With millions of products listed on the Amazon marketplace, how do you think customers choose to go for a particular listing when making a purchase? Well, it’s a no-brainer. They go for the one that’s the easiest to find. Customers are looking for easy access to product information, listed under the right category. And this is exactly where Amazon product catalog comes into the picture. Managing your product catalog well and updating the product information on a regular basis is an important step towards a perfect Amazon listing and a satisfactory customer experience.

However, creating and maintaining an accurate Amazon product catalog is one tedious task. Handling tasks like product data upload, data feed, SKU development, etc. on your own won’t leave you with much time to invest in other important business management tasks. Delegating it to an Amazon catalog specialist is certainly the wisest choice of all. But before you do that, make sure you know everything about Catalog Processing so that you are able to choose the right service provider.

On that note, let’s start with the basic components of product catalog processing:

Amazon product catalog – What is it all about?

• Product data upload

  One of the most important parts of catalog processing is uploading the product data. Amazon product data is usually uploaded with the help of a CSV or an Excel file. All the details related to the product are first entered into an excel file. Once the required fields are updated, the CSV file can be uploaded on Amazon and the changes are reflected instantly.

• SKU development

  The SKU number (Stock Keeping Unit) helps you to identify a particular product in your inventory. It is basically an alphanumeric code that is unique for every product. Getting SKU numbers developed for all of your Amazon products will make it easier for you to keep track of your inventory and see if you’re overselling or underselling an item from the stock. These product attributes, once set, are then normalized and optimized for the Amazon search engine.

• Product copy

  An effective Amazon product catalog is incomplete without persuasive product copies. Each of the products must have a compelling and informative product description. It must clearly state your product’s benefits, features, and uses, etc. in an elaborate manner. Not to forget, it must be optimized with a set of relevant keywords as well.

• Product data feed

  Adding important product data like product name, title, brand name, color, size, dimensions, etc. comes under product data feed. This data helps you to correctly categorize your products in your product catalog. Other details like product discounts, promotional offers, etc. are also fed.

• Product image editing and uploading

  Attractive product images are an integral part of a product listing. Getting your product photos edited by a professional image editor will further enhance their quality and hence will work well for your conversions.

Creating and maintaining an Amazon product catalog is a handful, right? Must make you wonder if it’s really worth the effort. Well, the cloud of doubt will be lifted once you learn how important accurate cataloging is for you, which brings us to the next section.

Importance of catalog processing

Accurate catalog processing can help you provide your customers with the user experience they deserve. Here are some of the reasons why you absolutely need a quality product catalog ready:

• Quality product information at all times

  Imagine an Amazon product listing for a dress wherein there’s zero mention of the fabric details and the color of the garment. Would you be willing to buy this dress? Don’t think so. You’ll obviously need full information about the product first in order to make a purchase decision. As a seller, if you want your customers to notice you and buy your products, you must put up accurate and complete product information without fail. And this is only possible with professional Amazon catalog management.

• Successful business growth

  Customers only go for a product if they find relevant product information. An Amazon listing with incomplete product information mostly gets neglected by the customers. As a result, improper product cataloging leads to reduced conversions and hence slower business growth. It is crucial to organize and plan an effective Amazon catalog if you want your conversion count to rise.

As important as catalog processing is, it isn’t easy. In fact, getting it all right can be quite challenging. But fret not, these challenges are easy to tackle and overcome. Let’s learn about them in detail.

Amazon product catalog – Common challenges

• Correcting supplier data

  Third-party suppliers usually provide the sellers with bare minimum product information. The data needs to be standardized and normalized before it can be displayed online, as part of your Amazon listing. Data cleaning tasks like these could eat up a lot of time, which is why your best way out is outsourcing your Amazon product catalogs editing services to an experienced company.

• Centralizing eCommerce data

  If your eCommerce product data is scattered in the form of multiple spreadsheets, it’ll be harder to process. What you need is a centralized location that can provide you with a single view of your complete product data. Managing a centralized repository of such huge data is definitely a task for an expert.

• Adding more products to catalog

  A messy and unorganized Amazon product catalog makes it harder to add new products. This can prevent you from expanding your inventory.

The right approach to Amazon product cataloging

Here’s what you can do to maintain accuracy and regularity of the process:

• Use a Product Information Management (PIM) system

  A PIM system can help you centralize all of your product data in the best possible way. It’s basically an application that helps you in streamlining multiple processes like data standardizing, publishing, and uploading on Amazon to make sure that there’s no room for discrepancies. It is known to be highly beneficial for large businesses that have to handle a huge number of SKUs.

• Get the most out of that Excel or CSV file

  Bulk product upload is often messy and complex. Getting it right isn’t easy, but if you do it with the help of an Excel or CSV file, it will be a lot easier and accurate. Just enter your product data into a CSV file and upload it to Amazon. The changes will instantly reflect in the product catalog.

Build Quality Catalogs With Data4Amazon

Is your Amazon product catalog missing out on what it takes to attract conversions? Well, all you need is some professional assistance, which Data4Amazon is here to provide you with. Our Amazon catalog specialists will help you update, upload, and manage product information in the most accurate way possible. Write to us at [email protected] to get started at the earliest.