Project Description
Definition and standardization of product attributes across 50,000 items to improve the omnichannel customer experience and merchandising effectiveness.
The Client
A $1.2B big box retailer specializing in home décor, with over 50,000 unique items across broad product categories.​
The Challenge
The company was experiencing steady growth in their large footprint physical locations. Expanding the omnichannel experience became a critical initiative to capitalize on their strong assortment. The organization recognized the need to update and enhance their core capabilities relative to master data management, particularly in the areas of item setup and foundation data to support this growth.
Initially, the company’s website had served primarily as a marketing vehicle to showcase the assortment available in physical locations. As such, focus on item details were based on what merchants needed to support internal processes. With the expansion of buy online pickup in store (BOPIS) capabilities, the importance of customer-facing item descriptions and detailed product​ attributes became imperative. In addition, the client needed to establish item setup consistency to support other merchandising solution initiatives.
The Parker Avery Solution
Working closely with the client’s merchandise operations and omnichannel teams, Parker Avery defined and updated item detail standards. Throughout the seven-month project, the following key tasks were completed:
- Developed a standards and guidelines document to ensure a consistent approach to item creation
- Defined key product attributes that support online shopping and customer decisions
- Coordinated effort with product partners to update these attributes with standardized content and format​
- Collaborated with product partners and merchants to update key dimension values that support expanding omnichannel capabilities for customer fulfillment
- Provided updated product descriptions focused on customer facing content with a standard and consistent format
Deliverables consisted of: ​
- Standards and guidelines document for item setup
- Updated controlled list of item attribute values
- List of updated product descriptions for over 50,000 unique items in the retailer’s assortment
The Result
Following the effort, the client can leverage updated key product attributes for online product filtering as well as consumption within other merchandising tools.​ Updated product descriptions improve the online experience by providing a clear product representation with a consistent look and format, making it easier for customers to understand product details.
