Ensuring a good product catalog is a necessity to improve a seller’s performance on e-marketplace. In this course you will learn how to make a good catalog.

1. Selling Essentials
Cataloging

2. Learning Objectives
This course will explain:
• The importance of cataloging in online marketplace
• How cataloging can be an important factor towards your growth

3. Customer arrives
at the website,
and searches for
the product (let’s
say a t-shirt) they
are looking for
How Does a Customer Make an Online Purchase?

4. They browse
through the
various t-shirts
listed, and select
the one they like
How Does a Customer Make an Online Purchase?

5. Arrives at the selected page
and browse through the
product information like:
• Price
• Color
• Style
• Size
• Description
Post this evaluation, they
make the purchase
All these
together
constitute a
catalog
How Does a Customer Make an Online Purchase?

6. Combination of images, text, descriptions, price,
ratings, etc., constitutes a catalog
A catalog must:
• Give the buyer complete information about the
product
• Enable him to decide whether he wants to buy the
product or not
What is a Catalog?

7. Importance of a Catalog
Customer Seller Online Marketplace
Platform
• Ease of search to find the
right product
• Compare between options
• Better product
understanding helping to
take buying decision
• Increased brand awareness
• Promote a wide range
of products
• Lower returns, with higher
seller ratings and
increased sales
• Quality product assurance
to customers
• Reduction in customer
queries about the products
• Build credibility

8. Same Brand
Similar Price
Page views
Sales (in units)
Arrow
Rs 1,799
8,000
150
Arrow
Rs 1,799
1,500
16
Low Quality Image
Reduced page views
and sales
Importance of a Catalog

9. Irregular/Incomplete Description
Importance of a Catalog
Same Brand
Similar Price
Page views
Sales (in units)
Levis
Rs 2,799
4,000
95
Levis
Rs 2,799
4,200
45

10. Two important constituents of a good catalog are:
What Makes a Good Catalog?
Clear
Images
Good
Catalog
Appealing
Descriptions

11. • Product images should have
• High resolution
• Right colors
• Different angles
• Good product images
• Capture customer’s interest
• Allow customers to know exactly how the
product
looks
• Improves conversion rate of listings into sales
• Helps reducing disputes/returns
A picture is worth a thousand words
Product Images

12. How to Ensure the Right Images?
Image should have a
white background
Turn off the camera
flash
Use a tripod or place
the camera on a hard
surface
Take multiple images
from different angles
Images should not
have borders, text, or
added artwork

13. How to Ensure the Right Images?
Image should have a
white background
Turn off the camera
flash
Use a tripod or place
the camera on a hard
surface
Take multiple images
from different angles
Images should not
have borders, text, or
added artwork

14. How to Ensure the Right Images?
Image should have a
white background
Turn off the camera
flash
Use a tripod or place
the camera on a hard
surface
Take multiple images
from different angles
Images should not
have borders, text, or
added artwork

15. How to Ensure the Right Images?
Image should have a
white background
Turn off the camera
flash
Use a tripod or place
the camera on a hard
surface
Take multiple images
from different angles
Images should not
have borders, text, or
added artwork

16. How to Ensure the Right Images?
X
Image should have a
white background
Turn off the camera
flash
Use a tripod or place
the camera on a hard
surface
Take multiple images
from different angles
Images should not
have borders, text, or
added artwork

17. For a more detailed view please refer to model_shoot.skp (You will need sketchup viewer to open the file)
Photo-Shoot Setup Example

18. Photo-Shoot Setup Example

19. Photo-Shoot Setup Example

20. Photo-Shoot Setup Example

21. Let’s take a look at the performance improvement achieved by one of our sellers post
insertion of multiple images in their product catalogs
Providing multiple images can lead to performance improvement of a seller
Importance of Images

22. The seller in point was from the Toys category, and was listing the products with:
• Only 1 image
• Image of packaging box
• Image not letting the prospect see the actual
product clearly
• Prospect not being able to identify the dimension of
the product
Importance of Images

23. Image of the actual
product
Image with measuring
scale
Original image with outer
packaging
Importance of Images
Some changes were suggested to the seller, post which multiple images were inserted for the products
Results from changes implemented
Rise in monthly sales by 2.5 times
Rise in Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 110%
Reduction in requested returns by 64%

24. Include words that make your prospects realise
that
what you offer
is
what they really want
Appealing Descriptions

25. Product title in the header with
bold fonts ensure prospect’s
focus on it
Includes important parameters
(product, brand, style) impacting
the buying decision
Appealing Descriptions
Effective title
Accurate and clear
description
Correct product
specification

26. Appealing Descriptions
Minute details a prospect might be
looking for
Post purchase
information
Suggestion on styling
Size & fit information, along
with a call to action to gain
clarity on size
Better product
understanding for
the prospect,
bringing them closer
to final purchase
Effective title
Accurate and clear
description
Correct product
specification

27. Appealing Descriptions
Category: Electronics > Mobiles
Effective title
Accurate and clear
description
Correct product
specification

28. Appealing Descriptions
Category: Electronics > Mobiles
Effective title
Accurate and clear
description
Correct product
specification

29. Providing such additional
information ensures:
• Better product understanding
• Ease of decision making
• Enhanced customer experience
Post-Sale Information

30. Heels listed as wedges
Textured
background
Incorrect product category/vertical/type selection
Incorrect image listing issue, Less resolution
images & Background images
Common Mistakes to Avoid

31. Incomplete data Grammatical and Spelling mistakes
But what
specification?
Should be
‘Capacitive’
Common Mistakes to Avoid

32. Formatting and special character issues Duplicate refiners & entries
Lower and upper
case Duplicatio
n
Common Mistakes to Avoid

33. Data mismatch with the images
Multiple entry of the
tile/features/specification etc.
Should be round neck
Repetition
Common Mistakes to Avoid

34. The template file will contain most if not all information required to create a catalog for that category, hence it is
important to understand the structure of the sheet
• The Summary
sheet contains
information
about the
structure and a
summary of
general
guidelines
• Make sure you
go through this
sheet before
starting
Anatomy of the Template

35. The index sheet
contains a list of
all verticals in the
file
Also, it contains
the allowed
values(if any)
for the
attributes
present in the
file
Index sheet is useful to jump to or search verticals in case the file contains a large
number of verticals
Anatomy of the Template

36. SKU Code
SKU Codes are identification codes given to products. Each code is specific to each product
ABC123
ABC124
ABC125
ABC126
Key Heads in the Catalog

37. Sales Package
Sales package is the list of all the elements present in the package that is going out to the buyer
For example: ‘Sales Package’ contains
1 Charger and Data cable
1 Mobile
1 User Manual
1 Earphone
Key Heads in the Catalog

38. Pack Of:
The remaining ones will be considered as accessories to the major component
It refers to the number of major components
in the package
For example, a set of mobile phone will be
counted as a pack of one, or in case of a
products like Kadhai with lid, the lids will not
be counted as separate products
However, in case of a dinner set, a set of 4
plates and 4 bowls will be counted as 8
Key Heads in the Catalog

39. Description
These 4 columns are not to
be used when creating a
new product
Attribute name
Attribute type:
here it is
mentioned if an
attribute is ID,
title or refiner
Example
Anatomy of the Template

40. Mandatory
Mandatory attributes link to the information, which is essential for a customer to make a purchase. Lack of
important details may lead to loss of sales and returns.
Example: For accessories, under ‘Clothing’ category, some of the mandatory attributes can be:
• SKU ID
• Type
• Model no
• Color, etc.
Good-to-
have
Allowed
Values Set
Multi-value ID
Attributes
Title
Attributes
Types of Attributes

41. Good-to-have attributes link to the information, which enrich your catalog. These attributes form the basis for
the buyer to make an informed decision. Filling these reduces returns and customer dissatisfaction.
Example:
Types of Attributes
Mandatory
Good-to-
have
Allowed
Values Set
Multi-value ID
Attributes
Title
Attributes

42. These attributes can be chosen from a certain set provided in the template. These allowed values help you
prevent errors during cataloging. Allowed values are generally used for refiners on the site.
Types of Attributes
Brocade, Crepe,
Cotton, Nylon, etc.
Mandatory
Good-to-
have
Allowed
Values Set
Multi-value ID
Attributes
Title
Attributes

43. Types of Attributes
Some attributes are defined to have a value from a predefined set, and they can contain multiple values. Multiple
values are always entered with “::” as a separator.
Red::Blue::Yellow
These attributes are used to create filters on the
site. These filters provide transparency to the
buyer, thereby helping him find what he is
looking for.
Mandatory
Good-to-
have
Allowed
Values Set
Multi-value ID
Attributes
Title
Attributes

44. ID attributes are used to create a unique product. They help you keep track of orders and pricing. It is,
however, important you link all the ID attributes for a vertical, and check for duplicates. This will help you
a great deal in eliminating errors in product .
The ID attributes are same for the first and the third product. This leads to an error, and the third product is not
visible on the website. (include one more attribute: print - plain
Levis
T-
shirt
32
Green
L32Green
Levis
T-
shirt
32
Blue
L32Blue
Levis
T-
shirt
32
Green
L32Green
X
Types of Attributes
Mandatory
Good-to-
have
Allowed
Values Set
Multi-value ID
Attributes
Title
Attributes

45. These attributes are combined to form the title of a product.
When a title is not provided explicitly, a title is automatically generated by joining these attributes according to
predefined rules.
Brand Name
Style code
Type
Types of Attributes
Mandatory
Good-to-
have
Allowed
Values Set
Multi-value ID
Attributes
Title
Attributes

46. For the list of all title, ID, and filter attributes, you can refer to the vertical view attribute file
(vertical_view_attribute).
Vertical
Attributes
Attribute Type
Types of Attributes

47. Uploading the Catalog File
• Ensure all attributes, details, mandatory fields, good-to-have fields, etc., are filled
• All the links/URLs for images/videos should be linked to the particular image/video and not
to the folder
• While uploading the catalog file, ensure that the file name isn’t edited/modified
• Once the catalog file is uploaded, it goes for QC. If it’s approved, your listing will go live
automatically. If it’s not QC approved, then let’s look at how to rectify the unapproved
listings

48. Post QC, you will receive a file with multiple entries from our side. You would be required to approve/disapprove
each listing in the fifth(E) column by mentioning the disapproval reason.
Also, some listings can be in a failed state. It means some correction is required for that row. You can refer to the
Seller Learning Center for details about QC errors.
Post QC

49. Training
Provide trainings on catalog before
first listing
A seller support member to reach out
for clarifications and additional training
needs
Arrange call trainings on request
Network
Connects to partners for Photo-shoot
and catalog services
All partners follow preset guidelines
ensuring the best practices
Delivery of high quality catalogs
Online Marketplace Offerings for Cataloging

50. In this tutorial, you learned about:
• The importance of cataloging in online marketplace
• How cataloging can be an important factor towards your growth
Summary

51. Thank You