eCommerce Product Catalog: Common Mistakes + How To Fix Them

Did you know that 80% of online product catalogs remain undiscovered? 

This means, 

• that products don’t come up on the first page of Google  
• new customers are not familiar with different product ranges, and
• stocks of products sit in warehouses, gathering dust with nowhere to go  

The bottom line? A huge loss in revenue.     

If your product catalog is not set up properly, all the inconsistencies pile up and create challenges that make it difficult to make a sale.     

In this article, we’ll cover:

• common product catalog management mistakes 
• solutions for better online catalog management, and 
• brands that are nailing product catalog management  

12 eCommerce Catalog Management Mistakes that Every Retailer Needs To Fix

1. Confusing site navigation

What could be the issue? ‍

❌ Overcrowding of categories—this could be about having too many top level categories (many of which are supposed to be subcategories), multiple overlapping categories with similar keywords and deeply nested layers that require the shopper to constantly click through to discover

❌ Declaring shared attributes as separate categories—if there are multiple product types with shared attributes, then it’s ideal to feature them as filters - this also prevents an unnecessarily deep menu with multiple overlaps

❌ Unclear or cluttered hierarchy—for example, if your bestsellers across each category aren’t accessible right away with individual links, then it’s a problem - or for that matter, if you have duplicate links under “Shop” and “Products” featured as separate categories

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ The depth of the menu—the ideal depth is up to three layers even if, let’s say, you have over a 1000 products - at the least make it a layer deep, with each category separately opening up as a short scannable menu

✅ The secondary navigation—this is usually a good idea if you want to highlight certain sub-categories more than others, also helping shoppers find better deals in the process - a method sock brand Comrad has figured brilliantly to enhance their eCommerce product catalog:

✅ Quick links for top categories—this is another aspect of the navigation that you’d want to get right depending upon seasonality, success of A/B testing etc. 

🚀Pro Tip

Create multiple pathways to popular / best-selling product categories - an example would be “Men > Shoes” and “New Arrivals > Shoes”

2. Poor online product discovery

What could be the issue? 

❌ Poor internal linking structure—this brings poor performing pages to the forefront as well as redirected or broken links that search engines consider detrimental to UX

❌ Lack of differentiating content for each product—since a search engine tries to match product info to other relevant searchers, the lack of differentiators could actually signal a lack of relevance

❌ Inadequate product schema markup—if you don’t highlight aspects like reviews, price and availability, Google will deprioritize results from your eCommerce retail store

‍What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Optimize product images—and don’t forget the descriptive alt text that helps search engines to identify your listing(s) as relevant

✅ Integrate KWs naturally into product text—this is more likely to resonate with organic search intent or how shoppers actually search for products 

✅ Aim for comprehensive schema markup—along with intricate product detail including quick features / specifications, make sure to include brand information, validity date if you’re applying a discount and images from multiple angles

Fun fact: Customers who search for products online can generate up to 13.8% of your revenue. Shopify shows that when customers searched for a product online, they were 1.8 times more likely to add it to the cart. 

🚀Pro Tip 

Use a clear URL structure such as www.yourbrand.com/products/category-name/sub-category-name/product-name for better product catalog optimization:

Further Reading: 33 Scientific Ways To Improve eCommerce Product Discovery

3. Poor onsite search

What could be the issue? 

❌ Lack of precise metadata tagging—your product catalog for eCommerce could suffer if key attributes like material, price and exact sub-category KWs go missing in the metadata

❌ Not accounting for search terms shoppers actually use—this invariably returns irrelevant results or ones that are less personalized, leading to shopper frustration

❌ Lack of mobile search functionality—lack of search bar or mobile keyboard optimization ends up in typos that in turn show up irrelevant suggestions

What you need to optimize for an optimized eCommerce catalog:

✅ Optimize search for long-tail KWs—evolve your search function to include NLP and other advanced techniques to identify actual search phrases faster, better

✅ Broaden your synonym library—always helps to account for words that shoppers from different demographics and regions may use to search for the same product(s)

✅ Introduce voice search for mobile users—considering so many shoppers compare & search on the go, this can vitalize the discovery of your eCommerce online catalog

🚀Pro Tip 

Start using an automated tagging tool to reduce metadata errors—Google Cloud Vision, for example, precisely tags product images naturally with the most important attributes. 

4. Improper product data management

What could be the issue? 

❌ Manual efforts unable to handle a sudden surge of data—this is a common reason behind sudden returns for several eCommerce brands, especially in the peak holiday season, adding to the already chaotic data management process

❌ Varying product information across channels—ask any shopper and they’ll tell you this is perhaps one of their most feared reasons for stopping to engage with / buy from a brand - after all shoppers want to trust, only that poor data management doesn’t make space for that

❌ Lots of outdated information—invariably causes duplication of information and even data bottlenecks that contribute to slower launches / product drops

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Make specific data markers mandatory—set necessary markers like price, size variant, exchange info etc. without which no product information would show up live to visiting customers

✅ Integrate with inventory & ERP tools—it is ideal to create workflows that automatically bring your product data management, inventory & ERP data together (middleware integration platforms are ideal for this)

✅ Start tracking product-level KPIs—once you have analytics on bestsellers, slow-moving items and those with high return / exchange rates, you can formulate a more effective marketing & display strategy

🚀Pro Tip

In order to choose a product data management for your eCommerce retail store ask about:

• User-friendliness: it should not require a high level of tech-savviness to use and should be able to interpret data in simple forms.
• Customer experience optimization: does it support guided shopping and intuitive search capabilities for shoppers?
• Integration: does it integrate seamlessly with your existing tools? 
• Security: How secure is it? You need reliable software that keeps your company data secure and private

5. Misleading category pages

What could be the issue? 

❌ Lack of relevant filtering & sorting capabilities—too many random filters (like featuring “water resistance” for dri-fit T-shirts) or lack of filter personalization could hamper conversions on your eCommerce retail store

❌ Poor product display—lack of in-use images as well as shots that don’t reveal product details like color, fall, shape etc. can be a big problem

❌ No distinctive CTA—whether you have primary CTAs or also additionally have secondary CTAs, lack of distinction or updation (for example, when a product is out of stock) can be misleading for shoppers

What you need to optimize for better online catalog management:

✅ Leverage the hover effect—this is a great way to highlight a different product image in order to offer more context to the shopper

✅ Use breadcrumb navigation—this is especially helpful if you’re a third party aggregator or have a massage retail catalog - when shoppers enter deeper category pages, they can orient themselves better through breadcrumbs

✅ Improve meta tags & titles—include long-tail KWs that shoppers are most likely to search with and write a summary for each category page

eCommerce brand Zappos highlights categories, subcategories and filters that a shopper chooses to orient them and also personalize the product catalog results more closely:

🚀Pro Tip

Integrate important product info into visual imagery (for example, if you have “X pieces left” of a certain product, use that as an image label) as an eCommerce catalog solution.

FURTHER READING: Build high-converting category pages (13 ideas + great examples)

6. Poor product info 

What could be the issue? 

❌ No structure for easy scanning / consumption—this can lead to shoppers not figuring out information hierarchy and where to stop to take in the most information

❌ Inappropriate tags leading to a bland experience—this is a no-no for any business that’s trying to convert high intent shoppers - after all, when tags align with shopper search words / phrases, better product discovery happens

❌ No immediate UVP that stands out—no stated UVP means no immediate conviction for a shopper - after all, it’s the UVP that sets one product apart from another

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ How you place info in the first fold—and it’s not just about pricing or size variants but also social proof like ratings and nudge marketing tactics like scarcity markers (“X units already sold!”)

✅ Address buying objections upfront—create awareness, state the problem and then lead the shopper to the solution - preferably using descriptive yet relatable language

✅ Highlight the most compelling info—if it’s an all-time low price drop, say it - similarly, if it’s a member-exclusive drop, highlight that info in a different color

Baby, mom and fertility product brand Frida optimizes catalog management by highlighting the differentiating aspects of a product in a bulleted list right above the product page CTA:

Fun fact: 85% of shoppers said that product information and pictures are important to them when deciding which brand to buy from.

🚀Pro Tip

Create a template for product descriptions based on the most frequent questions shoppers ask to improve your eCommerce product catalog management.

Further Reading: eCommerce Product Page Guide

7. Unrelated / random recommendations

What could be the issue? 

❌ No connection with shopper’s behavior / preferences—this is contrary to what 64% marketers claim - that personalization benefits customer experience - and can impact conversions

❌ Recommendations that have got nothing to do with each other—reduces average order value and can even increase drop-offs when shoppers look for more relevance between shopping decisions

❌ Lack of strategic placement of recommendations—like overcrowding the first fold on the product page where shoppers are deliberating on the main displayed product

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Separate recommendations into relevant sections—do this across high intent pages such as the homepage, product page and even the category page 

✅ Show a limited number of recommendations—between 3 and 4 products is really the soft spot - anything more leads to choice paralysis

✅ A/B test different kinds of recommendations—run tests between complementary products & similar products or between upgrades for a minor additional fee and product bundles - also experiment between varied positions like within the cart or above the fold

eCommerce brand Wildsmith Skin, for example, creates deeper context through complementary product recommendations in their online product catalog:

🚀Pro Tip 

To make a successful sale, don’t upsell or cross-sell an item that is more than 25% of the customer’s original order. For example, you wouldn't try to advertise a Ferrari to someone interested in a Toyota.

8. Ineffective inventory management

What could be the issue? 

❌ Discrepancy between displayed stock & actual stock—this often leads to eCommerce brands taking orders even on understocked items, creating a chain of delays

❌ Announcing frequent discounts to mobilize excess stock—sometimes this eats away at profit margins while the business tries to engage its TG and stay on top of mind

❌ Delays in fulfillment—be it in processing an order or processing a return / exchange, lack of effective inventory forecasting can ultimately lead to customer frustration & less repeat orders

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Categorize fast-selling and slow-selling products clearly—this way you can prioritize what sells in high volume and also possibly gets you higher value

✅ Focus on minimal stock & faster deliveries from suppliers—negotiate to maintain multiple repeat orders if necessary but not massive ones that invariably lead to overstocking

✅ Track stock levels and reorders in real-time—choose a software that’ll automatically update numbers as sales happen across channels

🚀Pro Tip 

Lean on building scarcity - announce member exclusive product launches, product pre-orders etc. to fight overstocking and potentially underselling

9. Outdated product lists

What could be the issue? 

❌ Showing discounts that aren’t available anymore—this is misleading and often results in broken UX because the shopper may see the original price in the cart page

❌ CTA not clarifying the stock status of the product—while it promises click throughs, shoppers feel frustrated upon reaching the product page to see it’s out of stock

❌ Section or listings staying the same even after a season is over—imagine the rate of conversions if you continue to maintain your holiday gift guide into March of the next year

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Use appropriate labels—it’s ideal to indicate the degree of demand in conjunction to how the stocks are doing in the back end (like “Selling Fast” or “Last Few Left”)

✅ Phase out what has consistently been selling less—or products that have consistently been returned, though before you take that final step, doing a product page audit may be necessary

✅ Set up subscriptions—setting up auto-ordering is a win-win for both the brand and high intent customers 

One brand that efficiently maintains product lists is Chewy—each of their product lists carry sub-categories that make it easy to track demand for specific product types & brands:

🚀Pro Tip 

Use insights from ad campaigns and your organic traffic to create a product catalog likely to convert better. Also ensure the information on your product pages, filters, ads, and homepages are in sync. For example, you don’t want to have inconsistent prices across your pages. 

10. Unoptimized lists for different channels

What could be the issue? 

❌ Lack of restocking alerts—this could mean if shoppers prefer a certain channel for the discounts it offers, without restock alerts there, they might never convert

❌ Product content not reflecting search behavior or intent—this can be problematic because without targeted product content, shoppers may fail to feel a sense of connect or urgency

❌ Focus on imagery that meets the channel’s requirements—while third-party marketplaces prefer product-led photos on a neutral background, social channels are all about people-led lifestyle photos

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Set channel-specific prices—this is important for you to maintain your margins, given that certain channels and platforms will require you to pay a merchant’s fee

✅ Pay attention to the bundling strategy for each channel—for example, on your website, seasonal bundles may convert better, on Instagram, it could be limited time bundles and for third-party marketplaces, bestseller bundles are most likely to work

✅ Maintain a ‘master’ product catalog—treat this as the main repository of product information and edits as products come and go, deals & offers change etc.

Fun fact: 46.7% of product searches start from marketplaces compared to 35% from Google. So when you list on Amazon, eBay, and your online store, you’d have more customers from all channels combined. 

One eCommerce brand that aces multi-channel selling through data and optimizing product info is Warby Parker—they use customer data & analytics to decide which products to feature on which channel to maximize conversions:

🚀Pro Tip 

Use a modular content strategy alongside product list optimization across channels—this will help you mix and match different pieces of content to suit different audiences across these channels. 

11. Inadequate go-to-market strategy

What could be the issue? 

❌ Delays in product onboarding—while your eCommerce online catalog may be all ready to display new products, data entry delays around the latter may make it impossible

❌ Inconsistent content design & formatting—insufficient product information, lack of product directions (read: microcopy) and no standardized formatting of explainers can slow down going to market

❌ Price sync issues across channels—refining pricing strategies typically cause the major part of the delay

What you need to optimize for better eCommerce catalog management:

✅ Track competitor prices religiously—this can help you make dynamic adjustments based on seasonality & emergent trends and craft offers that your TG would approve of

✅ Roll out new products & upgrades in a staged way—while faster roll-outs may be tempting, in reality, too many roll-outs will not arrest audience attention for long & also overwhelm online catalog management

✅ Create a fast & consistent feedback loop with shoppers—introduce that website feedback button and don’t delay review reminders for shoppes who’ve just purchased from you

Everlane ensures their go-to-market strategy isn’t demanding on their product catalog for eCommerce—by highlighting one major product launch and the associated date they draw more attention as well:

🚀Pro Tip 

Test pricing strategy by offering launch discounts. Afterward, you can regularize the price based on customer demand.

Further Reading: eCommerce Product Launch: The Most Comprehensive Guide Ever

12. Deprioritizing data tracking

What could be the issue? 

❌ Product data updates unclear in product content—it could be a discount that doesn’t reflect in the display or even an out of stock product that mistakenly shows up as available

❌ Products become harder to find because of poor SEO—lack of data tracking can lead to businesses not knowing which KWs to optimize for higher purchase intent

❌ Best-selling product inventory updates become chaotic—this includes how many have sold across categories and if there are products that need replenishment

What you need to optimize for product catalog optimization:

✅ Maintain unique SKUs across selling channels—this contributes to you knowing user behavior better across channels and refining sales strategies simultaneously

✅ Track key metrics on GA4—Convertcart recommends you track add to cart events, product views, products that convert in comparison to products that receive views, time lag to purchase and search term performance

🚀Pro Tip 

Set up real-time alerts on the most crucial events (like sudden increase in product views, higher / lower cart abandonment on certain categories / sub-categories etc.)

eCommerce product catalog questions businesses ask:

What is PIM(product information management) vs PCM(product content management)?

While they are different, PIM and PCM work together to make eCommerce catalogs more comprehensive and user friendly—here are the key differences between the two:

Product information management ensures key specifications and product differentiators like pricing, attributes and SKUs have a centralized source. This makes workflows, integration and even product data updates easier. 

Product content management on the other hand looks at centralizing descriptive product content that shoppers look for to finalize a purchase decision. This kind of content includes product descriptions, images, videos as well as key SEO data. 

What are the best practices for writing detailed product catalog descriptions?

Since the idea behind product catalog descriptions is to appeal to both humans and search engines,here are a few things to keep in mind:

✔ Answer customer questions—if you can knock off the biggest concern in the first line of the description, nothing like it. 

✔ Focus on scannability—use bulleted lists, icons and appropriate pricing labels to ensure scrollers pause at the most relevant details

✔ Don’t overstuff KWs—pepper long-tailed KWs, synonyms and main KWs in a 1-2% range

✔ Use sensory language—if the description doesn’t create an emotional trigger and connect the shopper’s needs to the product, conversions can be difficult

✔ Offer practical advice—include BNPL offers, shipping options, info on returns & exchanges and additional info on product care

Drive product catalog optimization with brilliant UX

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything. 

Why: user experience issues, which include catalog management errors that frustrate shoppers. 

And this is the problem Convertcart solves. 

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions. 

How we can help you: 

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.