A Last-Minute Product Information Checklist for the Holidays

Between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, online sales recorded their highest year-over-year numbers, according to IBM. Accounting for the same period in 2012, online sales rose 16.5 percent this year. What's more, the National Retail Federation said roughly 2 million more people went shopping at least once during the holiday weekend compared to last year.

It seems the momentum will continue throughout the holiday season. But do you have what it takes to cash in?

Effective merchandising — i.e., giving shoppers the detailed product information they need in order to convert to a customer — is especially critical during the holiday shopping season. The trick lies in communicating brand messages while executing an omnichannel selling strategy. With effective product content online, retailers can drive both e-commerce and store sales.

Is your online product information up to speed for the holiday shopping blitz? Take a look at this checklist to find out:

1. Are your product images updated? Retailers and brands heavily invest in creating, maintaining and portraying a consistent and powerful brand image. No matter how small, an inconsistency in product imagery can cause shoppers to lose confidence, sales to drop and your brand to become diluted. Make sure your product images are consistent and up to date across all marketing channels to avoid these mishaps.

2. Is your product information reliable? Item descriptions, nutritional information, ingredients, marketing claims and warnings should all be accurate. Shoppers rely on this information for many uses during the holiday season, including gift selection, menu planning and more. If shoppers can't find the information they're looking for while researching products, they'll look elsewhere.

Product information is also the foundation of wish lists, recipe suggestions, product recommendations and other resources that drive shoppers into additional purchases or stimulate loyalty. The importance of reliable product information cannot be overlooked.

3. Is your online pricing tailored to specific store locations? Holiday shoppers are price conscious and mission driven, and they'll visit a competitor if the price at your store isn't what they were expecting. Because prices vary from market to market, location-specific pricing accuracy is extremely important. Integrate your web and mobile presences with price files and point-of-sale (POS) systems to offer consumers digital prices that reflect the prices in their local store.

4. Do you have real-time inventory visibility? Much like pricing, shoppers require inventory availability information that's specific to their local store and is highly accurate. Unless otherwise noted, consumers expect that what they see online is available for purchase in-store. To deliver on these expectations, integrate your inventory management system with order entry and POS data to deliver a real-time experience to consumers.

The bottom line: The time is now to update your online product information for a successful holiday season and strong start to the new year. Inform consumers and you'll see the profits ring in.

Steve Cole is the chief marketing officer with Gladson, a Lisle, Ill.-based company that provides product images, product content and related services for the U.S. consumer packaged goods industry.