E-commerce Dictionary

The principle that data is subject to the laws of the country or region where it is collected, stored or processed.

A data steward is the person responsible for the quality of a set of data: defining the rules, checking the data and fixing errors at the source.

Data stewardship is the day-to-day care of data: named people, called data stewards, keep it accurate, complete and consistent and fix problems when they appear.

A data stewardship council is a cross-department group that sets and enforces the rules for a company's data, including who owns which product data.

Data syndication distributes approved product information to other systems. For example, one catalog description can supply a webshop and a marketplace, with each export following the destination’s field and length rules.

Data transformation converts data from one format or structure into another, such as supplier files into the attributes and values a PIM or marketplace needs.

A way to integrate systems by querying data where it lives through a virtual layer, instead of copying it into another database.

Data distribution in e-commerce is sending product data from one central source to every webshop, marketplace and feed you sell through.

Data feed management is creating, optimizing and maintaining the product feeds you send to shopping channels, marketplaces and comparison sites.

Data import is the process of bringing data from an outside source, such as a CSV file, spreadsheet, feed or another system, into the software you work in.

Data integrity means data stays accurate, complete and consistent throughout its life, without unintended changes as it moves between systems.

Data manipulation is changing data to make it more useful, such as cleaning, converting, combining and restructuring product data in bulk.

Data normalization is bringing values that mean the same thing into one consistent format, such as writing every size, unit, color and brand name the same way.

Data validation is the automatic check that product data is accurate, complete and correctly formatted before it is saved, imported or sent to a sales channel.

Demand forecasting in ecommerce is estimating how many units of each product customers will buy in a coming period, so you can plan stock, purchasing and promotions.

Digital asset management (DAM) is software for storing, tagging and distributing product images, videos and documents from one central library.

Digital asset rendition automation is software that creates the sizes and formats each channel needs from one master image or video, without manual editing.

Digital asset renditions are alternate versions of one master file, such as a product photo resized, cropped or converted for a specific channel or device.

A digital catalog is an online, searchable version of a product catalog with images, specs, prices and links to buy, shared as a web page, viewer or app.

A Digital Commerce Platform (DCP) is the comprehensive technology stack that enables businesses to sell products and services online, encompassing various e-commerce functionalities.

Digital product asset management (DPAM) stores and links product photos, videos, 3D models and manuals to the right product, variant and channel.

Digital Product Experience (DPX) refers to the entire digital customer journey and the role of rich product information in shaping it across all touchpoints.

A digital product twin is a complete digital version of a physical product, with its data, specs, media and, in industry, live data from the item in use.

Technology and rules that control who may access, copy or use digital content such as images, videos, software and e-books.

The digital shelf is every online place where shoppers find, compare and buy your products, such as webshops, marketplaces, search results and social shops.

Digital shelf analytics measures how your products appear and perform on retailer sites and marketplaces: content, search rank, price, stock, ratings and share of shelf.

The digital shelf is every online place where shoppers find your products; digital shelf content is the titles, images, specs, prices and reviews shown there.

Digital shelf content requirements are the rules each retailer or marketplace sets for product titles, images, attributes and descriptions before a listing goes live.

Digital shelf intelligence tracks how your products appear on retailer sites and marketplaces, from search rank and content to price, stock and reviews.

Digital shelf optimization (DSO) is the ongoing work of improving how products appear, rank and convert on webshops, marketplaces and retailer sites.

Digital shelf readiness is the state in which a product's data, images and content meet the requirements of each online channel, so it can go live and be found.

A digital showroom is an online space where a brand presents its collection with rich media and full product details, so buyers can browse and order without visiting.

A digital transformation strategy is a comprehensive plan to integrate digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how it operates and delivers value to customers.

Digital retail readiness is the state in which a product, with complete data, images and pricing, meets the requirements of the online channels where it will be sold.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce is a model where a brand sells its products straight to shoppers through its own web shop, without wholesalers or retailers.

DTC syndication is a brand sending its own product data straight to webshops, marketplaces and social channels, without a wholesaler or retailer in between.

E-commerce discounts are price reductions, such as percentage off, fixed amount off, BOGO or free shipping, that online stores use to drive sales.

A distributed ledger for provenance is a shared, tamper-evident record, often a blockchain, of where a product and its materials come from.

Drop-shipping data standards are agreed rules for the format, fields and update rhythm of the product, price and stock data a supplier sends to a retailer.

Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) is ad technology that assembles each ad from a template and a product feed, choosing images, copy and prices per viewer.

Dynamic pricing is an e-commerce strategy where product prices are adjusted in real-time based on market demand, competitor pricing, and other factors, often using PIM data.

Dynamic product content is product information that changes automatically by context, such as channel, language, customer, stock or season, instead of one fixed text for everyone.

E-commerce analytics is the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to online store performance. PIM data feeds into analytics for optimization.

An e-commerce channel is any online place where you sell products, such as your webshop, a marketplace, a social shop or a price comparison site.

An e-commerce content strategy is a plan for which content an online store publishes, who creates it, where it appears and how its effect is measured.

An e-commerce ecosystem is the set of connected platforms, tools, services and partners a business uses to sell online, plus the integrations between them.