Merchants and manufacturers spend 26 hours a week fixing their information

The report, by MRA Research and Pimberly, the product information management and digital asset management provider, draws on results from a survey of 40 merchants and 40 manufacturers. A full 92% said they face at least one product data challenge and, on average, spend 26 hours a week managing and fixing product information issues.

Nearly half of the respondents (45%) have published inconsistent product information across their sales channels, while a similar number (43%) have made errors in orders, fulfilment or returns. It’s not surprising that a significant minority (41%) said product information issues have caused poor customer experience. Indeed, more than a third (34%) said they have lost sales due to poor product information.

Despite these findings, an overwhelming number (98%) of respondents appear confident in the quality of their product information. A similar number (96%) were confident in the accuracy of their information.

Martin Balaam, CEO and founder at Pimberly, said: “Every board I speak to has digital commerce on the agenda; almost none of them talk about the product data it runs on. You can’t win at one without the other.

“Whether you’re a merchant or a manufacturer, clean data alone isn’t enough – quite frankly, that’s table stakes. The same data as everybody else wins you nothing. To really get in the race, you need comprehensive data enrichment. We’re already seeing the shift in preference to AI as the primary search tool for digital-first buyers, and in this new ecosystem the penalty for poor data will be lost sales.”

Callum Budd, research director at MRA Research, added: “This research is a timely benchmark for a sector facing rapidly changing customer expectations and growing pressure to improve digital capabilities. The finding that 34% of businesses admit to having lost sales directly because of poor product data shows this is no longer simply an operational issue, but a clear commercial risk.”