Over the past few years, many of the tools and approaches for brands to win on the Digital Shelf have matured. For example, Product Information Management (PIM) solutions, which were relatively new five years ago, are now well-established. Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions and analytics tools for monitoring search rank on the Digital Shelf have also matured. All of these tools have made it easier to store content and to measure the success of content once it is created.

However, one area that has not kept pace with the needs of brands and retailers is the toolset and approaches for creating that content. Fortunately, there’s now a faster, easier way to create content that will help you win on the digital shelf. Creative Management Platforms (CMPs) work alongside your PIM and DAM solutions to enable you to build high quality content in a scalable, efficient manner. They bring together workflow optimization, automation and AI to streamline the process of creating content.

Why Great Content is Key To Winning The Digital Shelf

To win the digital shelf, brands must of course ensure that their products are in-stock. Products also need to be priced competitively. But now, more than ever, great content is key to winning the digital shelf. There are multiple drivers for the need for great content to win the digital shelf. 

First, consumers are doing more of their shopping than ever before on mobile devices. According to OuterBox, over the last year its estimated that 56% of all online sales came from a mobile device and that number has been increasing each year. Because mobile devices lend themselves to viewing images and videos, shoppers naturally are looking for more of this type of content when evaluating products for purchase on their phones and tablets.

Second, according to retailers, the image carousel area of the page receives up to ten times as much engagement from shoppers as other parts of the page, such as those that fall below the fold. With this high a level of engagement, it makes sense that having great images and videos is critical when it comes to winning the Digital Shelf.

Finally, in addition to images and videos, great product titles and product descriptions are also key to winning on the digital shelf.  

What’s Changed: How Leading Brands Are Optimizing Content For The Digital Shelf

Leading brands are using a number of innovative, new approaches when it comes to creating content for the digital shelf. 

Whereas brands used to consider content for product detail pages (PDPs) a one-and-done process, leading brands are now refreshing images and videos on product detail pages throughout the year. They’re doing this to engage with shoppers for seasonal opportunities and occasion-based events. They’re also refreshing content on the PDP to align with top-of-funnel marketing activities like retail media display ad campaigns.

When it comes to product description text, leading brands are taking a similar approach. In this case, brands are updating product titles and product descriptions on a much higher frequency basis to align with consumer shopping trends. By updating product descriptions to match what consumers are shopping for, brands can ensure their products are included for relevant searches. For example, if trends indicate that shoppers do more searches for “snacks for the Superbowl” around the time of the Superbowl, brands can update their product descriptions in the weeks before to be more relevant for that search.

Similarly, monitoring search trends throughout the year, leading brands are tapping into new trends and the resulting searches that shoppers are doing. For example, search trends might indicate that shoppers are searching for a new phrase such as “headphones for airplane travel.” While “headphones” might always have been a somewhat popular search term, perhaps “headphones for airplane travel” recently re-emerged as a popular term. By monitoring search terms, and incorporating those search terms into product descriptions, sellers of headphones can ensure that their products are found when shoppers perform that search. 

Using New Approaches and Technologies To Win

Creating images, videos and product descriptions one time for each product isn’t easy. So creating and updating images, videos and product descriptions on a regular basis is that much more challenging and time-consuming. That’s why leading brands are adopting new technologies and approaches to create content that helps them win the digital shelf. They’re bringing together the best elements of workflow optimization, automation and artificial intelligence to do this.

Creative Management Platforms, like IT’SRAPID, enable brands to build directly, or through managed services, images, videos and product descriptions that are highly relevant to specific products, events and consumer searches.

Images and videos can be easily created that are custom to specific products. Meanwhile, product descriptions can be created and updated based on upcoming events and holidays, or emerging search trends. By combining innovative approaches with the right tools and technologies, leading brands are now refreshing content regularly to ensure they win on the Digital Shelf. 

Find out how your brand can win on the digital shelf. Contact us to schedule a demo today!