Last Reviewed: November 14th, 2024

Best PIM Software Of 2024

What is PIM Software?

Product Information Management (PIM) software is an integral tool for businesses needing a central space for managing, maintaining, and distributing product information. PIM software eradicates inconsistencies and errors in product data that could potentially harm brand credibility and customer trust. It offers key benefits like streamlining product data management, improving catalog management, and enhancing customer experience through rich, consistent product content. Its core functionalities range from data integration and standardization to multi-language support, version control, and workflow management. Advanced adaptabilities like AI for data quality scoring and support for digital asset management are emerging trends. The tool is especially valuable to retail, manufacturing, and e-commerce industries where product data accuracy influences consumer buying decisions. However, implementation cost and requirements for regular data updates can pose challenges. In conclusion, PIM software is a stellar investment for businesses seeking improved product information quality, thus boosting customer experience and ultimately, sales.

What Are The Key Benefits of PIM Software?

  • Streamlines product data management
  • Enhances catalog management
  • Improves customer experience
  • Standardizes product information
  • Supports multi-language content
  • Enables efficient version control
  • Facilitates smoother workflow management
  • Promotes data accuracy
  • Boosts sales performance
  • Improves brand credibility
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Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 32 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best PIM Software overall:

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Why We Picked PayPal

PayPal users generally give it a thumbs-up for its convenience and security. Setting up an account is a breeze, and the platform is widely accepted by online merchants, making it a go-to for quick and easy payments. The security features, like encryption and fraud protection, give users peace of mind when making transactions. However, some users find the fees, especially for international transactions and credit card payments, to be a bit of a bummer. Additionally, while PayPal is widely accepted, it's not universally accepted, so users may occasionally encounter situations where they need to whip out a different payment method. Compared to other digital payment platforms like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App, PayPal stands out with its robust buyer and seller protection policies, making it a safer choice for larger transactions or purchases from unfamiliar sellers. But for splitting bills with friends or sending small amounts of money, the simplicity and social features of Venmo or Cash App might be more appealing.

So, who's PayPal's ideal user? It's perfect for folks who frequently shop online and value security and convenience. If you're someone who makes international payments or deals with large transactions, PayPal's buyer and seller protection features are a major plus. However, if you're mainly looking for a way to split the bill at dinner or send a few bucks to a friend, you might find other platforms more user-friendly and cost-effective.

Pros & Cons

  • Convenient and Widely Accepted: PayPal is a popular online payment method that is accepted by many online retailers, making it a convenient option for shoppers.
  • Enhanced Security: PayPal offers buyer and seller protection policies, which can help to protect users from fraud and scams. For instance, if a buyer does not receive an item they purchased, or if the item is significantly different from its description, they may be eligible for a refund under PayPal's Buyer Protection program.
  • Dispute Resolution: The platform provides a dispute resolution process to help resolve issues between buyers and sellers.
  • Limited Seller Protection: PayPal's seller protection policies can be difficult to navigate and may not cover all types of transactions or disputes, leaving sellers vulnerable to fraud or chargebacks.
  • Account Holds and Freezes: PayPal has been known to hold or freeze accounts without warning or clear explanation, which can disrupt business operations and cause frustration for users who rely on the platform for their livelihood.
  • Customer Service Challenges: Getting timely and effective support from PayPal's customer service can be difficult, with long wait times and inconsistent responses being common complaints among users.

Key Features

  • Accept Payments: Receive funds and streamline the checkout experience with the available tools: 
    • Invoices and Estimates: Generate free customizable invoices to simplify the payment process. Alternatively, create estimates with business logos and personalized details, and automatically convert them into invoices after customer acceptance. 
    • Checkout: Provide customers with a one-touch payment point to check out and make payments without leaving the business website. 
    • Recurring Payments: Improve customer retention by allowing repeat customers to skip the checkout process and set up subscription-based payments. 
    • Installment Payments: Get paid up-front while providing customers a pay-later option with “Pay in 4,” an interest-free installment solution, at no additional cost. 
    • Sell on Social: Quickly create product listings with photos and descriptions. Receive a shareable link to promote and push sales through social media, email, chat and more. Host listings on the vendor’s servers and let customers securely pay through a payment portal. 
    • Point of Sale: Accept in-person card payments with a selection of chip, tap and swipe readers and accessories compatible with mobile devices and desktops. 
    • QR Codes: Generate and print unique QR codes that customers can scan to make payments through mobile apps. 
  • Make Payments: Securely link bank accounts to transfer money to digital wallets and vice versa. 
    • Business Debit Mastercard: Withdraw or spend money as soon as it arrives in the digital wallet and earn rewards and cashback from participating retailers. Use at all locations accepting Mastercards. 
    • Send Money: Electronically pay vendors anywhere within the USA without incurring any additional costs and receive payment receipts instantly through the mobile app. Thorough monitoring helps prevent fraudulent transactions. 
    • Payouts: Send mass payouts to vendors and employees across the world, and auto-convert currencies. Supports more than 24 currencies and 180 markets across the globe. 
    • Crypto Payments: Make payments and checkout from participating online stores with cryptocurrency seamlessly. 
    • Payment Regulations: Leverage tools like transaction monitoring, recipient verification and compliance screening to manage compliance with regulations. Available with the enterprise solution. 
  • Risk Management: Uses intelligent two-sided networks, machine learning and analytics to protect businesses from existing and potential threats. Safeguard card details and transactional ledgers with a secure vault. Receive expert advice on maintaining compliance and security strategies. 
  • Growth Acceleration: Expedite business growth rate with critical funding, sales push and growth insights: 
    • PayPal Working Capital: A fixed-fee loan available without requiring a credit check, based on the account’s history. Repay it automatically with a percentage of each sale through the digital wallet. 
    • PayPal Business Loan: Finance operating expenses with a term loan based on the business’s history and growth since inception. Automate regular weekly payments from the bank. 
    • Cart Recovery: Reduce cart abandonment and drive return visits by sending notifications to shoppers who left midway. Offer incentives and discounts through a Store Cash campaign and boost customer loyalty. 
    • Insights: Get actionable insights and expert advice based on estimated audience size and potential ROI to optimize operations, improve marketing and push sales. 
  • Operation Management: Streamline daily operations and automate repetitive tasks with the following tools: 
    • Shipping Labels: Receive discounts on shipping through United Parcel Services (UPS) and United States Postal Service (USPS). Automatically receive tracking information. Select service type, package size and other details to auto-calculate costs. 
    • Dispute Management: Interact with buyers and customers through the “Resolution Center” to resolve disputes mutually. Clients can escalate claims for unresolved conflicts. Gain expert advice on building a case against a chargeback or a claim against the business. 
    • Funds Now: Receive money from completed sales instantly without any hold or delay at no extra cost to the business. 
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Why We Picked Etsy

Is Etsy really as easy as everyone says it is to buy and sell unique items? Etsy is an eCommerce platform known for its distinctive, handcrafted goods from independent sellers. Users rave about the platform's user-friendly design, which makes it simple to navigate and discover those one-of-a-kind treasures. Etsy's strength lies in fostering a community of passionate creators and buyers seeking unique, personalized items. This dedication to small businesses and artisans distinguishes Etsy from mass-produced goods found on platforms like Amazon. For instance, a buyer looking for a handmade ceramic mug with a specific design is more likely to find it on Etsy than on a more generalized platform. However, Etsy's dependence on individual sellers can lead to inconsistencies. Shipping delays, variable product quality, and customer service challenges arise from dealing with numerous independent entities. While Etsy has policies in place, enforcing them across a vast network poses a challenge. Potential buyers should prioritize individual seller ratings and reviews to ensure a smooth experience. Ultimately, Etsy is best suited for shoppers seeking unique, handcrafted items and willing to embrace the nuances of buying directly from independent creators.

Pros & Cons

  • Niche Marketplace: Etsy is known for its focus on unique and handmade goods, attracting buyers looking for distinctive items.
  • Creative Variety: The platform boasts a vast selection of products, offering a diverse range of options for shoppers seeking one-of-a-kind pieces.
  • Customer Service Issues: Etsy has received complaints regarding its customer service, potentially leading to unresolved issues for businesses.
  • Shipping Challenges: Shipping delays are a recurring concern on Etsy, potentially impacting customer satisfaction and business operations. Businesses may need to meticulously manage shipping profiles and expectations.
  • Price-Focused Competition: Etsy's platform can lead to intense price competition, potentially impacting businesses focused on product quality and unique offerings.

Key Features

  • Online Store: Create stores using customizable templates and promote products using featured listings. 
  • Analytics: Provides detailed statistics to track orders and revenue, identify products with the most page views and understand performance trends. 
  • SEO Tools: Customers can find listings with the proper headings and descriptions. Helps recognize the keywords that get more traffic to the store. 
  • Logistics: Auto calculates shipping costs based on weight, dimension, shipping method and delivery speed. Prints shipping labels and directly sends tracking details to customers. 
  • Mobile App: Manage orders, update items, check shop analytics, create listings and talk to customers from anywhere. 
  • Promotional Tools: Promote items and listings in internal search and on social media. 
  • Payment Management: Collect and manage payments through PayPal or credit card, based on customers’ convenience. Also manages currency conversions, making it globally accessible. 
Start Price
$29
Monthly
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Why We Picked Shopify

Shopify is a robust platform for every type of eCommerce business. During testing, I loved its “Markets” feature that consolidates wholesale, retail, B2B and D2C operations into a single view. You can tailor experiences for each market without creating multiple stores and get a bird's eye view of it all from a unified screen.

Its analytics module is a strong suit. Unlike other platforms that typically involve a 24-hour waiting period to access current data, Shopify lets you stream your business’s data in real time. The drag-and-drop interface is intuitive, and pre-built reports provide a solid foundation. However, the platform truly shines in its ability to access and customize ShopifyQL code for advanced analytics.

Shopify's scalability is also impressive. The platform grows with your business. Starting with a basic store and transitioning to a complex, multi-channel operation is seamless. The headless architecture offers flexibility for customization, allowing you to create unique shopping experiences using its native Hydrogen visual editor or other third-party solutions.

The mobile app has offline image editing, AI image generation and website editing capabilities. Also, Shopify's native AI, Magic, automates routine tasks and provides data-driven recommendations.

Shopify’s AI-powered virtual assistant, Sidekick, trains itself on your store’s data, customers and transactions. You can ask anything, from using a feature to understanding your business data, and it always provides helpful, contextual answers. It lets you generate customer segments, design marketing campaigns and optimize your sales funnel. Sidekick also identifies customer segments and offers tips to boost conversion rates, like targeted emails, discount coupons and cart recovery strategies.

However, Shopify's cost structure can be prohibitive for some. As the business grows, so do the expenses. And reliance on third-party apps for essential functionalities can lead to increased costs and potential performance issues down the line.

While the platform offers a high degree of customization, mastering Shopify's Liquid coding language is necessary for complex changes, creating a barrier for non-technical users. Lastly, the short duration of the free trial might hinder the evaluation process for potential customers.

Overall, Shopify is one of the best eCommerce solutions that can adapt to evolving business needs. However, you should carefully consider the platform's limitations in terms of cost, technical complexity and app dependency before jumping into a contract.


Pros & Cons

  • Ease of Use: Many users praise Shopify for its user-friendly interface, especially for those with little to no coding or web design experience. It allows users to set up a store quickly and easily.
  • Extensive Customizability: Shopify offers various free and paid customizable themes. It also has a large app store with numerous plugins for additional functionality.
  • Enhanced Security: Users appreciate Shopify’s integrated CDN hosting, SSL certification and multi-factor authentication, ensuring high security for businesses.
  • Support and Community: 24/7 customer support is available, and a large community of users and developers offers advice and solutions.
  • Scalability: Scaling your business with Shopify simply involves shifting to a higher-tier plan to access enterprise features like headless architecture, built-in AI and support for multiple business models.
  • All-In-One Solution: It provides a comprehensive package for managing eCommerce businesses, including marketing, inventory management, order processing, shipping, payments and analytics.
  • Cost: Some users find Shopify expensive, especially since costs can escalate with paid apps and transaction fees.
  • Technical Expertise: In-depth customization requires accessing Shopify’s proprietary coding language, Liquid, which can be challenging for users with low technical expertise.
  • App Dependencies: The reliance on third-party apps for additional features can lead to slower website performance and increased costs.
  • Free Trial Duration: The free trial period is relatively short (3 days), which some users find insufficient for making a fully informed decision.

Key Features

  • Website Builder: Create professional online stores with over 70 customizable themes, mobile optimization and advanced HTML/CSS editing.
  • Checkout: You can offer customers a seamless shopping experience with features like one-page checkouts, multiple payment options and abandoned cart recovery.
Start Price
$16
Monthly
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Why We Picked Wix

Wix offers intuitive drag-and-drop editors and a rich library of designer templates. Users have identified the drag-and-drop editor and intuitive UI as Wix’s standout features. It aids website design without complicated coding and allows users to maintain analytics and manage content with a few clicks from the dashboard.

However, reviews mention that users can’t access the source code, and website designers can only use predefined customizations where personalization isn’t possible.

Also, critical features like payment processing, WordPress plugins, personal email domain and others come as paid add-ons or plugins. It can be a less economical option for businesses with large inventories, comprehensive websites and rapid scaling plans. However, the templates are well-crafted and ideal for new businesses to design unique landing pages and boost their digital presence at a comparatively low cost.

Pros & Cons

  • Website Builder: Offers an intuitive and feature-rich drag-and-drop website editor, according to 93% of reviews on the site building process.
  • Templates: Wix provides a wide range of state-of-the-art website templates, according to 100% of users who reviewed the template library.
  • Easy to Launch Website: About 90% of users reviewing ease of use said they had no trouble launching websites without prior technical knowledge.
  • Cost: It’s a cheaper option than its competitors, according to 72% of reviews on this aspect.
  • Scalability: Inability to access the source code can hinder operational scalability, according to 94% of reviews on backend connectivity.
  • Add-Ons and Plugins: Most essential features are expensive and only available as add-ons, according to 100% of reviews on this element.
  • Mobile Optimization: Optimizing websites for mobile devices is complicated and requires professional assistance, according to 92% of reviews on this feature.

Key Features

  • Website: Use Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) to automatically create a website or choose from more than 500 templates and 100 fonts to design a custom website with drag-and-drop abilities. Make them mobile-friendly, and add animations, images, text, videos and scroll effects like parallax, fade-in, zoom-in and more. 
    • Online Store: Showcase and sell products, track and manage inventory, and handle online stores. 
    • Blog: Create and edit blog posts, view and manage comments, and add multiple writers. 
    • Music: Showcase albums, playlists and tracks on a customizable music player. Allow customers to directly share and buy music from the website and keep track of the most shared, played, downloaded and purchased songs. 
    • Photography: Display images and autoplay videos in more than 30 kinds of galleries, set image quality and sharpness, and protect content using passwords and watermarks. 
    • Video: Manage, create and customize video channels, add videos from computers or social media, and rent, sell or offer monthly subscriptions. 
    • Events: Customize, create and share email invites, track RSVPs, manage and edit guest details, and sell event tickets. 
    • Restaurants: Create a personalized menu with customized pricing and images. Accept orders and manage reservations online, and set an auto-confirmation email. 
  • Domain: Connect or create a custom domain name and get a personalized email ID. 
  • Analytics: Track site performance, statistics, visitors, sales and more. 
  • Contact Management: Manage and collect contact and subscriber information in a single space. 
  • Login and Chat: Allow customers or members to access password-protected pages. Communicate with site visitors via live chat. 
  • Social Media: Connect accounts with Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and other social media platforms. Share blogs, pictures and videos at the same time. 
  • Security: Secure websites and boost SEO with SSL certification. 
  • Payments: Accept payments online via PayPal and credit cards, and offline without commission. 
  • Shipping and Tax: Determine and customize taxation and shipping rules based on location. Also, offer free shipping and dropshipping. 
Start Price
$16
Monthly
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Why We Picked SquareSpace

Squarespace helps businesses and individuals promote their brands digitally by launching professional websites and integrating every social account in a unified platform. According to reviews, the drag-and-drop website builder and intuitive user interface are the primary pros of the software.

But, users have noted that the drag-and-drop editor lacks intricate customizations like moving image blocks, using multiple fonts, changing website structures and more. If you’re looking to deploy the software, we advise having technical expertise in WordPress coding or CSS editing for in-depth personalization. In conclusion, Squarespace is ideal for creating fashionable landing pages for individuals and smaller businesses, especially those looking for a simple option. It’s less effective for larger organizations with big inventory and that need hyper-detailed websites.

Pros & Cons

  • Website Builder: It’s simple to create a professional website without any coding using the drag-and-drop editor, according to 70% of users mentioning this feature.
  • Ease of Use: The platform is intuitive and straightforward, according to 100% of users mentioning this aspect.
  • Domain: Squarespace helps transfer existing domains without any hassle, according to 90% of reviews mentioning domains.
  • Customer Support: Vendor’s support team offers quick and quality responses, as noted by 92% of reviews on customer support.
  • Rigidity: The drag-and-drop website editor lacks customization features, according to all users discussing personal customizations.
  • Cost: According to 92% of users reviewing the pricing structure, the solution is costlier than its competitors based on the features provided.
  • Performance Speed: 82% of users who mentioned this element said that the platform uses a lot of RAM while running and is prone to crashes.
  • Data Analytics: In-depth analytics is only available with the enterprise pricing plan, according to 67% of reviews discussing this aspect.

Key Features

  • Templates and Design Tools: Access customizable templates that support all major content types, like blogs, galleries, pages, calendars and more. Use the latest HTML, Javascript and CSS transcripts to edit templates. Use customized color palettes, video and background banners, images via Unsplash, Google and TypeKit fonts, a built-in photo editor and more. 
  • Layout and Pages: Use pre-designed structures to create websites and add blocks, menus, links, maps, forms, files, buttons, charts, custom codes and social media icons. Duplicate text pages, use CSS editor and create custom redirect pages. Design websites that automatically adapt to the device it is accessed on without changing the overall style of the website. 
  • Commenting System: Incorporate a commenting system that helps with community management, flagging spam messages, disabling comments, threading comments, counting individual likes and moderating content. 
  • Multiple Contributors and Access Levels: Restrict permission to access based on role and use a single login to handle multiple sites simultaneously. Provide access levels, including content editing, reporting, store managing, administrating, billing and more. 
  • Passwords and Page Lock: Lock websites with a password while editing it, use a password to create private sections and customize page displays for visitors when locked by a password. 
  • Built-In Mobile Websites: Design websites that automatically adapt to the device it is accessed on without changing the overall style of the website. 
  • App: Use an app available on Android and iOS to manage websites, add or edit pages, add images, write and edit blogs and review traffic analytics. Manage inventory, orders and customers as well as add products and issue returns while on the go. 
  • Extensions: Use third-party tools to manage sales transactions, handle inventory and accounting, file taxes, streamline bookkeeping, promote products, ship products and more. Connect with Google Analytics and Disqus. 
  • Blogging: Publish, draft, schedule and mark posts for review. Use markdown block to add text, change layouts as per the blog content and automate the process of reformatting content for email campaigns. Manage audio blocks, blog post options and podcast support for better visibility. Save excerpts and source URLs, use accelerated mobile pages to create lightweight web pages, add subscribe buttons, access built-in RSS feeds and link titles to external URLs. 
  • Portfolios: Drag and drop images, add videos and audio files to pages or blog posts, and set videos or images as backgrounds. Access a built-in image editor, create landing pages with links to sub-pages, use lightbox to highlight images, define focal points for images and auto-fill tags, tiles and descriptions when importing images. 
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Why We Picked Weebly

Weebly, a website builder owned by Square, empowers entrepreneurs to establish and expand their online presence. Users consistently commend its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, making website creation accessible even for those without coding expertise. The platform's affordability, with both free and paid plans, further enhances its appeal. Weebly's extensive template library and integrated marketing tools streamline the website building process, while its e-commerce features, including shopping cart functionality and payment processing, enable seamless online selling. However, some users note limitations in design flexibility and customization options compared to platforms like Wix or Squarespace.

Weebly's strength lies in its simplicity and affordability, making it ideal for small businesses and individuals seeking a straightforward solution to establish their online presence. Its e-commerce capabilities cater to those venturing into online selling, providing essential tools for product management and transactions. The platform's ease of use allows users to focus on their core business rather than grappling with technical complexities. "Weebly: Your website, without the wobbles" perfectly captures the essence of this platform, offering a stable and user-friendly experience for building and managing online stores.

Pros & Cons

  • Simple to Use: Weebly provides a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy for users to build and customize their online stores without needing coding knowledge. The platform offers a straightforward and intuitive experience, allowing users to quickly add products, manage inventory, and set up payment processing.
  • Affordable Pricing: Weebly offers a range of pricing plans to suit different business needs and budgets. The platform provides a free plan with basic features, as well as paid plans with more advanced functionality and scalability. This affordability makes Weebly an attractive option for small businesses and startups.
  • Mobile-Friendly Design: Weebly's themes are designed to be responsive and mobile-friendly, ensuring that online stores look great and function properly on all devices. This is crucial for providing a positive user experience and reaching customers who shop on their smartphones or tablets.
  • Integrated Marketing Tools: Weebly offers built-in marketing tools to help businesses promote their online stores. These tools include email marketing, SEO optimization, and social media integration, allowing users to reach a wider audience and drive traffic to their websites.
  • Limited Design Flexibility: Weebly's drag-and-drop interface, while user-friendly, can feel restrictive for users who desire more control over their website's appearance and functionality. The platform's templates and design options might not cater to all aesthetic preferences or accommodate complex layouts.
  • eCommerce Functionality: Weebly's eCommerce features, while suitable for smaller online stores, may not meet the needs of businesses with extensive product catalogs or complex shipping and inventory management requirements. Users seeking advanced eCommerce capabilities might find the platform's offerings somewhat limited.
  • SEO Limitations: Some users have expressed concerns about Weebly's SEO capabilities, noting that the platform's built-in tools might not provide the level of control and customization required for comprehensive search engine optimization strategies. This could potentially impact a website's visibility in search engine results.

Key Features

  • Professional Website: Build a professional website, online store or blog: 
    • Designing: Drag and drop widgets, use mobile-friendly templates, add photos and dynamic content, and easily edit text blocks to build websites. Leverage the built-in code editor for further customization. 
    • Domain Names: Search for suitable domain names, purchase a domain, manage CNAME, A records, WHOIS information and more from the dashboard. Alternatively, create a free subdomain in case of small-scale requirements. 
    • SEO: Leverage a site map, SEO-friendly HTML formatting, meta descriptions, alt tag placement and more to rank websites on top of Google search results. 
    • Hosting: Experience navigation speed and reliability with its free cloud-based website hosting infrastructure. Provide visitors with a seamless online experience. 
    • Forms: Create custom contact forms, RSVP lists and surveys. Integrate these into the website to create unique engagement and data gathering opportunities. 
    • Blogs: Customize the structure, layout, category, tab and sidebar of posts, and manage comments to build a personalized blog. Enable easy distribution through RSS and social sharing built into every blog. 
    • Dynamic Content: Upload and edit photos and create slideshows. Embed videos from Youtube, Vimeo and other video sharing platforms, or upload and host videos on the website. Adjust spacing, presentation and more to deliver high-quality content to visitors. 
  • E-Commerce: Build a complete e-commerce solution. 
    • Payment Processing: Leverage partnership with Square to accept all major credit cards and streamline the checkout process. Use its POS system to unify payment processing across digital and non-digital storefronts. Other payment gateway integrations include PayPal, Stripe and more. 
    • Inventory Management: Track inventory, manage supply, categorize products and create urgency by displaying the number of items remaining in stock. Easily import and export products to external marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon and collect data in a CSV format. 
    • Email Marketing: Customize messages, use templates, showcase new products and advertise upcoming sales with branded and personalized emails. 
    • Discounts: Provide free shipping or create custom coupon programs by setting discount percentage, expiration date and the number of coupons available. Additionally, design and generate custom gift cards to increase engagement and build brand awareness. 
    • Shopping Cart: Provide customers with a fully integrated shopping cart and a secure checkout experience. They can safely navigate and shop with a 128-bit encrypted connection and an SSL certificate. 
    • Cart Recovery: Recapture tentative shoppers that abandoned their carts or dropped out of the checkout process via timely automated reminders and personalized messages. 
    • Site Search: Maximize inventory exposure and create more buying opportunities by providing customers with filtered product searches to expedite the selection process. 
  • Mobile Application: Customize the website, receive real-time site analytics, edit offline and save and sync work across all devices with with apps for Android and iOS. 
  • Analytics: Track store performance, online traffic, technical SEO metrics and engagement. Fine-tune email campaigns, identify top products and streamline promotions from a unified dashboard to support growth ambitions. 
  • App Center: Choose from various apps to build a complete solution for website management. Available apps can improve search ranking and set up sales channels, CRM, auditing, packaging and shipping, and more. 
Start Price
$25
Monthly
Company Size
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Cloud On-Premise
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Why We Picked WooCommerce

WooCommerce facilitates eCommerce on any WordPress website. It’s a popular solution among users for its flexibility and ease of implementation. The plugin is easy to install and use without complicated coding. The basic plugin is free but only provides essential eCommerce features. Advanced modules like data analytics, email marketing, CRM and more are available as paid extensions.

Reviews noted that heavier websites with many extensions tend to work slow. So for users without WordPress and coding experience, it’s tough to maintain the website. In conclusion, WooCommerce is a robust solution that businesses of any type can mold based on their needs and scale with adequate technical expertise.

Pros & Cons

  • Flexibility and Customization: It’s a flexible platform that offers various customizations through plugins and add-ons, according to 94% of users mentioning this element.
  • Ideal for WordPress: Users can add essential eCommerce features to any website on WordPress, as noted by 97% of reviews on this aspect.
  • Implementation: According to 96% of reviews on implementation, it’s easy to implement the software without in-depth technical expertise.
  • Training: A vast amount of tutorials are available from vendors and external user bases, according to 100% of reviews on training.
  • Costs: It’s a cheaper option than its competitors, as noted by 85% of users mentioning pricing.
  • Advanced Features: Most of the advanced eCommerce features are only available as paid plugins, according to all the reviews on this aspect.
  • Website Performance: More plugins can affect the website’s speed and performance, as mentioned by 90% of reviews on website functioning.

Key Features

  • Online Store: Setup an online store and personalize its design and layout through “Storefront.” Or integrate into a WordPress website for a nestable grid system, enhanced SEO performance and innovative design templates. 
  • Content Creation: Display products and content in a modular way, adding different categories like bestsellers, top-rated, on-sale and more, and post them anywhere on the site. Leverage the Wooslider integration to create interactive slideshows and transitions to boost engagement. 
  • Payment Processing: Streamline the checkout process, monitor charges, accept multiple currencies, handle disputes and track deposits from a unified dashboard. Customers can save their credit card details and set up recurring payments for subscriptions or memberships. 
  • Order Management System: Update products, fulfill orders and track shipment from the dashboard. Track orders throughout the fulfillment process using status bars. 
  • Shipping: Execute fulfillment from the dashboard with a built-in shipping module. Print labels and drop off packages without waiting in a queue at the post office. Leverage DHL and USPS integrations to display prices and charge customers directly during checkout. 
  • Product Information Management: Sell physical products, catalog appointments or offer members-only digital content. Let customers choose from product variations, subscription options, single items or bundle variations. 
  • Integrations: Enhance the online store with plugins and extensions from the WooCommerce Marketplace to add design, marketing, point of sale, accounting, tax management capabilities and more. 
  • Marketing: Increase brand visibility and boost engagement: 
    • Listings: Manage product listings on all major marketplaces, including Facebook Ads, Google Listings, Amazon and more. 
    • Email Marketing: Generate customized emails to recover abandoned carts and automate campaigns. 
    • Discounts: Drive repeat sales and increase customer loyalty with customizable coupons, redeemable points and rewards, and gifts upon direct purchase. 
  • Global Audience: Cater to customers from across the globe with multilingual content and easy currency exchange. Supports 24 major languages and all major currencies. 
  • REST API: Gain complete control of the online store with a flexible and scalable API solution conforming to the constraints of the REST architecture. 
  • Mobile App: Use the app for Android and IOS to create, edit and publish products, receive real-time notifications and alerts, manage orders from purchase to fulfillment, track statistics and switch between sites in case of multiple stores. 
  • Jetpack: Secure the site with automated malware screening, authenticated customer logins and brute force attack prevention. Maintain a backup of sales data and monitor insights on orders, trends and traffic. 
Start Price
$29.95
Monthly
Company Size
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Deployment
Cloud On-Premise
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Why We Picked BigCommerce

During testing, I noticed right off the bat that BigCommerce is a feature-rich platform that needs a lot of customization to fit my exact needs. Plus, there aren’t guided onboarding experiences, making implementation time-consuming. You must manually explore the interface to learn how to create or connect a domain, add products, set up fulfillment workflows, connect sales channels and design a storefront.

Secondly, what caught my eye was the platform's speed and operability. BigCommerce boasts a 99% website uptime, and I could see why. It automatically optimizes images, minimizes HTTP requests and uses browser cache to identify customers. Also, a global content delivery network allows visitors worldwide to view your site from the nearest server.

I loved how intuitive it is to connect and manage sales channels using BigCommerce. You can set up differentiated experiences for each channel using dynamic pricing, multiple product views, product swatches and bulk pricing tools. A robust customer segmentation module automatically groups similar customer personas based on your rules and helps design personalized experiences.

The storefront editor uniquely lets you design a carousel for the website header. However, I didn’t like anything else about the storefront editor. It has limited free themes, and paid ones are comparatively more expensive than what competitors offer. That said, the platform's headless architecture helps compensate by enabling custom storefront development.

My only point of contention was its unique pricing model. It charges a base subscription fee and puts a cap on your business's annual sales. If you exceed this cap, BigCommerce takes a percentage of your revenue based on your subscription plan.

Also, if you connect the platform to a POS, every POS sale is considered an eCommerce sale, leading to a higher sales volume and cost. This leads to complex TCO calculations for enterprises with large sales volumes and international customers.

Overall, BigCommerce is one of the best options for growing mid-sized businesses that can offset the platform cost with their sales revenue. It's flexible and can adapt to multiple business models, including B2B, D2C and dropshipping, with separate storefronts for each.

However, the platform can be overkill for small businesses and may require significant investments to unlock its full potential. That's because all the good features like multi-storefront, personalization, customer segmentation and headless architecture are available in higher-tier plans. Also, lower-tier plans are comparatively more expensive than those of competitors like Shopify.

Pros & Cons

  • Customer Service and Support: Many reviews highlight excellent customer service, with helpful and responsive support teams that are available via phone and chat.
  • Functionality and Customization: BigCommerce offers a robust set of features, including SEO tools, custom URLs and 301 redirects. It also has strong B2B capabilities, multi-store functionality and a variety of apps for integration.
  • Stability and Reliability: Users praise the platform for its reliability and lack of downtime.
  • Scalability: The platform is scalable, making it suitable for businesses of different sizes, including those looking to grow.
  • Cost and Hidden Fees: BigCommerce has tiered pricing based on sales volume. Many users feel this pricing model can be restrictive and costly, especially for businesses with significant brick-and-mortar sales.
  • Limited App Selection: Reviews mention a relatively limited selection of apps compared to competitors like Shopify. Users may need to rely on external developers for custom integrations.
  • Limited Free Website Themes: Some reviews have complained about the lack of free storefront themes and templates. Users have to pay for good templates on top of the subscription fee.

Key Features

  • Page Builder: You can create and edit web pages without coding. Or you can jump into built-in HTML, CSS and JavaScript for advanced customization. Plus, you can ensure your pages look great on mobile devices and use Stencil CLI for in-depth development.
  • PunchOut: BigCommerce makes it easy to create a unique checkout experience for customers. You can either use their server-to-server checkout API or the PunchOut2GO solution.
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Key Features

  • Page Builder: Enhance customers’ shopping experience with an intuitive professional web page. Save time with in-line editing, reusable dynamic blocks and templates for design and content. Engage shoppers with rich and up-to-date content. Customize pages to match the business brand with flexible layouts and a drag-and-drop content management interface. 
  • Live Search: Leverage Adobe Sensei AI and real-time data to provide shoppers with highly personalized search results. Modify search queries based on KPIs, reduce manual inputs with AI-supported workflows, and offer accurate results to shoppers with suggestions on each keystroke and flexible synonyms. Open API and GraphQL coverage allow for headless content delivery. 
  • Order Management: Create seamless cross-channel experiences amongst multiple brands, sites, stores and warehouses. Track inventory across various channels, manage refunds, cancellations and back-orders, and provide customers with flexible options such as Buy-Online-and-Pick Up-in-Store (BOPIS). 
  • Progressive Web Application (PWA) Studio: Increase engagement, boost conversion rates and diversify revenue streams with a web application runnable on mobile and desktop. Design and launch the PWA seamlessly, leverage the Adobe Experience Manager or custom-build the front-end experience, and save money on hosting costs. 
  • Product Recommendation: Automatically analyze customers’ shopping behavior with AI-fueled algorithms and offer personalized recommendations. Eliminate page tagging and manual analysis. Exclusive to merchants signed up with Adobe Commerce. 
  • Amazon Sales Channel: Sync inventory, product catalogs and pricing to the Amazon marketplace, and seamlessly sell and distribute products from the dashboard. Self-deliver products or use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) to get orders into customers’ hands. Automate intelligent repricing of Amazon listings to win the buy-box position and offer tiered pricing to other businesses. 
  • Shipping:  Integrate storefronts with ShopRunner, an e-commerce platform and a FedEx subsidiary, to better manage shipping and logistics. Offer customers two-day shipping, easy product return processes backed by FedEx, and storage for multiple forms of billing and shipping information. 
  • Financing: Leverage partnership with Wayflyer, a funding platform, to generate revenue-based financing as needed. Receive offers based on performance and obtain the money within one to two business days. Receive analytics-driven investment recommendations to improve sales and scale business. 
  • Magento Marketplace: Discover thousands of free and premium extensions to streamline business processes. Install extensions to help with customer support, payment and security, marketing, accounting, reporting, site optimization and more. 
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Why We Picked Big Cartel

Big Cartel has been making waves in the eCommerce world, but like any platform, it has its fans and its critics. Users who dig Big Cartel often point to its user-friendliness and affordability as major pluses. It's a great starting point for small businesses and artists who want to get their online stores up and running without breaking the bank or getting bogged down in technical complexities. However, some users find Big Cartel's features a bit too basic, especially compared to more robust platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce. If you're looking for advanced marketing tools, extensive customization options, or top-tier customer support, Big Cartel might leave you wanting more. Ultimately, Big Cartel is a solid choice for those who prioritize simplicity and affordability, but if you need a platform that can scale with your business, you might want to explore other options.

"Big Cartel: the perfect platform for your big dreams." Whether you're an artist selling handmade crafts or a musician hawking merch, Big Cartel provides a straightforward way to turn your passion into profit. Just remember, as your business grows, you might need to upgrade to a platform with more bells and whistles.

Pros & Cons

  • Simple Store Setup: Big Cartel is known for its straightforward and user-friendly interface, making it easy for users to set up their online stores quickly, even with limited technical expertise.
  • Free Plan Availability: The platform offers a free plan that allows users to sell up to five products, making it an attractive option for individuals or small businesses starting with a limited budget or inventory.
  • Affordable Paid Plans: Big Cartel's paid plans are generally considered affordable compared to other eCommerce platforms, providing scalability for growing businesses without breaking the bank.
  • Focus on Artists and Makers: Big Cartel caters specifically to artists, crafters, and independent creators, offering features and tools tailored to their needs, such as customizable themes and the ability to sell digital products.
  • Limited Design Flexibility: The platform's design options can feel restrictive for users seeking extensive customization, especially when compared to other platforms that offer a wider range of themes and more advanced design tools.
  • Feature Limitations: Big Cartel may not be the best fit for businesses with complex needs, as it lacks certain features commonly found in other eCommerce platforms, such as abandoned cart recovery, detailed analytics, and extensive marketing tools.
  • Scalability Challenges: While suitable for smaller stores or those just starting out, Big Cartel may not be the best choice for rapidly growing businesses due to limitations in product variations, inventory management, and order processing capabilities.

Key Features

  • Professional Website: Build and design a niche standalone website to create product USPs. Personalize web pages and add business branding through design templates or editing source code with the HTML and CSS editor. Websites are compatible with both mobile and PC. Host sites on the vendor’s domain or use a custom domain, available with paid plans. 
  • Inventory Management: Keep track of sold units, add new products, supply products with descriptions and photos, and receive notifications when a product is about to go out of stock. Available with paid plans. 
  • Order Management: Send confirmation emails after purchases. Arrange shipping, print shipping labels, track orders and bulk export order history to a CSV file from a unified dashboard. 
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Provide targeted product descriptions, collect inbound links and receive expert advice on optimizing search engine results. 
  • Discounts: Provide discounts on the checkout page to boost customer retention and improve loyalty. 
  • Analytics: Track monthly sales, visitor statistics, conversion rates and more from the analytics dashboard. Leverage integrations with third-party applications for in-depth analysis, available with paid plans.  
  • Mobile App: Access free mobile apps to streamline workflows and increase efficiency. Available apps assist in custom printing, social media marketing, site analytics, customer support, shipping management and more.  
  • Payment Processing: Choose between PayPal and Stripe to provide customers with a one-touch checkout and payment point on the website. Additionally, utilize the mobile application and a card swiper to accept in-person payments, without incurring additional processing fees. 
  • Integrations: Leverage partnership with Zapier to facilitate connections with over 1,000 third-party solutions like Google Analytics, Facebook Store, Instagram, Pulley, Mailchimp and more, available at a cost. 

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All PIM Software (32 found)

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BigCommerce

by BigCommerce Pty. Ltd.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a powerful SaaS platform for designing and managing multiple eCommerce websites. It centralizes product information and helps you distribute catalogs across marketplaces, social media and business websites. You can manage inventory, orders and shipping from any device and set up unique automation to increase productivity and avoid errors.What sets it apart is its open and headless architecture, which allows for customization and integration. It offers a storefront editor with customizable themes but doesn’t restrict you from using other editors.During testing, I could use the platform’s backend for product management, order fulfillment and customer data handling while having complete freedom to design and develop custom storefronts.Another area in which BigCommerce excels is international commerce. Its support for multiple currencies and integration of global payment methods and shipping options make expanding into new markets a breeze.The platform's handling of international taxes and duties is also impressive, saving considerable time and effort. Additionally, it charges zero transaction fees, helping control costs for businesses with large sales volumes.Lastly, BigCommerce helps you remain nimble due to its flexibility. It offers open access to its APIs, SDKs and data without any proprietary blockers or frictions. This allows you to connect the platform to any software and build the perfect tech stack for your evolving needs.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: great
Cost Breakdown
$10 - $100
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Turbify

by Computer Solutions, Inc.
Turbify
Turbify (formerly Verizon Small Business Essentials) is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline eCommerce operations, offering robust tools for inventory management, order processing, and customer relationship management. It is particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to enhance their online retail capabilities without the complexity of larger enterprise systems. The software's intuitive interface and customizable features make it accessible for users with varying levels of technical expertise. Key benefits of Turbify include its ability to integrate seamlessly with various payment gateways and shipping carriers, ensuring a smooth transaction process from start to finish. Popular features include real-time inventory tracking, automated email marketing, and detailed sales analytics, which provide valuable insights into business performance. Users often praise its reliability and the efficiency it brings to their daily operations. In terms of pricing, Turbify offers flexible plans that cater to different business needs, typically ranging from $50 to $200 per month, depending on the level of functionality required. This competitive pricing, combined with its user-friendly design and powerful features, makes Turbify a compelling choice for businesses looking to optimize their eCommerce platforms.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: fair
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$10 or less
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Buyer's Guide

Product Information Management (PIM) Software Is All About Efficiently Handling and Distributing Product Data Across Sales Channels

PIM Software BG Intro

Most entrepreneurs are familiar with the wild dance of product information management, especially when done manually. Spreadsheets may seem to multiply faster than rabbits in a magic hat when manually syncing data across departments and juggling multiple product variations and sales channels.

PIM software can turn this chaos into a harmonious symphony by serving as a single source of information for all departments and standardizing the product experience across channels.

In this guide, we’ll explore the intricacies of PIM software and discuss strategies that’ll help you choose the perfect fit for your business from the many options available in the market.

Executive Summary

  • PIM software houses the entire product data and helps distribute information efficiently across various sales channels.
  • Businesses can provide a consistent customer experience and save time and money by automating administrative tasks and staying on top of market trends with quick updates.
  • Features include digital asset management, product relationship management, workflow management, analytics and more.
  • The eCommerce industry is booming due to COVID-19, increasing the adoption of PIM solutions.
What This Guide Covers

What Is PIM Software?

PIM software is a set of tools that help you collect, manage and enrich your business’s product data before publishing across sales channels. With various customer touchpoints and purchasing options available in the modern eCommerce ecosystem, storing, managing and publishing product information for each channel can be a tough task. This is where PIM software can help.

It’s the hub and control center for managing and distributing your product and catalog data to online sales channels. It helps research and development teams collaborate with marketing and sales departments to present a consistent and accurate product experience for customers across all channels.

How Does It Work?

You may be wondering, “How does it manage to do all that?” To better understand, let’s look at the scope and function of a PIM system in managing data:

PIM Software Process

Collect
  • Collect product data from PLM, ERP and other information management platforms.
  • Import data in popular formats such as Excel, PDF and other XML-based file formats.
  • Directly onboard data from suppliers.
  • Connect to CMS and DAM for images, videos and multimedia.
Manage
  • Classify products into categories and families.
  • Track and control data quality.
  • Onboard staff and manage role-based accounts, permissions and workflows.
  • Design channel-specific catalogs, pricing and taxonomy.
Enrich
  • Enrich a product’s technical and usage data with emotional data like reviews, success stories and product applications.
  • Add multimedia elements to design complete experiences for customers.
  • Define rules to automatically add standardized attributes to new product lines.
Distribute
  • Maintain records of published catalog and product data for each sales channel.
  • Automatically add channel-specific attributes to offer relevant experiences.
  • Connect to print and physical channels with POS and API connections.
  • Centralize and translate product catalogs for different countries and customer segments.

Primary Benefits

The global PIM software market is predicted to grow from $12.2 billion in 2022 to $23.8 billion in 2023 at a 14.3% CAGR. This substantiates the increasing adoption of PIM solutions by businesses across the globe. But the question is, “Why’re they doing it?” The answer lies in various benefits PIM solutions offer like:

PIM Software Benefits

Improve Data Management

Manually storing and managing product data in Excel sheets becomes highly complicated for large companies. PIM software offers automatic data entry to reduce administrative legwork and minimize errors. It centralizes product data, attributes and relationships for quick sharing across channels and maintains a clean record to avoid year-end rushes for categorizing sold items during audits.

Elevate Customer Experience

Consistent and accurate information across sales channels goes a long way in earning customer credibility and reducing churn rates or cart abandonment issues. Accurate product descriptions also ensure customers understand what they’re paying for, helping reduce order return rates.

Boost Efficiency

You can design templates for your suppliers to submit product information and have the system automatically clean and prepare it according to market specifications. This frees up your staff to focus on problem-solving and more pressing issues.

Minimize Costs

Delivering rich and accurate catalogs and product information across channels empowers customers to search, select and check out on their own. You can avoid the cost of hiring sales agents or external marketing suites to assist customer journeys.

Enhance Transparency

Intense enhancement and fragmentation of a dataset can lead to a lack of ownership and transparency as it becomes complicated to determine who does what and who’s responsible. PIM software offers workflow management tools to create ownership and facilitate interdepartmental collaboration.

It also provides search tools to access relevant and comprehensive information based on user roles to promote transparency in the work structure.

Enable Real-Time Updates

While selling globally, many factors can affect the smooth functioning of an online business — geography, natural calamities, market conditions, political atmosphere and currency rate, to name a few. PIM solutions enable you to stay on top of these changing conditions with flexible and quick updates to absorb the shock.

For example, you can quickly change your price structure if freight charges increase due to bad weather or natural calamities. Bulk-update the rates on every channel or select specific products and channels to reflect the new pricing.

Key Features & Functionality

PIM software offers various features, but they’re not uniform across all systems. Here are the key ones you should look for in your chosen solution:

PIM Software Features

Digital Asset Management

You can store images, videos, graphics and texts for unlimited products and link them to various bundles and groups. Create a centralized repository of all data and media and allow team members to access, edit and manage them based on user roles.

A few PIM solutions offer a media editing suite, enabling users to enhance, crop and edit videos and pictures.

Data Modeling

Create a structured blueprint that defines how product information will get organized, related and presented across channels. You can use pre-built templates or drag-and-drop tools to design a clear data map and ensure seamless navigation.

Product Attributes and Relationships

Add labels to products defining their characteristics like size, color, material and more. You can also add unlimited attributes and segment products according to your requirements for easy product discovery and catalog management.

Set up complex relationships between different product groups and bundles in the catalog, like accessories, spare parts, replacement parts, add-ons, cross-sell and upsell options, and more.

Data Quality Control

The system ensures that you maintain data integrity by detecting and rectifying inconsistencies, errors and inaccuracies. You can also design custom dashboards highlighting critical information, workflow states and product data to catch discrepancies and ensure compliance with a common standard.

Custom User Roles

This feature lets you onboard the entire team, define user-based access roles and monitor their activities. Suppliers can also access the system and upload or enrich product data directly.

It lets merchants manage suppliers’ product feeds, approve updates from a dashboard and distribute them to channels.

Advanced Filtering

Quickly search product catalogs according to multiple attributes and conditions and save frequently used filters.

Workflows and Dashboard

Businesses can leverage workflow management tools to design the entire process, from receiving supplier data to final product publishing on major channels, ensuring all data is correct and complete.

The dashboard gives you a birds-eye view of the product catalog. Edit widgets and add specific metrics on the dashboard based on business requirements.

Import and Export

It allows you to easily import data from new sources into the system and save profiles. Quickly export data in CSV or XLSX format. Some PIM solutions offer exporting capabilities in PDF format as well as PDF editors.

Product Analytics

An ideal PIM solution must offer adequate built-in analytical capabilities to help you drill down on new opportunities and correct marketing mistakes. Use product data to mine actionable insights for improving and scaling your business.

Software Comparison Strategy

There are various solutions in the market catering to different business types and sizes. Picking the top recommendation without considering your business’s unique requirements can be detrimental to your overall growth and success. The first and foremost step in choosing software is to compile a requirements checklist that outlines every feature your business needs from the new platform.

Start by gathering decision-makers to discuss and prioritize the pain points you want the new software to tackle. Other than features, here are some additional factors you should consider while devising the requirements list:

  • Business Goals: Clearly outline what you aim to achieve with PIM software, whether it’s enhancing data accuracy, improving time-to-market or expanding to new sales channels.
  • Deployment: If you’re running a small or growing business without powerful IT infrastructures, choosing a system hosted on cloud servers and accessible through browsers (SaaS) would be better. If you seek complete control and governance over your system, you may want to opt for on-premise software and host it on local servers.
  • Scalability and Integrations: Check if the software integrates with your existing tools and systems to avoid disruptions in your workflow. You must also ensure that the solution can accommodate your business’s future expansion and increased data volume.
  • User-Interface: Opt for a platform with a user-friendly interface that minimizes the learning curve for your team.
  • Training and Support: Confirm that the software provider offers adequate training materials, tutorials and customer support to assist your team’s adoption or migration.
  • Customization and Flexibility: Choose software that can adapt to your industry’s unique requirements. Ensure that it can handle your entire catalog, including variations, bundles and specifications.
  • Vendor Reputation: Research the software vendor through reviews, testimonials and case studies to gauge their reliability. Test the vendor’s support responsiveness and willingness to assist in case of issues or inquiries before making the final purchase.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

The pricing of a PIM solution majorly depends on the size of your organization and mode of deployment. For a cloud-based setup, the larger the team you handle, the costlier the solution will get. In contrast, on-premise deployment pricing will depend on the amount of storage required to house all your product information.

Cloud-based or SaaS solutions typically charge a monthly or yearly subscription fee, while on-premise platforms require a one-time investment to purchase the software license and deploy it on proprietary servers. Beyond that, here are a few additional factors that can impact your cost depending on the vendor’s pricing policy:

  • Onboarding and implementation training
  • Priority support
  • Third-party integrations
  • Advanced features
  • Catalog expansion
  • Onboarding staff members

The Most Popular PIM Software

Here are some of the most popular PIM solutions you can consider for your journey:

Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce is a headless eCommerce platform that digitizes customer journeys throughout a sales funnel across every online channel, device and web browser. It has a decoupled architecture with each module as a separate microservice, allowing you to add or remove features using API whenever required.

Adobe Commerce

Design product pages with consistent and accurate information compatible across every web browsing device. Source

According to our analysts, it has received a 96 overall score. Its product and catalog management module is one of the best out there, scoring full marks. Some of its other features include:

Shopify

Shopify is one of the most reliable and popular eCommerce platforms that offer plans for every type and size of business. Its starter plan offers a fully hosted solution that helps you design pages and manage unlimited products. You can upgrade to Shopify Plus for a headless architecture, hybrid deployment options and advanced customizations.

Shopify

Design custom dashboards to get an overview of every important business process at a glance. Source

Based on our analysts’ evaluation, it’s one of the best solutions, scoring 100 in overall performance as well as product and catalog management. Shopify also offers:

  • Abandoned Cart Recovery
  • Tax Calculator
  • Multilingual Storefronts
  • Dropshipping
  • SEO

Ecwid

Ecwid is the first free software on this list that lets you design a single-page storefront and sell up to five products, services or digital assets. It has absolutely no cost other than the external payment gateways’ processing fee for each transaction. For a bigger catalog and more advanced features, you can shift to a paid pricing plan that offers competitive rates.

Ecwid

Design mobile-optimized storefronts using intuitive tools and a robust PIM module. Source

According to our analysts, Ecwid’s overall score is 92, but the catalog and product management module gets a 99 score. Some of its additional features are:

  • Shopping Cart Widget
  • Mobile App
  • POS Software
  • Email Marketing
  • Product Filtering

Questions To Ask

In this section, we’ve listed a few questions you should consider before making the final purchase. These questions can act as potential points of reference for your future interactions with vendors.

PIM Software Key Questions

  • How many team members will you onboard?
  • How much space do you need to store all your product data?
  • What are your growth plans?
  • Do you cater to audiences worldwide or target localized groups?
  • What is your overall budget?

Use these questions to start conversations with vendors:

  • What integrations does the software support?
  • Is implementation and onboarding support available?
  • Which services incur additional costs?
  • How much space do you provide for personal usage?
  • What is the level of data security provided?

FAQs

What kind of data does PIM software manage?

PIM solutions are a one-stop shop for tracking every cross-functional product data of your business. Here are some of the most important types of data it manages:

  • Basic Data: Product names, codes, SKUs, article numbers and other miscellaneous information.
  • Assets: Digital assets assigned to products, such as images, videos and gifs.
  • Technical Information: Product sizes, weights, measurements, colors, ingredients, warranties and other specifications.
  • Marketing and Sales: Google categories, mobile-specific descriptions, pricing information and inventory distribution strategies.
  • Localized Content: Region and customer segment-specific information such as multilingual storefronts, currency information, targeted content and special catalogs.
  • Taxonomy: Product variations, categories, catalogs and relations with other products.
  • Product Designs: CAD drawings, development documentation, style guides and designer notes.
  • Emotional Data: Customer reviews, feedback, use cases, success stories and case studies.

What are the types of information management systems for eCommerce businesses?

There are a variety of information management solutions in the market that serve similar functions coupled with a few nuanced features:

  • Product Experience Management (PXM): It lets you store and sync product data, taxonomies, bundles and more across platforms to deliver compelling product experiences.
  • Product Data Management (PDM): This variation helps manage and share internal data like computer-aided drawings and manufacturing maps with engineers and product designers.
  • Product Content Management (PCM): Designed to enrich taxonomies and product categories, PCM comes as an add-on with eCommerce platforms. But unlike PIM solutions, you have to manually aggregate information from multiple sources.
  • Master Data Management (MDM): It helps enterprise-level businesses consolidate organizational data related to products, employees, machinery and work processes in a unified inbox.

Who uses PIMs?

PIM software can store a wide variety of information, making it beneficial for any department working in an organization’s value chain.

  • Suppliers can add product information and update prices and inventory levels in the central repository.
  • Procurement departments can collect data from different marketplaces for establishing product quality criteria. They can also store supplier contracts along with product information.
  • It stores CAD drawings, technical specifications and other documents related to the product development phase for R&D and design departments.
  • The marketing and sales department can store product facts, emphasize unique selling points, add multimedia elements and more to enhance the overall customer experience.
  • Support teams can keep each product complaint to help design departments address issues faster and list out frequently asked questions.
  • Customers may add reviews and multimedia elements displaying the product’s real-life usage.

Next Steps

In a world where product data accuracy and consistency are paramount, PIM software emerges as the ultimate problem solver, streamlining your data management woes and unlocking the true potential of your business. However, amidst the sea of options, careful selection is key to finding the perfect fit for your unique needs.

As you start this journey, remember that the right PIM software can revolutionize your operations, but a hasty choice could lead to frustration and missed opportunities. To make it simpler, you can explore our free comparison report that helps you make an informed choice. It lets you compare the industry’s top solutions side by side based on features, pricing and other criteria.

So what’re you waiting for? Say goodbye to data chaos and hello to a streamlined path to success by harnessing the power of the appropriate PIM solution. Happy selecting!

Product Comparisons

Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Technical Content Writer
As a Senior Technical Content Writer at SelectHub, Riddhiman Roy delivers content about eCommerce, legal, employee scheduling, procurement, hotel management and property management software. He holds a Master's in multimedia journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. When he is not fighting huge-article-ogres and evil Grammarly suggestions, you can find him in his natural habitat grooving to music and banging his drumkit.
Technical Research By Vidhi Kanodia
Senior Analyst
Vidhi Kanodia joined SelectHub after graduating from Osmania University in Hyderabad. Building on the hands-on experience she gained there, she expertly reviews peer research work in categories like procurement, PLM, eCommerce, insurance, hotel management, risk management and legal software.
Technical Review By Shashank K K
Principal Analyst
After graduating with a Masters in Finance from Trinity College Dublin, K K Shashank's research and detail-oriented skills led them to SelectHub. He has diverse knowledge across various software categories like Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Ecommerce, Risk Management, PLM, Insurance and more since 2020.
Edited By Pooja Verma
Content Editor
Pooja Verma is a Content Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub, who writes and edits content for endpoint security, legal, CRM, fundraising software, eCommerce, and mental health software. She earned a literature degree from Miranda House, DU and also holds Master’s in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in India. In her free time, you can spot her reading a book or binge-watching the latest web series and movies.