Why is Catalog Better?

Author: CC

Mar. 07, 2024

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Tags: Packaging & Printing

Billions of people use Meta Technologies every day to connect with family and friends worldwide, but these social commerce platforms have evolved into powerful sales channels.

Social commerce has become a new way to boost sales and reach new shoppers, giving them the option to purchase directly from those channels. It creates a smooth transition for consumers, which is why a high-quality catalog is necessary and imperative.  

Detailed product information helps drive discovery and consideration but also improves the buyer experience. Product titles and descriptions are essential since it’s the first impression of your item.

Customers will have a better experience and build more trust with your business if the products they see in your Facebook and/or Instagram Shops are in stock and correctly priced. But in order to reach more people and drive more sales, merchants need to have a high-quality product catalog. 

If you’re not already selling on Facebook or Instagram, here’s how to get connected.

What is a product catalog and why is it important?

A catalog holds information about the products you sell across Facebook and Instagram. The quality of your catalog product data is central to creating a positive shopping experience within ads and Shops.

Optimizing your catalog quality can help customers discover your items and make more informed purchase decisions.  

Benefits of a high-quality catalog:

  • Improve your discoverability in search results: Therefore, the quality of your product directly impacts the likelihood of your product being discovered and giving you increased distribution.

  • Drive conversions: It’s essential to have consistency between your catalog and website. Not only do shoppers expect a seamless experience between channels, but enriching your catalog with visuals and detailed product information will ensure buyers have complete and accurate product information when it’s time to buy. 

Best Practices 

With so much opportunity available through Facebook for BigCommerce, merchants need to be strategic about creating optimal content that drives conversions. 

Here are our best practices and top tips to help your brand stand out:

1. Use detailed product information.

Category-specific attributes not only help customers to discover your product, but they also improve the buyer experience and can help increase the chances for conversion. Different attributes serve different purposes:

  • Discovery: These attributes don’t appear directly on your product details page (PDP) however help buyers discover your product during search. Examples include brand, gender, and age group.

  • Variants: Provide variant attributes for all products where a product variation exists. Examples include color, material and size. Learn more on variants on the next page.

  • Consideration: These attributes appear directly on your product details pages as variant selectors and help buyers consider buying your product. 

2. Manage product variants in your catalog.

Variants are variations of the same product in your catalog, such as the same T-shirt in different sizes or colors. Setting up variants properly in your catalog gives customers a better experience when they see your products in ads or Shop. 

Adding variants allows you to:

  • Help customers find more colors, sizes, patterns or materials of a certain product.

  • Show people a wider selection by displaying one variant of each product in your shop. When people select the product to learn more, they can see the other variants. 

You’ll need a product catalog to use product tags on Instagram, and having a robust one can help you be successful. Always consider the shoppers’ point of view: They see your post in their feed or discovery; they want to learn more and tap the image. They see the product tag and advance to the product detail page. 

Important things to consider when updating your catalog:

  • Inventory: Only products with inventory can be sold. To start selling products, update your catalog with accurate inventory counts (so you know when items sell out) and product category codes (for taxes).

  • Product names: Keep product names concise and consistent with your website on Instagram, so shoppers can see how to utilize a product. 

  • Product descriptions: Include the item description, including length, materials, cut and size considerations. For non-US sizes, remember to include size conversions.

  • Sizing: For products that need sizing consideration, make sure details are precise. If a product has multiple sizes, ensure you have inventory for each size. To add a size chart, refer here for more information.

  • Pricing: Make sure the price is accurate and consistent with your website.

  • Shipping Fees: You have the option to set different types of shipping fees, including free shipping minimums at various service levels. Put your shipping options in your Commerce Manager settings. 

Pro Tip: Without more images or videos to swipe through on a product detail page, shoppers can easily churn so provide at least two photos of the product. 

Every month, 130 million people tap on product tags to learn more about brands they see on Instagram. Product tags enable you to highlight products from your BigCommerce catalog and help customers learn more about what you’re selling.

Using product tags is essential for giving shoppers an easy way to find your brand, but also to make a convenient purchase. Product tags should be a part of your baseline Instagram strategy, and you should leverage them whenever posting images of products.

According to Facebook data, merchants that tag 5+ days per month on their feed, see on average:

  • 278% increase in product page visits

  • 231% increase in purchases

  • 216% increase in sales

The most successful Shopping businesses use product tags frequently across different formats in feed, stories, Reels, IGTV, captions and Live because people spend time in different places on Instagram.

Using product tags consistently to create more shoppable posts can help you reach new shoppers and get the most out of your shop.

Additional resources:
How long do Google photo books take?
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5 Pros and Cons You Didn't Know About
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Printing materials

In short, your product catalog is central to your social commerce success. For more strategies, tips and success stories to help you thrive across Facebook and Instagram, check out our guide here.

Paper-printed catalogs have been around since the 19th century, and nowadays, the printed catalog industry is still relevant in the United States.

The digital era has pushed businesses into the next logical step of printed product catalogs, which is the creation and implementation of digital catalogs.

Implementing digital catalogs provides many benefits and advantages to e-commerce businesses around the world - that’s a fact. But why is it beneficial to use digital catalogs? Let’s dig deeper into the pros a digital product catalog provides to a brand or company.

Digital catalogs in Ecommerce: Overview

Digital catalogs, also referred to as online catalogs due to their online nature, are the digital version of old, classic paper catalogs.

The goal of an online product catalog is to show online shoppers and potential buyers the products or services of a company in a visual and well-organized way.

Digital catalog example for ecommerce

According to Statista, retail ecommerce sales in 2023 will surpass 6,1 billion USD. Retailers can enhance sales by appealing to potential customers who access their websites through mobile devices or desktop computers.

Since most consumersexpect at least 5 different product photos before buying online, an online catalog is a valuable asset during the buying process that facilitates access to product data to potential clients.

Statistics show that more than 40% of consumers shop online to save time. Browsing through the physician pages of a paper catalog takes time, whereas checking a digital catalog can be quickly done by using a simple text search.

The new generation (Gen-Z) prefers ecommerce over physical store shopping - this doesn’t mean that having a printed version of a product catalog is useless, but it does show that the interest of new customers is more leaned toward digital sales.

Overall, digital catalogs are more convenient, cost-effective, easy to access, and efficient than printed catalogs.

Who can use digital catalogs?

Online stores, retail stores, and product manufacturers are the main places that can benefit from digital catalogs.

A retail business can create and implement digital catalogs to promote and sell its products via online channels. Likewise, digital catalogs are a natural fit for an online store that users browse through computers or mobile phones.

Product manufacturers can employ digital catalogs to showcase their products to retailers, distributors, and other potential clients in an all-digital way.

Why is it beneficial to use digital catalogs? 5 benefits

The benefits of digital product catalogs can provide companies and brands with a clear advantage over their direct competitors.

Print catalogs have been powering and enhancing the sales of products and services for several years, and now, the digital aspect of an online catalog opens the door to learn more about potential consumers and the impact of certain digital marketing efforts.

Let’s take a look at 5 of the most prominent digital product catalog benefits.

1. Get more information about customers and potential clients

Digital catalogs implemented into a website facilitate not only the browsing of products and services but also provide insightful data about buyers and user views.

Companies and brands that create a digital product catalog through a tool or software like Heyzine, can measure the impact of a certain catalog page, implement links, videos, and customize them to improve purchase processes.

You can also learn more about your customers by analyzing key customer data related to your company’s digital catalog.

This information represents a competitive advantage that can be used in a company’s marketing campaigns.

2. Provide better product and service accessibility

Digital catalogs have a wider reach than paper catalogs for an obvious reason: they are distributed digitally, which provides additional benefits to customers and buyers who prioritize online shopping.

This provides better product and service availability data. Customers can see information about a new collection of products released in an easier and more natural way through a digital catalog.

It is also possible to filter products, use quick text search, and browse the catalog by product descriptions or visual elements.

3. Make product inventory more visually attractive

It has been mentioned before that most digital shoppers prioritize the presence of product images before making a purchase decision.

Digital catalogs have customized visual elements that enhance the way a customer perceives the products of a brand.

For instance, products with bigger grids and more unique designs are perceived as main products, whereas product photos with smaller grids represent secondary or complimentary products sold by retailers or online stores.

Digital catalogs provide more visual freedom than a paper catalog: they can be updated, edited, and enhanced frequently without interrupting business processes.

example of product inventory in catalog

4. Save costs and time

Printed catalog production implies printing and distribution costs that digital catalogs do not face.

Retailers and ecommerce stores save a lot of time, money, and effort by producing digital catalogs instead of classic, print catalogs.

Likewise, browsing and exploring a digital catalog is quicker than doing the same with a paper catalog. In a world with more than 6.8 billion mobile devices, prioritizing digital catalogs over classic print catalogs is certainly a cost-effective decision.

One of the biggest advantages of digital catalogs is the fact that they can be updated frequently and easily.

Up-to-date product data provides customers with the information they need to drive their purchases in an efficient way.

Moreover, if a brand or company needs to change a product price, improve service descriptions, or create a whole new page, it is possible to do all this inside a digital catalog without major production costs.

Digital change is already upon us, and taking advantage of the different tools that power ecommerce will put businesses one step ahead of their competition.

Customized, unique, and brand-tailored digital catalogs have many great advantages that both customers and businesses can enjoy and experience.

FAQ

Are digital catalogs effective?

Yes - product catalogs showcased digitally are efficient and have proven to enhance digital business sales organically. Even paper catalogs remain relevant in today’s digital age, so implementing a digital catalog is certainly an effective way to improve marketing efforts.

Why is Catalog Better?

Why is it beneficial to use Digital Catalogs?

Additional resources:
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