The global product information management (PIM) market is estimated to reach $16.5 billion by 2026 from $9.9 billion in 2021. A major contributor to this growth lies in the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in PIM systems. This combination equips businesses with abilities that range from organising and analysing to translating product data for actionable inputs that can be exercised across channels. It also eases the integration with an intelligent system capable of actioning future data management tasks through knowledge input. Today's modern PIM solutions not only allow enterprises to centralise large volumes of data but also helps improve the quality of information to make it publish-worthy across channels.

Commerce has evolved to eCommerce, and the'e' stands for more than'electronic'. It's more about'easy' now – easier to find products, compare across brands, purchase them and get them delivered on time. An important factor that helps make informed purchase decisions with ease, is to have complete product information on the product page. But, ever wondered what happens behind the scenes to create this seamless and'easy' experience? Imagine if a retailer needs to sell a simple, black office chair. How would the retailer describe that black office chair?

Avalara, Inc. has acquired Indix's AI technology and expertise, with comprehensive product descriptions for more than 1 billion products sold and shipped worldwide. Avalara believes it will offer the industry's most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive source of global tax and product content when it combines the Indix AI expertise, technology, and content with Avalara's tax expertise and compliance content. "Global taxing authorities govern compliance through ever-changing rules and requirements, and the task of gathering and maintaining this data is core to the value Avalara provides," said Scott McFarlane, co-founder and CEO of Avalara. "We believe the combination of deep product knowledge, broad product content, and artificial intelligence technology will allow us to provide our customers the information they want and need to factor compliance into their business decision-making, and for Avalara to address more compliance requirements to support their growth." "Avalara and Indix share a similar global vision," said Sanjay Parthasarathy, CEO of Indix.

This is part 2 of a 4 part series on customer experience, sponsored by Contentserv. In order to keep consumers engaged and buying, brands need to provide them with outstanding product experiences. In fact, 87 percent of consumers say they'd stop doing business with a company that provides inaccurate product information, and 30 percent of consumers abandon purchases due to lack of product content. But not just any content or image will do. Consumers expect consistently rich, relevant, emotional product experiences whenever and wherever they shop.

According to Keith Anderson, SVP Strategy and Insight, Profitero, "Over the last 15 years… there've been at least a dozen technologies described as potential game changers, but… voice has clearly emerged as a truly game-changing technology… you now increasingly hear retailers, and especially brands, talk about mobile first, voice second." The report says that study after study points to the phenomenal growth of voice-activated devices like the Amazon Echo or Google Home, driven by the rapid change in how shoppers are searching for information online. Amazon reported that the Echo Dot was the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across Amazon globally on Cyber Monday 2017. In The Future of eCommerce, Kantar Retail says "Voice commerce is yet another technological vehicle that… allows consumers to make real-time purchasing decisions, creating a shopping environment that is both ad-hoc and spontaneous." So what should brands be doing now to get ready for the voice shelf?