Powering the Future of Digital Commerce
By: Rob Gonzalez, Co-Founder, Salsify
Today, digital commerce is a primary business driver for retailers, brands, and distributors. According to an analysis of US Census Bureau data by research firm Stratably, 2024 revenue from digital is projected to grow 8.4% in the U.S. market compared to in-store growth of 1.2%.
As digital commerce has grown in importance there has been a corresponding explosion of downstream channels where brand manufacturers must send product content from retail stores to marketplaces to direct-to-consumer websites. Each of these channels has distinct rules for the product data they will accept and these rules change often; Target, Walmart and Amazon changed their data ingestion requirements nearly 1,000 times combined in 2023.
Getting optimized, compliant content to the right destination is exceedingly difficult, particularly for the IT teams who implement systems that enable the go-to-market process for their business teams.
A new category of product data management software, Product Experience Management (PXM), has emerged in recent years and is seeing widespread adoption by brands, retailers, and distributors looking to centralize, connect, and automate the product data that powers digital commerce.
How does PXM compare to legacy product data management solutions? Which will power the future of digital commerce?
The Classic PIM Use Case
Many organizations have historically implemented a Product Information Management (PIM) system to centralize and store product data. Some key PIM use cases include:
1. Creating a “golden record” of data:
Using a single set of attributes to create a “golden record” for each product that other systems and teams can reference.
2. Using Internal Requirements to Define Data Schema:
Classic PIMs create and store product attributes based on an internally-determined schema, which is the foundation of the organization’s relational databases.
3. Keeping Data Static:
Information housed in a PIM is not meant to be frequently modified or changed by internal users, particularly business users. Making any changes to the databases or the data can be slow and expensive.
Ultimately, PIM systems create rigid data and processes as a way of maintaining data “cleanliness” for their organizations. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this kind of rigid storage system; PIMs work great for what they’re meant to do: they centralize, store, and organize data in adherence to an internal set of unchanging data standards and then connect it to other back-office systems or environments.
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But in the context of digital commerce, one golden record of data cannot be sent to every destination since requirements vary significantly. How can such a rigid system meet the demands of these varied and constantly-changing endpoint requirements?
The Power of Product Experience Management (PXM)
PXM is a new and distinct category of technology specifically created for digital commerce. PXM solutions serve the dual purpose of storing a golden record like a PIM while also leveraging a fundamentally more flexible data architecture to connect market-ready product information to the digital shelf.
PXM solutions are built on NoSQL database design patterns that allow brands to overlay schemas and validation onto semi-structured data rather than hardwiring it into the data storage layer itself. The separation of “storage” from “schema” is what allows PXM solutions to store many versions of the truth (i.e., many golden records) in parallel and evolve their schemas at the pace of a multichannel market.
PXM solutions include additional major capability areas to support digital commerce, including:
1. Multichannel Data Management:
Management of channel-specific data schemas, values, and validation, allowing users to store a golden record while simultaneously storing versions of the product record that meet the requirements of each data destination.
2. Channel Connectivity:
Connectivity to channel destinations, such as Amazon and Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), to get information to market faster, often via different mechanisms tailored to each destination.
3. Collaborative Workflows:
Workflows that typically involve people in other businesses, such as third-party agencies, distribution partners, or downstream retail customers.
4. Enhanced Content:
More types of data and attributes, including assets to support content like videos, comparison charts, and lifestyle imagery.
5. Enterprise-Wide User Access:
Administrative features to enable many users to access and use the product data for their own workstreams (e.g., legal, retail media, service, and support teams).
6. Automation:
Automation to drive cross-team collaboration; proactive alerts about content gaps and errors; AI-driven content generation and recommendations; and more.
PXM solutions were designed to be a flexible (not rigid) system of record that can store a core product record just like a PIM, while still allowing transformations of that record to meet each endpoint’s unique requirements.
PXM Will Power the Future of Digital Commerce
PXM solutions are driving a fundamental expansion of the basic use case for systems that store product information to ensure compatibility with the fast-changing requirements of digital commerce and what it takes to succeed. Innovation and investment in PXM is advancing rapidly. It’s an exciting space that will continue revolutionizing shopper experiences to drive significant value to the enterprise.
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