Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
How
EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES Sell Your Products
By: Glori Blatt
Has one of your retail partners recently started asking you for better information
about your products? If so, you’re not alone.
!Large retailers like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Dillard’s and Kroger have been
developing and rolling out guidelines that add structure and consistency to the
product information they receive from suppliers. If you’ve taken a look at the
guidelines for the information they’re requesting, or even started preparing this
information yourself, you know that it represents a major shift in how retailers
think about and represent your products across sales channels.
!How will these initiatives actually help sell your products? In this ebook, we’ll
talk about how this information retailers are requesting - called “extended
attributes” - plays into their larger business objectives and ultimately provide a
better shopping experience for consumers, increasing sell-through of your
products.
INTRODUCTIONDefinition
Goals of Extended Attributes
Specific Retailer Initiatives
On the Horizon
Introduction
“EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES” Highly-detailed & consistent product information
that meet expanded information guidelines created by major retailers
Definition
WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES?
Goals of Extended Attributes
To create a superior shopping experience
for consumers &
Streamline information exchange between
suppliers and retailers
How product information can create a superior shopping experience for consumers
Women’s ShirtsFilter By:
Size Collar Type
Ballet Neck
Button-Down
Crew Neck
Mandarin
Peter Pan
Color Sleeve Type
Long
Short
Sleeveless
3/4
More powerful search-and-nav leads to better on-site discovery More information cataloged for products enables higher-quality traffic
More detailed product information reduces return rates Consistent information across all channels leads to more sales
Running shoe SEARCH
SEARCHSize 10 green running shoe
The Best Handbag
Handbag Shoulder Drop: 10 inches
Lining Material: Leather
Closure: Buckle Online MobileIn-Store
VS.
Goals of Extended Attributes
How a common information language can streamline information exchange between suppliers & retailers
Goals of Extended Attributes
Structured data rules ensure systems seamlessly exchange information with little to no manual troubleshooting.
Consistent product classification makes it easy to quickly and intuitively list product inventory.
HOW DO SPECIFIC RETAILER INITIATIVES MAP BACK
TO THE EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES GOALS?
GS1 Extended Attributes Project Mercury
Specific Retailer Initiatives
Overview
These initiatives were created independently of one another, but they ultimately work towards the same goals: making it faster and easier to collect specific, highly-detailed information from suppliers and using that information to power the best consumer experience possible.
Specific Retailer Initiatives
The GS1 extended attributes guidelines currently apply to 6 product categories in general merchandise and apparel. Their objective is to collect “the essential product information that end-consumers will need throughout the purchase cycle” and make it consistently available on all sales channels.
MACY’S, NORDSTROM, DILLARD’S: GS1 Extended Attributes
KROGER: Project Mercury
Project Mercury currently has attribute requirements and valid values outlined for over 100 product classes. The project will help consumers get more detailed allergy and dietary information about the products they buy and ensure that new products become available to consumers faster.
GS1 EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES
!
Macy’s, Nordstrom, Dillard’s and more
Macy’s, Nordstrom and Dillard’s are just three of many major retailers who contributed to the development of GS1's Voluntary Extended Attributes Guidelines for General Merchandise and Apparel, and have recently begun asking suppliers to provide these additional attributes.
Specific Retailer Initiatives
Specific Retailer Initiatives
HOW DOES IT WORK? !
The extended attributes guidelines currently apply to 6 product categories. Associated with each of these categories is a list of required attributes that suppliers must provide for each of their products, along with sets of accepted values and data integrity rules for each attribute.
!Examples:
• Suppliers must provide “care information” for all six product categories
• Suppliers must provide “sole type” for all footwear
• Suppliers must pick from one of 22 accepted values for “collar types” for apparel
Women’s ShirtsFilter By:
Size Collar Type
Ballet Neck
Button-Down
Crew Neck
Mandarin
Peter Pan
Color Sleeve Type
Long
Short
Sleeveless
3/4
Online MobileIn-Store
More powerful search-and-nav
Consistent information across all channels
BENEFITS INCLUDE:
KROGER !
Project Mercury
Kroger introduced Project Mercury in 2012 in order to "bring the right products and services to the right customers at the right time." The company wants to be able to bring products to market faster is putting pressure on suppliers to provide product attributes like kosher labels, NuVal nutritional scores and in-depth health awareness alerts (like allergens and cholesterol) to give customers better visibility about the products they're buying.
Specific Retailer Initiatives
HOW DOES IT WORK? !
Kroger’s Project Mercury guidelines are currently applicable to over 100 “product classes,” with more categories scheduled to become “open to submit” throughout 2015. !
As with GS1’s extended attributes guidelines, each product category comes with its own set of required product attributes and accepted values. Suppliers must submit this information through Kroger’s Vendor Item Portal, which is connected with GDSN. Once suppliers prepare and submit this rich information, it can become easily available to any GDSN user beyond just Kroger.
Specific Retailer Initiatives
The Best Soup
Gluten-Free: Yes
Organic: Yes
Systems seamlessly exchanging information
More detailed product information
BENEFITS INCLUDE:
On the Horizon
In addition to GS1 and Kroger, there are other retail initiatives related to extended attributes. !
Walmart, for example, is currently working with GS1 US and other like-minded corporations to compose the Structured Commerce Classification. The goal of the SCC is to create a global standard for product categorization, which will simplify data handling and exchange for organizations across the retail supply chain. !
Meanwhile, Amazon, Overstock, and dozens of other large retailers have begun requesting highly detailed category-specific information to ensure that consumers have the product attributes they need to make confident purchase decisions. !
As the industry strives to create superior shopping experiences and streamline information exchange between suppliers and retailers, suppliers across categories should prepare to start providing more detailed product information. Early adapters will have a competitive advantage with forward-looking retailers and savvy consumers.
Want to learn more about extended attributes?
!
Sign up for our blog to learn much more about specific extended attributes initiatives and how
they’re playing out in the actual market. !
blog.salsify.com
