eCommerce Product Catalogs: What They Are and How They Help

Who Uses Product Catalogs?

Businesses that run eCommerce stores or marketplaces use product catalogs so customers can easily navigate available products.

Product catalogs are the most useful when they are customized for the specific qualities of each store or marketplace. The presentation style, filtering system, and other features can be optimized for your business’s industry, situations, and specifications.

For example, depending on the type of delivery model and number of purchased items, product catalogs can be optimized for filtering via location, product category, or use case.

What Product Catalogs Can Do for You

It’s important to remember that product catalogs work best when optimized for your customers’ and business’s needs. That’s why Clarity customizes the product catalog for each of our clients.

Product catalogs can be integrated with virtually any ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or other back-office system. This gives your business the opportunity to use a new and improved tool without having to change the core system you have in place. We also offer many features with our off-the-shelf eCommerce platform that can be tailored to your needs.

Product Catalog Features

• Automatic Updates – With your ERP or other back-office system integrated, inventory and other details are automatically updated onto your website. End users can view whether something is in stock, backordered, or out of stock, and set up a notification for when something becomes in stock again.
• Optimized Presentation – The presentation and format of the product catalog automatically adjusts to the user’s preferences and chosen catalog and filters.
• Product Comparisons – Product catalogs give users the ability to compare products quickly, which gives them the information they need to make a purchasing decision.
• Enhanced Filtering – Built-in analytics within the catalog help you determine what people are filtering for. You can then utilize machine learning to automatically progress the most often used filters to the top of the list for a more user-friendly filtering system.
• Navigation Depth – A navigation menu can be included on the side of the page for easy access. And beyond category filters, there are filters for suppliers, too. With this depth of filtering and navigation, users can easily access different areas of the catalog.
• Minimum Order – Some items may have a large minimum order quantity, so it’s important that users can see the required minimum order so they know whether it’s within their budget range.
• Supplier Details – In addition to details about the product itself, there can also be details about the supplier, such as whether the supplier is on the site, their response rate, and what seller level they are (e.g., Silver or Gold). These factors help drive interaction between the buyer and the seller.
• Promotions – The product catalog can also display personalized marketing for different sellers who want to promote their products within the marketplace. You can have sponsored listings at the top with organic results beneath those.

• Dynamic Pricing – Different prices can show up for different customers on select products. When a customer logs into their account, they’ll see their account-specific discounts, promotions, coupons, etc. Dynamic price ranges can differ based on the filters selected as well, such as the number of items and type of material.
• Dynamic Search Field – The catalog search field can be dynamic based on the customer that’s logged in. A customer might have a particular vendor they usually buy from, or a certain set of items they often buy. When they go to search and start typing, the dynamic lookup field will filter the list of items based on the activity associated with that account.
• Custom Fields – Products in the catalog can have an unlimited number of attributes or custom fields that work as filters. Products can automatically have certain attributes applied to them when they are placed into a category, and we can add this data dynamically based on an ERP integration.
• Stock Indicator – The product catalog can include a visual indicator of stock levels. There can be a green dot for in stock, yellow for backordered, and red for out of stock. There can also be rollover icon tooltips where users can get more information.
• Discount Indicator – If there’s a discount, it’s good practice to show how much the discount is for. This is also something that can be set up and filtered for in Clarity’s product catalog.
• Details in Rollover – We have a rollover where, if you want to turn on this feature, users can compactly see options to add to a favorites or wish list, add to a compare list, or add to an in-stock alert. Or the rollover can contain information about delivery and shipping options, for example.
• Sticky Bar – A sticky bar that floats down when going through the list of items can let users see various details. If fulfillment and containers are important for your marketplace, the sticky bar can show the capacity on different containers so users can optimize their load.

Product Catalog Example: Auction-Specific Features

For product catalogs, there will be industry-specific required functions. As an example, we’ll go over an eAuction platform.

• Approval Process – To get into the auction view or place a bid, users need to go through an approval process. This can include adding a payment method, checking to agree to terms and conditions, making an escrow account, or signing a legal document (we can integrate DocuSign or our own native e-signing capability for this feature).
• Presentation Styles – In the auction view, there are different presentation styles the user can choose from. One view provides information in a grid format and the other is in a list format. Another presentation style includes a grid format for auctions but also a side panel with available filters to select from, such as categories, sellers, seller ratings, current bid price, and a date range or timeline.
• Auction Listings View – Auction listings can be shown in a detailed or compact view, depending on the user’s preferences. The auction listings page is especially useful for auctions that have multiple countdowns occurring due to the easy sorting and filtering functionality.
• Product Photos – The auction page has photos of the products split into three sections within its container. This allows the user to glance through multiple images without having to go into the product details page. They can also see the location and the items within the auction, and the time for the auction.

• Auction Details – This presentation style shows the items within each auction, and users click the left and right arrows in the auction container on the page to flip through the images. Other details are also displayed, including the seller information, terms and conditions, fulfillment information, and details about their bid.
• Notifications – Users can set up a notification for an auction to be reminded of various things to do with the auction. For example, they can get a reminder of when the auction will end, when they’ve been outbid, or other useful information. They can also choose a preferred method to receive the notification (e.g., text, call, email) and add information specific to that notification (e.g., phone number, email address). Users can even add auction events to their calendar.
• Affiliates – We can also specify whether there are affiliates. Affiliates can have their own landing page to be able to promote the catalog, and they can be branded and promoted. We can show the items in the catalog as restricted for a particular affiliate, as branded based on the affiliate, and track which affiliate landing page users went to. These things help affiliates gain credibility.

• Product Catalogs Are Essential – Without a product catalog, users won’t have a way to navigate through your eCommerce marketplace or store. Without an intuitive search, filter, and navigation system, potential customers may get frustrated when they are unable to find what they want. That’s why having a full product catalog is essential for success.
• Clarity’s Catalog Is Adaptable – The catalog system with the Clarity eCommerce platform can change dramatically. Within a single instance of our platform, we can change presentation styles for different categories, product types, affiliates, account type, preferences, pricing, locations, and much more.