Product Data Fuels the Customer Experience

Syndigo released the results of its survey focused on product data and the customer experience. The survey targets global executives and is the first of a planned new series of thought leadership features called "Ignite: Insights powered by Syndigo".  The headline findings reveal that harnessing product information is critical to improving the e-commerce experience for consumers, yet many companies struggle to efficiently manage their data.  

63% of companies struggle to integrate data sources   
Many brands reported that one of the barriers to accessing, compiling and using their data was organizational, specifically relating to tech silos in their organizations: 53% of respondents said that "better integrating our core technologies for managing product content" was the most important e-commerce action to take to improve business priorities. As a result of this poorly integrated data, 64% report they have difficulty measuring the effectiveness of product content in driving business outcomes.   

Company leadership craves a central data solution that delivers better content  
Nearly all respondents, 94%, believe that having an "end-to-end solution to create, manage, syndicate, enrich, and optimize product data" would be valuable in helping them overcome their data integration obstacles. Additionally, 66% rank the number one capability that they seek is the automatic updating of rules based on partner requirements to provide an accurate and complete understanding of current content gaps. Full integration is also important to 63% of leaders, as it is required to reap the full benefits of a modern, end-to-end solution.     

The use of data to improve product content  
Brands also know that investing in effective data solutions is key to their growth strategies. When asked "which of the following are most important to executing on your top business priorities," the top three responses were e-commerce analytics data, consumer behavior data, and market data.   

"E-commerce will remain at an elevated level, and brands already know that digital platforms are a high-priority place to meet their customers' expectations and needs," said Syndigo CEO Paul Salay. "This study confirms that when brands can integrate their product data and optimize content, they will be in a much better place to connect with customers and drive growth. That is precisely why we developed the CXH platform – to help brands and retailers address the identified challenges across the content ecosystem."  

About the Study  
The commissioned study was conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Syndigo in February 2021, and polled 360 global senior product content management strategy leaders. All respondents were directors, vice presidents, or C-level executives representing the B2C or B2B2C segments of their businesses.

The study can be downloaded here