunity to connect with customers and boost your bottom line. Don’t let the hidden costs of bad and fragmented product data diminish your success. Investing in a robust PIM solution now will pay dividends, ensuring your product information is as sparkling and reliable as the holiday season itself.
Now’s the time to assess your product data readiness. Speak with a PIM expert to explore how structured product data can turn festive chaos into confident execution and ensure your eCommerce operations are fully optimized.