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Product Discovery

E-commerce strategy1/5/2026Intermediate Level

Product discovery is the process by which customers find products across various touchpoints, including search, navigation, recommendations, and external channels.

What is Product Discovery? (Definition)

Product discovery is the process customers go through to find and choose products. It covers every moment a shopper interacts with a brand, from first seeing an item to deciding to buy it. This happens through tools like site search, category menus, filters, and personalized suggestions. It also includes external platforms like social media, search engines, and marketplaces. To work well, discovery needs high-quality product data. Systems like WISEPIM help by keeping this information accurate and easy to find across all channels.

Why Product Discovery is Important for E-commerce

Product discovery is the process of helping shoppers find the items they want to buy. It is a vital part of e-commerce because it turns visitors into customers. If a shopper cannot find a product quickly, they will likely leave the site. High-quality data makes discovery easier. Accurate details and clear images improve search results and help filters work correctly. Tools like WISEPIM ensure your product information is complete so shoppers always see the most relevant items.

Examples of Product Discovery

  • 1A shopper uses filters for size and color on a clothing website to quickly find items that fit their needs.
  • 2An online store shows a customer items they might like based on their previous clicks and orders.
  • 3A person finds a new brand through a social media ad that takes them directly to a specific product page.
  • 4A customer searches for 'noise-cancelling headphones' and sees the best options because the store uses detailed product descriptions.

How WISEPIM Helps

  • Better Search and Navigation: WISEPIM organizes all product details in one place. This ensures your website search works correctly. Customers can use filters to find exactly what they need quickly.
  • Smarter Product Recommendations: WISEPIM provides accurate data to your recommendation engine. This helps your shop suggest the right items to customers. Better data leads to more relevant suggestions.
  • Easy Discovery Everywhere: WISEPIM prepares your product info for every platform. Customers see the same high-quality details on your website, social media, and marketplaces. This makes your brand easy to find everywhere.

Common Mistakes with Product Discovery

  • Inconsistent or incomplete product data causes inaccurate search results and makes filters work poorly.
  • A search bar that cannot understand synonyms or rank items correctly makes it hard for shoppers to find what they need.
  • Selling only on your own website limits your reach and hides your products from customers on other marketplaces.
  • Showing generic product suggestions to every visitor instead of using their behavior to show relevant items.
  • Ignoring the mobile experience makes it difficult for customers to browse and find products on their phones.

Tips for Product Discovery

  • Use a PIM system to store all product data in one place. This keeps your information accurate across every sales channel.
  • Improve your website search with tools like auto-complete and filters. These features help customers find what they need quickly.
  • Use AI to suggest products based on what customers viewed. Personal recommendations help shoppers find items they want to buy.
  • Send your product data to marketplaces and social media sites. Managing these feeds helps more people find your products online.
  • Study how customers move through your site and test different layouts. Use these results to make finding products much easier.

Trends Surrounding Product Discovery

  • AI-powered personalization: Advanced AI algorithms drive hyper-personalized product recommendations, search results, and dynamic content adaptation.
  • Voice and visual search optimization: Increasing adoption of voice assistants and image recognition technology for intuitive product discovery.
  • Headless commerce integration: Decoupling front-end and back-end systems to enable flexible, consistent, and fast discovery experiences across various touchpoints.
  • Interactive and immersive content: Utilizing augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and 3D models to provide richer product exploration.
  • Sustainability filters and badging: Enabling customers to discover products based on their environmental impact, ethical sourcing, and circular economy principles.

Tools for Product Discovery

  • WISEPIM: Centralizes and enriches product information, ensuring high-quality, consistent data for all discovery channels and experiences.
  • Akeneo: A PIM solution focused on managing product data and optimizing product experiences across various sales and marketing channels.
  • Salsify: A Product Experience Management (PXM) platform that helps businesses create, manage, and distribute rich product content for discovery.
  • Shopify: An e-commerce platform offering robust tools for product catalog management, search, and integrated apps for enhanced discovery.
  • Magento (Adobe Commerce): A powerful e-commerce platform with extensive capabilities for customizing product discovery, search, filtering, and merchandising.

Related Terms

e commerce search experienceproduct taxonomyproduct detail page pdpproduct merchandisinge commerce platform integration

Also Known As

product findabilityproduct searchabilityproduct exploration