Digital asset management expert, Rob Tarrant, makes the case for the images and thousands of words required to build and maintain a successful web presence

Digital asset management expert, Rob Tarrant, makes the case for the images and thousands of words required to build and maintain a successful web presence

With Morrisons announcing its online plans and High Street chains Zara and H&M joining the ranks online, Rob Tarrant, managing director of Brandbank said we seem to be hearing about fresh e-commerce ventures weekly.

But as more and more High Street brands join their more established competitors online, Tarrant argued that the sheer complexity involved in opening an effective web store shouldn't be underestimated.

“Whoever they are, all brands face a major challenge when moving from a bricks and mortar chain to becoming a multichannel retailer,” he said. “Along with the logistical and supply-chain processes which will have to be implemented, brands are faced with the challenge of sourcing and continually updating all of the product information and imagery required for a fully operational website. It may not sound like much but make no mistake, this is no mean feat.

Managing tide of digital data

“Take supermarkets for example, a major chain like Tesco or Asda will ultimately need to source around 80,000 product images for its product range at any one time. Sound excessive?” he asked. “For each product, they will need to source a minimum of two images from amongst the thousands of suppliers they work with. But that’s not the end of it. These two images need to be supplied in different formats so that the online shop has a thumbnail image, a larger image and a shopping basket shot, at the very least. Depending on the product, many retailers now like to provide lifestyle or ‘out-of-pack’ imagery as well. For 20,000 products – the average amount stocked by a supermarket – that’s over 80,000 images.”

Tarrant continued: “Retailers in the fashion sector have the added difficulty of meeting consumers’ rich media expectations. Brandbank research has shown, when it comes to clothing – where you can’t physically touch or try items on – consumers expect an evermore sophisticated e-commerce offering. This is becoming increasingly more popular with features such 360-degree spin imagery or the ASOS catwalk, which uses videos of the clothes being worn on the models to demonstrate to potential customers how the clothes fit ‘in real life’. Providing videos and this type of imagery in the correct formats for each product is, of course, an additional challenge for these types of brands when venturing online.

“In addition to all the imagery and rich media features, e-ommerce platforms need to source around 400 words to accompany each product, including product information – to ensure that all legal requirements are met – marketing copy and. This comes to over eight million words for the average supermarket.

Keeping offerings up-to-date

“And this is not the end,” he added. “A supplier to a supermarket may change their product line ten times a year – involving new images and new information. When dealing with thousands of suppliers, all making product changes, there is yet another dimension of complexity.

“Quite obviously, this venture cannot be entered into lightly. Moving online is a huge investment. However, when it comes to the bottom line, it’s worth it. Ineffective product images and incorrect product data can actually negatively impact online sales by up to 80%.

“Luckily for retailers, as long as they have the correct systems in place in terms of communicating to their product suppliers and ensuring cross-data management, this process can run smoothly – it’s simply a question of being organised.”

Tarrant said that, at Brandbank, an in-house, back-end data management system communicates with a number of large retailers automatically updating images and information for their thousands of products online. “By providing a one-stop solution of creating, managing and automatically supplying live product data, images, we provide the link in the chain between retailers and suppliers, working closely with retailers’ IT developers to provide a fully functioning e-commerce offering,” he concluded.