Product Matching in eCommerce (What is It Exactly?)

Recently, the focus among businesses in the eCommerce sector has shifted towards product matching. This method ensures a satisfactory shopping journey for consumers and maximises the benefits of online selling.

Some retailers provide their customers with unique offers to make themselves stand out from the rest. Others focus on offering common products and work hard to stay competitive in pricing. This is where product matching comes into play.

Product matching is the process of finding and selling products that are a good match for your customer base. This can be done in a number of ways, but the most important thing is to make sure that you are providing your customers with what they want or can find value in.

In this guide, we will discuss the dos and don’ts of product matching in eCommerce. By following these tips, you can be sure that you are selling the right products to the right people and that your products are always available when your customers need them.

In this guide:

• What is Product Matching?
  
  • The Benefits of Product Matching
  • What Are The Challenges of Product Matching?
• What are the Factors that Product Matching Relies Upon?
  
  • What You Shouldn’t Do in Product Matching?
• How Can Image Editing Help in eCommerce Product Matching?
• eCommerce Image Editing Services

What is Product Matching?

In a technical sense, product matching is the process of finding and listing products that are a good match for each other. Using deep learning, product matching solutions present different sellers’ products in one search result. This is important for both retailers and online shoppers.

For customers, product matching presents an opportunity to choose the best offer after comparing all options. Let’s say a customer wants to buy a shirt. They go to a particular marketplace and start comparing their options.

Most consumers focus on the deal’s price when deciding on a purchase. So let’s say said customer stumbles upon a couple of deals for shirts wherein one deal offers $50 for the said shirt, but another seller offers the same shirt with a free tie for $63. Which one would the customer purchase?

The answer is obvious – the second seller’s offer because 1.) it provides more value for the money.; 2.) the customer gets to walk away with two items instead of just one, and 3.) those who are working in corporate environments can use the extra tie as a gift for clients or as an addition to their work wardrobe.

This is an example of product matching at work. We can see how it benefits the customer by providing them with more options to choose from. But how does it benefit the seller?

Product matching also provides sellers with an opportunity to increase their sales and revenue. By listing products that are a good match for each other, sellers can increase their chances of making a sale.

Through product matching, you may establish a rational pricing policy and keep the business competitive. When brands compare prices across platforms, they can learn more about their competition and make their products stand out. A seller might be able to make its shirt listing a standout offering by giving away a tie.

Product matching, simply put, is a way for businesses to gain an edge over their competition. It allows them to list their products in a way that is advantageous to both the customer and the seller.

Product matching is extremely beneficial for retailers who want to make the correct offers to their customers. In order for clients to be able to find your product, businesses need to use proper nomenclature, utilize images, and include accurate product attributes. Furthermore, product matching allows businesses to track patterns and learn from the successes (and failures) of their competitors.

The Benefits of Product Matching

There are numerous benefits that come with product matching. We’ve already discussed how it can benefit both the customer and the seller, but there are other advantages as well.

Some of the benefits of product matching include:

• Increased Sales: Product matching can lead to an increase in sales because it allows businesses to list their products in a way that is advantageous to both the customer and the seller.
• Improved Customer Experience: Product matching can improve the customer experience by providing customers with more options to choose from.
• Increased Revenue: Product matching can also lead to an increase in revenue because it allows businesses to list their products in a way that is advantageous to both the customer and the seller.
• Improved Competitive Advantage: Product matching can improve a business’s competitive advantage by allowing businesses to track patterns and learn from their competitors’ successes (and failures).

If you’re a retailer, product matching is an extremely beneficial tool that can help you increase sales, revenue, and your competitive advantage. Implementing product matching can be challenging, but the benefits are well worth the effort.

What Are The Challenges of Product Matching?

Product matching is not without its challenges, however. One of the biggest challenges is maintaining accurate product data. For product matching to be effective, businesses need to have accurate and up-to-date product data. This can be a challenge, especially for businesses with many products.

Another challenge of product matching is keeping up with the competition. Because product matching is so beneficial, your competition is likely already using it (or will be soon). You must constantly look for new and innovative ways to match your products.

Finally, product matching can be resource intensive. Implementing product matching can require a significant investment of time and money. Businesses must weigh the costs and benefits before deciding if product matching is right for them.

Despite the challenges, product matching is an extremely beneficial strategy that you should start testing to see if it’s right for your business.

What are the Factors that Product Matching Relies Upon?

Product matching relies on several factors to be effective. These include:

• Offer price

The first and most important factor in product matching is the offer price. The offer price is the amount of money a customer will pay for a product. This is generally determined by the cost of the product, shipping, and any applicable taxes.

The offer price determines whether or not a customer will make a purchase. If the offer price is too high, the customer may be discouraged from making a purchase. On the other hand, if the offer price is too low, the customer may feel like they are getting a bad deal.

It is important to find a balance when setting the offer price. The goal is to set an offer price that is low enough to attract customers but high enough to make a profit.

• Product Attributes

Another important factor in product matching is product attributes. Product attributes are the characteristics of a product that make it unique. This can include the size, color, weight, and material of the product.

Product attributes are important because they can help customers decide if a product is right for them. For example, a customer looking for a red shirt will likely be more interested in listings that include the color attribute “red.”

It is important to include as many relevant product attributes as possible in your listings. This will help customers find the products they are looking for and make a purchase.

• Nomenclature

Nomenclature is the process of naming things. In the context of product matching, nomenclature is the process of assigning names to products.

Nomenclature is important because it can help customers find the products they are looking for. For example, if a customer is looking for a “red shirt,” they will likely be more interested in listings that include the word “shirt” in the title.

It is important to use accurate and relevant nomenclature when listing products. This will help customers find the products they are looking for and make a purchase.

• Images

Images are an important factor in product matching. Images can help customers see what the product looks like and decide if it is right for them.

It is important to use high-quality images that accurately represent the product. This will help customers find the products they are looking for and make a purchase. In some cases, showcasing your matched products “in action” may be helpful. This can significantly impact your conversion rate and is a great way to show off your product.

What You Shouldn’t Do in Product Matching?

There are a few things you should avoid doing when product matching. These include:

Don’t Use Inaccurate Data

One of the most important things to avoid in product matching is using inaccurate data. This can include incorrect product information, images that don’t accurately represent the product, or listings with typos.

Inaccurate data can make customers frustrated and leave your site without making a purchase. It is important to ensure that all of your data is accurate before you start product matching.

Don’t Use Irrelevant Data

Another thing to avoid in product matching is using irrelevant data. This can include listing products that are not related to the customer’s search or including product attributes that are not relevant to the customer’s needs.

Don’t Use Outdated Data

It is also important to avoid using outdated data in product matching. This can include listing products that are no longer available or using outdated images.

How Can Image Editing Help in eCommerce Product Matching?

Since product images play a critical role in product matching, it is important to use high-quality images that accurately represent the product. This can be a challenge, especially if you are selling products that come in many different colors or sizes. In these cases, editing the images to show only the products you have in stock may be necessary.

Image editing can help businesses save time and money by allowing them to use a single image to represent multiple products. This is a valuable tool for businesses who are looking to bundle items in a deal.

At Pixel by Hand, we’ve edited thousands of product images for eCommerce businesses. Aside from creating high-quality images for individual product listings, we’ve also edited images to show multiple products in a single image.

Our creative editors use industry-standard tools like Photoshop in creating bundled product images and use techniques like clipping path and background removal to easily merge two individual products into one. We then apply other post-production techniques, such as color correction, image masking, and retouching, to make the images more flawless and appealing to your customers.

Sometimes, we add text overlay on the images so that customers can see your deals immediately when they stumble upon your website or listing on marketplaces like Amazon. Text overlay can be a call to action, discount price, or any other information you want your customers to know.

eCommerce Image Editing Services

If you are looking for help with product image editing, we can help. We offer a wide range of eCommerce image editing services to help businesses improve their product listings.

Our team of skilled editors can help you with:

• Product color correction
• Image cropping and resizing
• Image retouching and enhancement
• Background removal

Contact us today to learn more about our eCommerce image editing services, or say Hi to us in the chatbox below. We offer a FREE Trial to see how we can help improve your product listings.