Glossary

Useful terms everyone in retail and E-commerce should know.

A/B Testing

Trying out two different versions of a webpage or product listing to see which one performs better.

AI Tagging

Using artificial intelligence to automatically label and classify products.

API (Application Programming Interface)

A way for different software systems to talk to each other and share data.

Attribute Mapping

Matching product details from different systems so they line up correctly.

Attribute Standardization

Making sure product attributes use consistent wording and formatting (e.g., "Color: Red" vs. "color = red").

Attribution Tags

Labels that help track where a click, visit, or sale came from.

Automated Categorization

Using software or AI to sort products into the right categories.

Automated Content Generation

Using AI or software to create product descriptions and other info automatically.

Automated Workflows

Processes that run by themselves to save time, like enriching product data or updating prices.

Blacklisting (in feeds)

Blocking certain products from being listed or advertised, often due to rules or strategy.

Breadcrumb Navigation

A simple path at the top of a webpage that shows users where they are and how to go back.

Buy Box

The area on product pages (like Amazon) where the featured seller’s item is displayed, winning it usually means more sales.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

A payment option that lets customers get the product now and pay over time.

Catalog Management

Organizing and updating all the products you sell in one system.

Category Mapping

Matching your product categories with those used by marketplaces or retailers.

Channel Readiness

Making sure your product content is fully set up and optimized for a specific sales channel.

Channel-Specific Optimization

Customizing your product content to fit the rules and best practices of each sales channel.

Content Gaps

Missing pieces of information, like a product that doesn’t have a photo or description.

Content Governance

Rules and workflows that ensure product content stays high-quality, accurate, and brand-approved.

Content Localization

Changing product info to fit local languages, customs, and rules in different places.

Content Scalability

The ability to quickly grow or update product content as your business adds more items or expands.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors who take an action you want, like buying something or signing up.

Customer Experience (CX)

How a customer feels and what they experience when interacting with a brand.

Data Clean-up

Fixing mistakes, removing duplicates, and organizing messy product data.

Data Deduplication

Removing repeated product entries so your catalog stays clean and accurate.

Data Enrichment Pipeline

A step-by-step process that collects and improves product info automatically.

Data Feed Error Report

A list of problems in your product data feed, like missing fields or invalid values.

Data Feed Rules

Settings that automatically change or fix product data before it gets published.

Data Feed Transformation

Changing your product data format so it fits the needs of different platforms or systems.

Data Governance

Rules and processes to keep product data accurate, safe, and following the right standards.

Data Mapping

Connecting data fields from one system to another so everything lines up correctly.

Data Normalization

Making sure product info follows the same format across all listings and systems.

Data Syncing

Making sure product info stays the same across different systems or platforms.

Digital Asset Management (DAM)

A system that stores and organizes images, videos, and other files related to products.

Digital Shelf

How products appear and are shown online across e-commerce sites and marketplaces.

Digital Transformation

Using tech to improve how your business runs and sells online.

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) is a business model where companies sell their products or services directly to customers, bypassing intermediaries like retailers, wholesalers, or distributors. This approach allows brands to have more control over pricing, customer experience, and marketing.

Drop Shipping

A way of selling where the retailer doesn’t keep stock, instead the supplier ships directly to the customer.

Duplicate Content

When the same product info appears in multiple places, which can hurt SEO and confuse customers.

Dynamic Pricing

Automatically changing prices based on factors like demand, competition, or inventory.

E-commerce Platform

Software that lets businesses sell products online, like Shopify or WooCommerce.

EAN (European Article Number)

A barcode used worldwide to identify products, especially in retail.

EPID (eBay Product ID)

A code eBay uses to recognize and categorize specific products.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

Software that helps manage business tasks like inventory, finances, and orders all in one system.

Enhanced Brand Content (EBC)

Extra product content (images, videos, storytelling) on Amazon to make listings more engaging.

Enrichment Rules

Guidelines or automations that help fill in missing product info or improve quality.

Faceted Search

A way to narrow down product searches using filters like brand, price, or rating.

Feed Diagnostics

Tools that check your product data feed for errors or warnings before it goes live.

Feed Management

Organizing, cleaning, and updating your product feed to keep it accurate and up to date.

Feed Optimization Tool

Software that helps clean up and improve your product data before it goes live.

Feed Testing Environment

A staging area to test your product data feed before publishing it live.

Feed-Based Advertising

Ads that pull product info directly from a data feed, often used in Google Shopping or Meta.

First-Mile Fulfillment

The first steps in getting a product from the seller or warehouse to the customer.

First-Party Data

Information collected directly from customers, like from purchases or sign-ups.

First-Party Data

Information collected directly from customers, like from purchases or sign-ups.

Flat File

A spreadsheet-style format often used to upload product data in bulk.

Fuzzy Search

A search that still works even if there are typos or slight mismatches in what the customer types.

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)

A unique product number used worldwide to identify and track items (like a barcode).

GTM (Go-to-Market) Strategy

A plan for how you’ll launch and promote products to reach the right customers.

Headless Commerce

A system where the online store’s look and feel are separate from the backend systems that handle sales and inventory.

Image Optimization

Making product images look great and load fast without slowing down the page.

Intelligent Search

A smarter search feature that uses AI to understand what customers are really looking for.

Inventory Management

Keeping track of how much stock you have, what’s selling, and when to reorder.

Lifecycle Automation

Automating actions based on where a product is in its sales journey, like launching, discounting, or retiring.

Listing Optimization

Improving your product pages so they show up in search and convert better.

Localization Tags

Markers used to adjust content for different countries, languages, or regions.

Long-Tail Keywords

More specific search phrases (like “black leather waterproof hiking boots”) that often attract buyers ready to purchase.

MAP Pricing (Minimum Advertised Price)

The lowest price a retailer is allowed to publicly display, set by the brand or manufacturer.

Marketplace

A website where many sellers offer products, like Amazon or Shopee.

Marketplace Compliance

Making sure product listings follow the rules and standards of platforms like Amazon or Lazada.

Marketplace Listing Errors

Mistakes in a product listing (like missing fields or invalid values) that can cause delays or rejections.

Marketplace Reconciliation

Making sure product listings and sales data match up between your system and the marketplace.

Metadata

Extra info about product data that helps organize and find it, like tags or labels.

Mobile Optimization

Making sure product pages look good and work well on phones and tablets.

Multichannel Retailing

Selling your products on several online and offline platforms at the same time.

Net New SKU Creation

Adding completely new products to your catalog with full content and data.

Omnichannel

Selling products in many ways (online, in-store, mobile) that all work together smoothly.

Omnichannel Strategy

A plan for delivering a consistent shopping experience across all sales channels.

Out-of-Stock Alerts

Notifications that let you know when a product runs out of inventory.

PDP Conversion Rate

How often people who land on a product detail page end up buying.

PDP Heatmap

A visual tool showing where shoppers click or scroll on a product detail page.

PDP Optimization

Making a product detail page more useful, clear, and convincing so people buy.

Personalization

Customizing the shopping experience based on user behavior or preferences.

Price Scraping

Tracking competitors’ prices using automated tools.

Product Attribute Completeness

How much of a product’s detail is filled in (like color, size, weight, material).

Product Attributes

Specific details about a product like color, size, weight, or material.

Product Badging

Adding labels like “New,” “Best Seller,” or “Limited Edition” to make products stand out.

Product Bundling

Grouping related products together to encourage customers to buy more in one purchase.

Product Categorization

Putting products into the right categories to help shoppers find what they need faster.

Product Channel Fit

How well a product and its content match the rules and buyer behavior of a specific channel.

Product Comparison

A way for customers to see how different products stack up side by side.

Product Compliance

Making sure your products meet legal and platform-specific requirements.

Product Content Enrichment

Adding more details like descriptions, pictures, and specs to make product info better and clearer.

Product Content Management (PCM)

Product Content Management (PCM) is the process of creating, managing, and distributing all product-related content. This can include descriptions, images, and specifications published across various sales channels to ensure consistency, accuracy, and completeness. It helps retailers present products effectively, enhancing customer experience and searchability.

Product Data Harmonization

Making product info consistent across systems, especially when importing from different sources.

Product Data Quality

How accurate, complete, and reliable your product information is across channels.

Product Data Sheet

A document that lists all the important specs and features of a product.

Product Data Syndication Platforms

Tools that help send and update product info across many sales channels at once.

Product Data Versioning

Keeping track of changes made to product info over time.

Product Description

A written summary that tells shoppers what the product is and why they might want it.

Product Detail Page (PDP)

The webpage where customers see all the details about a product.

Product Dimension Attributes

Info about a product’s size, weight, or packaging, used for shipping and display.

Product Discovery

The process of helping shoppers find the right products quickly and easily.

Product Export

Sending product data from one system to another, usually in a file format like CSV or XML.

Product Family

A group of related products that vary slightly, like color or size.

Product Feed

A file that lists product info (like name, price, image, etc.) and is used to share data with other platforms.

Product Feed Scheduling

Setting times for when your product data updates automatically.

Product Feed Validation

Checking your product data to make sure it’s correct and formatted properly before uploading.

Product Import

Uploading product data into a system or platform from a file or feed.

Product Info Templates

Pre-made formats that help sellers fill in product data consistently.

Product Information Management (PIM)

A tool that keeps all product details in one place to make sure info is correct and up to date everywhere it’s used.

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

Managing a product from the idea stage all the way through to when it’s no longer sold.

Product Lifecycle Stage

The current phase a product is in such as launch, growth, or retirement.

Product Matching

Finding the same or similar items across different platforms to sync product info or compare listings.

Product Metadata

Extra behind-the-scenes info about a product that helps with search and organization.

Product Onboarding

The process of adding new products and making sure all their content is correct and complete.

Product Page Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave a product page without clicking or buying.

Product Schema

A structured format that helps search engines better understand your product info.

Product Status Tracking

Keeping tabs on where a product is in its journey from onboarding to live listing.

Product Syndication

Sending product info out to lots of online stores and sites automatically.

Product Syndication Lag

A delay between updating product info and seeing it reflected across sales channels.

Product Tagging

Adding labels or keywords to products to help organize them and make them easier to find.

Product Taxonomy

A way to group products into categories and subcategories to keep things organized.

Product Taxonomy Tree

A visual breakdown of product categories and subcategories in a hierarchy.

Product Title Optimization

Improving product names so they’re clear, keyword-rich, and easy to understand.

Product Upload

Adding new product info to a website, platform, or database.

Product Validation

The process of checking that product info is complete, correct, and ready to go live.

Product Variant

A version of a product that differs in size, color, or other features.

Product Visibility

How easy it is for customers to find your products online.

Quality Assurance (QA)

Checking product info carefully to make sure it’s accurate and complete before it’s shown to customers.

Real-Time Updates

Product info changes (like price or stock) that update instantly across platforms.

Replatforming

Switching from one e-commerce or tech system to another.

Repricing Tool

Software that automatically adjusts your prices based on rules or market changes.

Retail Analytics

Tools and reports that help you understand product performance and shopper behavior.

Retail Content Syndication

Sharing enriched product content with retailers so they can display it correctly.

Retail Media

Ads and promotions shown inside online stores to help products get noticed and sell better.

Retailer Portal

A platform or login area where sellers manage their products on a retailer’s site.

Rich Media

High-quality visuals like videos, 360° images, or interactive content used to showcase products online.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Ways to help product pages show up higher in search engine results like Google.

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)

A unique code used to identify each individual product for tracking inventory and sales.

SKU Performance

How well an individual product is selling or converting across channels.

SKU Rationalization

Reviewing your product lineup to remove poor performers or duplicates.

SKU-Level Analytics

Looking at sales and performance data for each specific product.

Search Merchandising

Controlling how products show up in search results based on strategy, not just relevance.

Search Relevance

How closely a product matches what someone is looking for in a search.

Sell-Through Rate

The percentage of stock that actually sells over a certain time period.

Stale Content

Product info that hasn’t been updated in a while and may be outdated or inaccurate.

Structured Data

Organized info (like specifications or features) that helps search engines understand your products purpose, features, and benefits.

Syndication

Automatically sharing product info across different online stores and marketplaces.

Third-Party Marketplace

A site where other companies or individuals can sell their products, like Shopee or Amazon.

UPC (Universal Product Code)

A 12-digit code used mainly in North America to track and identify retail products.

User Experience (UX)

How easy and enjoyable it is for people to use a website or app.

White Label Product

A product made by one company but sold under another brand’s name.
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