A/B testing

The process of testing two different versions of a web page (A and B)to determine which one converts better. Retailers often A/B test different page layouts; suppliers and retailers A/B test different images and product descriptions.

AOV

See average order value.

average order value

The typical size of an order on a retailer’s web site.

BazaarVoice

A company that provides review management and syndication through a network of brands and retailers.

brand audit

An automated evaluation of a brand’s online presence, product imagery, product descriptions, and other content measured across one or more e-commerce web sites.

bricks-to-clicks

Suppliers and retailers that are leading the way in transforming their businesses from brick-and-mortar to online.

Buy Box

The box on an item page where a shopper can add an item to their virtual shopping cart.

click-and-collect

When shoppers order online and pick up their items at a store.

compare with live

A capability of the Content Analytics platform that enables a brand manager to identify differences between content on an e-commerce retailer web site and content contained in the Master Catalog, without having to browse to each page on the retailer’s site.

content health

A measure of the quality of one or more product detail or category pages on an e-commerce web site, or of the content of one or more items stored in the Master Catalog.

conversion rate

The percentage of page views that result in a sale, typically 2 to 3 percent.

Dashboard

A control center for your e-commerce business. It helps you track all of your key performance indicators, including out-of-stock inventory, sales, and much more.

digital asset management

A system for storing a supplier or retailer’s digital assets, such as imagery and videos.

drop-ship vendor

Instead of a retailer holding inventory on hand, retailers partner with suppliers who ship ordered items directly to consumers. Such suppliers are referred to as DSVs.

DSV

See drop-ship vendor.

e-commerce

The buying and selling of goods and services, primarily over the Internet.¹

EDI

See electronic data interchange.

electronic data interchange

The electronic transfer of documents between computer systems, allowing businesses them to share order, invoice, inventory, and other information required for items to be listed and orders to be processed.

findability

Also referred to as discoverability, a measure of how easy it is for a brand’s products to be found when a shopper searches for them. If your products don’t appear in page 1 of search results for relevant search terms, your products are not very findable.

Google Manufacturer Center

Allows manufacturers to submit information about their products directly to Google so that Google can provide the most accurate product information possible in search results.

MAP

Minimum advertised price. The price below which resellers agree not to sell a product. Manufacturers use MAP violation and enforcement solutions to detect MAP violations and notify resellers not to sell below the MAP.

marketplace

The inclusion of third-party sellers on an e-commerce web site. Amazon, Walmart, and other web sites include marketplace sellers as a way to increase assortment and ensure that products remain available. With a marketplace model, multiple sellers can offer the same product.² Some web sites, such as eBay, are 100 percent marketplace sites, meaning that they do not carry any inventory. Other sites mix first-party and third-party (marketplace) sales.

Master Catalog

A cloud-based product information management (PIM) system offered by Content Analytics that stores a supplier’s digital item attributes, such as product names, UPCs, descriptions, images, dimensions, and weight information. The Master Catalog also supports exporting that information in retailer-specific formats and connecting directly to various retailer systems.

mobile commerce

E-commerce activity done via a mobile device, which can include product research and product purchases.

omnichannel

The many different channels through which a shopper can do product research and make a purchase, including in-store, online, mobile browser, mobile applications, and phone.

PDP

See product detail page.

PIM

See product information management.

price visibility

The percentage of items whose prices are visible to shoppers on an e-commerce site, without having to add those items to the shopping cart to see them. Retailers sometimes hide the prices of items on product detail pages to avoid running afoul of MAP policies.

private label

Retailer-owned brands, such as Amazon’s Wickedly Prime brand, Walmart’s Great Value brand, and Target’s Archer Farms brand. Such products are often manufactured by well-known manufacturers but labeled under a retailer brand.

product detail page

A page, also known as an item page, on an e-commerce web site where an individual product is for sale. A PDP typically includes one or more images of a product, the product name, and the product description. More detailed PDPs include videos, reviews, specification tables, lists of features, links to related products, and other elements intended to help shoppers make informed purchase decisions.

product information management

The management of information about products needed to sell and market those items. Content Analytics provides a cloud-based product information management system called the Master Catalog.

responsive design

A way of designing a web site so that it can be viewed well and used easily on a variety of different screen sizes and devices (e.g., desktop, mobile, tablet).

search engine marketing

Paid advertising intended to increase the visibility of web sites in search engine results.

search engine optimization

A method of improving the aspects of a web site or web page to improve search engine results, with the goal of obtaining more visitors to a web site. As it relates to e-commerce, SEO often means customizing product descriptions to ensure they are of sufficient length and that they contain unique content not found anywhere else.

SEM

See search engine marketing.

SEO

See search engine optimization.

share of search

The percentage of placements that belong to a brand for a search term, such as “4K televisions” or “baby diapers.” On-site share of search refers to the percentage of search results on a given retailer’s web site such as Amazon.com or Walmart.com. Suppliers usually evaluate page 1 share of search (referring to only the placements on page 1 for a given search term) or top ten or top three, referring only to the first ten search results or first three search results on page 1.

share of shelf

The percentage of placements on shelf pages, also referred to as navigation pages. Retailers create shelf pages to represent various categories and subcategories.

shopability

A measure of how likely it is for shoppers to convert to a purchase once they find your product. The inclusion of multiple high-resolution images, complete product descriptions, full product specification information, videos, and reviews are all factors that can help increase the likelihood that an item will convert into a sale.

shopping cart

In e-commerce, the shopping cart refers to a digital shopping cart that holds the items a shopper wants to purchase.

showrooming

Researching products in a physical store and then buying them online, often at a lower price.

webrooming

Researching products online and then buying them in a physical store (in contrast to showrooming).