Catalog management software, or product catalog management software, organizes and consolidates e-commerce product data into a single, digital point of reference (aka a catalog) for both merchant and buyer. The software maintains and stores product information for an e-commerce business. There can be some confusion between Catalog Management and Product Information Management (PIM): the distinction between the two types of software is that Catalog Management software enriches product data by facilitating the editing, adding, and modifying of product information, while PIM software looks at the overall picture, in a more comprehensive capacity. Catalog management ensures the quality of product data, by allowing an admin to update the product data in a catalog, so that customers can make informed buying decisions. The merchant can help online buyers make those decisions by providing details like: product names, product filters, descriptions, prices, and supplier and internal codes. These solutions are typically bundled with additional e-commerce content marketing tools, and some are provided as open-source options by user communities.
To qualify for inclusion in the Catalog Management category, a product must:
- Integrate with or create an electronic catalog
- Have a working search bar or filtering function
- Create categories to organize products
- Edit and update catalog product and service descriptions and information
- Track and store product and customer information
- Maintain both domestic and international product prices
- Integrate with web content management and payment gateways and/or subscription management software
