Why AI is Essential for Next Generation PIMs

In the ever-changing retail landscape, keeping on top of the latest technology can help you maintain a competitive edge. Software like PIM, or Product Information Management, helps streamline your processes to get new products to market faster. However, the growth of eCommerce is calling for next generation PIMs that enhance product information capabilities. Today the level of automation available can only reach that next level with built-in AI functionality. Here we look at why AI is essential for what we deem as ‘next generation’ PIMs.

1. What do we mean by a ‘next generation’ PIM?

Next-generation PIMS are hybrid PIM/DAMs with AI functionality. They are also SaaS-based to provide the customized automation features you need to improve your productivity. Pimberly has always been a hybrid PIM/DAM, as we knew from the start that retailers need quick access to both their structured and unstructured data to create robust product descriptions that resonate with their customers. Keeping our finger on the pulse of PIM/DAM technology, we predicted that the next-generation requirements would require AI, so we added AI capabilities to our PIM/DAM.

2. Hybrid PIM/DAM and AI

Key components of the next generation PIM

Modern PIMs house and share both structured and unstructured data, which means the software must manage massive quantities of data. Streamlining processes by leveraging unstructured data images to create structured text product descriptions is just one example of how a modern PIM can leverage AI.

AI also enables you to use attribution from image tags. The synchronicity between unstructured and structured data enables you to become more efficient as your DAM piece keeps up with your PIM. The AI creates a robust PIM/DAM combination that enables the two to work seamlessly across all your product data, whether digital assets or text.

 

3. Data enrichment with AI

AI-powered PIMs don’t just extract product information from images. They can also automatically extract product information from diverse sources such as websites, catalogs, and supplier databases. This saves time getting new products to market with high-quality data ready to use across your sales and marketing channels.

Your team can also enrich that product information with AI by automatically generating relevant metadata, tags, and attributes. As a result, you can seamlessly create product descriptions to meet the diverse needs of different platforms while reducing the effort your team needs to create product descriptions.

You minimize and, in some cases, even eliminate manual effort.

AI ensures data accuracy, providing further efficiencies without creating manual errors. You can remain compliant with different marketplace regulations and maintain customer loyalty by enhancing engagement with your brand and products.

In essence, accuracy helps breed trust while avoiding penalties incurred by human error that leads to inaccurate product information on your sales channels.

4. AI for classification

AI can also analyze product descriptions, features, and specifications to classify and accurately categorize products for all your sales channels. The ongoing struggle for your marketing team to create unique product descriptions and classify and categorize information has become a thing of the past.

AI leverages machine learning enabling modern PIMs to continually adapt to changes in product catalogs, taxonomy, etc.

In other words, your PIM becomes self-correcting and self-training. Also, any information enhanced by your team is accepted and absorbed by AI, reducing the effort your team needs to put in the next time.

You can continue to enhance your overall data structure using AI to improve and streamline classification.

5. Automatically generate relevant product recommendations

You also create a better customer experience with AI. AI algorithms analyze customer behavior, purchase history, and preferences and use the information to enhance the shopping experience.

For example, the next time a customer visits one of your shopping channels, AI can share recommendations based on past behavior or remind the customer that they have something in their shopping cart.

If AI senses that the product a customer seeks is out of stock or has delayed delivery, it can recommend similar products based on other customers’ buying behavior.

Cross-selling and upselling are also easier with AI, as it can identify logical complimentary products. For example, someone buying a laptop might be shown accessories such as a carrying case and camera. Someone purchasing a skirt might be offered a blouse and shoes.

Bundling is also an option, enabling customers to enjoy price breaks at certain quantity thresholds. The recommendations can also be made at the shopping cart stage, such as reminding customers to spend $30 more to enjoy free delivery. All these AI-generated messages help improve customer satisfaction and increase sales.

A modern PIM/DAM with AI capabilities is the definition of a next generation PIM. For more information on Pimberly’s PIM/DAM, set up a free demo below.