How Pre-Sale Product Information Makes or Breaks the Customer Experience

Keywords

Customer Experience

Digital Commerce

eCommerce

PIM

Retail Trends

As consumers, we’ve become accustomed to the conveniences of online shopping - all the products, options, and sales we could want, without ever leaving the comfort of our couches.

While it can often sound like a dream, we’re all also familiar with the nightmarish pitfalls of digital commerce. Who hasn’t experienced those exciting moments of anticipation as a package arrives… and that excitement quickly turns to frustration and disappointment when we tear open the package only to find that what we received is not what we ordered, or at least not how it was pictured or described online. Whether the sizing is off, materials are wrong, color or quality, it can feel like you’ve been betrayed by the brand that made a promise and didn’t deliver.

From a customer perspective, it can be devastating. Maybe you had planned to wear the outfit for a special occasion and now you have to go back to your closet for a disappointing but suitable back-up. Or, maybe it was a birthday present for a friend and now you have nothing to gift them for their special day. Regardless of why you purchased it, it’s not a fun or enjoyable experience when expectations don’t meet reality.

As frustrating as this is to consumers, it can cause a much bigger headache for the brand or retailer who misrepresented the product in the first place. At surface level, it might seem like they simply lost a sale if the customer returns the item. But the long-term impact can be much more consequential and, if not addressed, have a negative snowball effect on brand reputation and revenues. Plus, the cost and logistics of processing returns can have a massive impact on the organization.

Misaligned expectations on products are a big misstep on the part of brands, and one that can be easily avoided. Let’s take a look at why consistent, reliable product information is so critical to the pre-sale process, and how retailers and brands can ensure they are meeting and exceeding customer product expectations to drive improved customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue.

Why Product Expectations and Experiences Matter

When it comes to the retail industry, customer experience has been in the limelight for years – and for good reason. Strong CX drives retention and revenue.

However, there is an important caveat here that often gets overlooked: there is no customer experience without a product experience.

The product is often the first and most significant touchpoint between the customer and the brand, so customer’s experience with a brand is deeply tied to how they interact with the product. If the product doesn’t meet their expectations, whether due to poor quality, incomplete information, or usability issues, it will negatively impact their entire perception of the brand.

From how it’s discovered online to how it’s described, purchased, and used, every interaction forms part of the customer experience.

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In particular, there are three key ways the product experience affects the customer experience:

1. Customer trust and retention

Product experiences go hand-in-hand with customer experiences in retail. Just one bad experience can be enough to deter customers from shopping with the same brand again; it’s critical to manage expectations by making sure your product descriptions are as accurate, consistent, and detailed as possible before the sale is ever made. That way, there are no surprises when the product arrives at their door, ensuring a more reliable experience that keeps customers coming back because they know they are getting what they pay for when they shop with the brand.

2. Brand perception and value

A product that delivers on its promises, comes with rich and accurate information, and provides a satisfying user experience elevates the customer’s perception of the brand as reliable, high-quality, and customer-centric.

In today’s retail environment, where two-thirds of business leaders (66%) confirmed “product and brand values” is the feature that will most likely increase in importance over the next 2-3 years, the product experience also serves as a reflection of the brand’s values. If a company claims to be eco-friendly but uses excessive or non-recyclable packaging, the product experience doesn’t align with the brand’s messaging, leading to customer disillusionment. Brands that offer detailed product information about clear eco-certifications, minimal packaging, or responsibly sourced materials are likely to be seen as authentic and responsible, enhancing the perceived value of the brand and helping to differentiate it in a crowded market.

3. Informed purchasing behavior that reduces returns

Returns are painful for both customers and brands. For customers, they’re forced to deal with the hassle of packaging something up or dropping it off at an approved location. Companies need to eat the cost of return shipping and deal with the costs of restocking products.

There’s also an environmental impact, as returns often lead to increased carbon emissions due to additional transportation back to the warehouse or retailer, contributing to fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022 alone, emissions from shipping returns equaled 24 million CO2 metric tons. Plus, not every item returned can be restocked, not only wasting valuable resources but also adds to the growing problem of textile waste in landfills. The volume of returns in landfills in the U.S. nearly doubled from 2019 to 2022, amounting to 4.3 billion tons.

A well-curated product experience is one of the most effective ways to mitigate return rates. When customers are fully informed about the product through accurate descriptions, high-quality images, user reviews, and detailed specifications, they are far more likely to be satisfied with their purchase.

Product Information: The Key to Product Experiences

The best way to avoid any post-sale customer frustration, is to have a sound, comprehensive product information management strategy in place, pre-sale. Providing the right information before the point of purchase is the best way to ensure that customers are satisfied with their purchase and are able to make confident, informed decisions. This will pay dividends over time, as customers keep coming back for repeat purchases.

With the vast and fractured eCommerce space today, it’s not an easy feat to ensure product information remains consistent across so many retail channels, marketplaces and outlets. But it is paramount that what a customer sees for product details on one marketplace -- such as Walmart.com or Amazon – matches what they see on your website and all other channels. Without this consistency, customers will come to question the reliability and quality of the product and brand experience.

When your product experience is aligned with the customer's expectations, it creates a ripple effect of positive brand perception, repeat business, and long-term customer loyalty. Investing in a robust PIM system doesn’t just simplify the process of managing and enriching product data, it ends up shaping the entire customer experience from discovery to post-purchase.

If you’re interested in learning more about how a PIM system, like Akeneo, can help you create a compelling customer experience based on product experiences, reach out to an Akeneo expert today.

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Our Akeneo Experts are here to answer all the questions you might have about our products and help you to move forward on your PX journey.

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Casey Paxton, Content Marketing Manager

Akeneo

How Pre-Sale Product Information Makes or Breaks the Customer Experience