How is PIM Transforming the Customer Experience?

Bubble wrap was originally invented and sold as a type of wallpaper. That failed. Yet it eventually found success as an excellent packing material – and who can resist popping those bubbles? 

Play-Doh was first marketed as a wallpaper cleaner before realizing its creative potential as a modeling compound for children’s arts and crafts.

The rapid rise and proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has us all scrambling to look for the best ways of integrating it into everything, from business products and services to workflows and personal self-development. As it evolves, so will our use of it.

Product Information Management (PIM) is also evolving. And as the technology advances, the role of PIM in shaping engaging customer experiences will continue to grow.

PIM is already helping brands and retailers centralize their product data to better manage and update product information across channels (physical stores, apps, websites, email marketing). 

Some of the core benefits of PIM for businesses include:

• Reach markets faster by streamlining processes of updating existing products as well as adding new ones. With this added agility, businesses can respond much faster to meet new customer demands and market trends.
• Uphold consistency and accuracy by ensuring product information is the same across all touchpoints. By centralizing data into a single source of truth, customers receive a seamless experience regardless of where they interact with a brand.
• Improve personalization by using data management to better understand customer behaviors, preferences, and needs. This can then be used to recommend products and create more tailored shopping experiences.

What’s Next for PIM?

When Tryzens analyzes PIM solutions, we have an eye for how the platforms are evolving and integrating other technologies to future-proof business needs. There are many areas to explore, but let’s zero in on five key areas that PIM is helping to shape.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

PIM platforms are already using artificial intelligence to improve the product experience. For example, last year Akeneo acquired the AI platform Unifai, which is helping to improve data collection, cleansing, categorization, and enrichment. It has also created a dedicated Center of Excellence to optimize AI for the product experience.

AI-powered PIM systems will be able to automate data categorization to further refine navigation and search for customers. They could also automate enrichment tasks to provide customers with richer product details, helping them make more informed purchasing decisions, as well as enhancing product discoverability.

2. Real-Time Personalization

Through AI enablement and automation, PIM platforms will be a key enabler for deeper personalization in real time. For example, recommendation engines will leverage rich semantic product information data that has been created by artificial intelligence.

With more effective ways of centralizing customer data, segmenting it, and automating certain efforts, personalization is becoming more sophisticated. PIM platforms may deliver hyper-personalized experiences that consider individual preferences, intent, and context, involving tailored pricing, bundling, and specific product promotions.

This could also include customers receiving different product media being showcased to them on a PLP or PDP – like how Netflix curates personalized thumbnail images to each viewer.

3.  Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

Brands and retailers are already experimenting with AR and VR. From virtual fitting rooms for clothing to virtual try-ons for jewelry, customers are getting a more immersive shopping experience. And it’s just the start.

Sales of VR headsets have accelerated in recent years. Around 5.5 million were sold globally in 2019; 7.9 million in 2020; 14.3 million in 2021; 19.1 million in 2022; and 21.8 million last year. 

What does that mean for retailers and brands? Businesses will be able to integrate PIM data with AR and VR platforms, allowing customers to explore and interact with products in a lifelike environment. This not only improves customer engagement and satisfaction but also reduces product returns by enabling customers to make more informed purchasing decisions based on realistic product representations.

4.  Voice and Livestream Commerce

Voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa increasingly sit on kitchen counters, living room coffee tables, and bedroom drawers. PIM platforms can help businesses adapt their products for voice-driven product searches, purchases, and recommendations, giving customers a convenient and intuitive way to shop online.

With the growth of eCommerce, social media, and influencers, livestream commerce is a rising global trend. It involves a host showcasing products in a real-time broadcast and interacting with viewers, who can make a purchase during or after a show. 

And the biggest benefit is that livestream sales have impressive conversion rates: they’re 10 times higher than traditional eCommerce rates, with 60% of livestream viewers making a purchase during or after an event.

Connecting PIM data with livestreaming platforms presents exciting opportunities for brands to engage customers with more interactive and immersive shopping experiences, such as analyzing viewer interactions in real time to optimize content based on their preferences and behavior.

5.  Sustainability

As environmental sustainability becomes an increasingly important consideration for both businesses and customers, there is a growing emphasis on tracking and managing the environmental impact of products.

Future PIM will likely focus on further integrating sustainability metrics and environmental data that underscore responsible product management. By showing the carbon footprint, recyclability, and sourcing practices, it allows brands to communicate their level of eco-friendliness in a more transparent and user-friendly way.

The Future of Customer Experiences

If the history of innovation has taught us anything, it’s that the most unexpected transformations often yield the most innovative uses, and PIM and AI are no different.

The future of PIM is not only about enhancing product information management and customer experience but also about advancing sustainability and driving substantial business growth. 

As businesses continue to leverage these innovations, PIM will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in meeting the dynamic demands and setting new benchmarks for customer engagement and operational efficiency.

This article was provided by Akeneo, Tryzens.