If you search for information about collection taxonomies online, you’re likely to find a definition relating to grouping living organisms into certain classes, families, and geographic regions. In terms of ecommerce solutions, collection taxonomies take on a similar approach, but instead of classifying animals or insects, these important tools organize product data to make online shopping easier and more enjoyable for consumers. Here, Virtucom Group, a content and data solutions firm solving ecommerce challenges for retailers, distributors, agencies, and end users, reviews the seven biggest benefits of a new collection taxonomy and how we can help.
1. Presenting Consistent, Complete Data
To support data and entry presentation of values in all sales channels, a new collection taxonomy should have a granular structure with defined data model requirements, which are confirmed in one place. This systematic enforcement of mandatory attributes is critical for facet navigation, business rules, and consumer reference.
2. Defining Field Types
When organizing product data, setting defined field types, such as the following, leads to the greater consistency of data, efficient data collection, and easier data population:
- Choice
- Choice multi-select
- Number
- Fraction
- Text
3. Displaying Relevant Product Attributes
Especially for businesses with numerous products online, a new collection taxonomy enforces select-attribute-value population across the site. With conditional dependence supported, this means that only attributes relevant to a product are displayed in a consumer’s search results, improving the overall buyer journey.
4. Differentiating Country-Specific Units of Measure
A new collection taxonomy can allow online consumers to find the right products by their units of measure, as it can systematically support country-specific measurements (i.e. inches vs. centimeters). Plus, by ensuring a numeric field appears in numerals – not text, all relevant products will appear in the customer’s query, instead of being incorrectly sorted due to inconsistent data entry.
5. Enhancing Attribute Value Masking
Our taxonomy solutions allow the presentation layer to be separate from the data. For example, a number entered as #.### enables transformation rules to be developed for converting the value into a fraction in the presentation layer. This approach enforces additional normalization rules, as well, by limiting the acceptable values in numeric- and fraction-defined fields.
6. Minimizing Open Text Fields for Product Attributes
Because marketing features or description blocks are not considered product attributes, there are several benefits to minimally using open text fields for actual product attributes. For one, it allows consistent data to be collected and presented, helping online shoppers find exactly what they’re looking for. It also makes it easier to map attributes to multiple third-party data, saving your ecommerce team valuable time and resources.
7. Experiencing Better Results
By revamping their collection taxonomy, ecommerce entities are supporting business rules to drive concatenation, in-line reference, and operational data requirements for cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. The result is greater consistency, lower content-building costs, and overall better results from their ecommerce strategy.
Get a New Collection Taxonomy from Virtucom Group
Located in Syracuse, New York, and serving as a trusted partner to leading retailers nationwide, Virtucom Group has over 20 years of experience in providing successful ecommerce solutions. Our entirely in-house, on-shore copywriters, editors, and product data specialists provide support that enhances our clients’ existing efforts, improving aspects like:
- Operational efficiency
- Time to market
- Online revenue
- Brand loyalty
Our consultative, customized approach identifies specific workflow challenges, fills resource gaps, and helps clients achieve their ecommerce goals. To learn more, contact Virtucom Group today by filling out our form or calling 315-422-3100 x17.
