Why Rich, Accurate, and Complete Product Data is the Secret to Selling More Online

September 16, 2025

E-commerce is no longer optional in distribution—it’s where your customers start their buying journey. But here’s the challenge: even the most advanced ERP or e-commerce platform won’t perform if the product data inside it is incomplete, inconsistent, or outdated.

( 👉  If/when you’re ready to see DDS’ solution to this, click here to book a 30-min demo.)

The Real Cost of Poor Product Data

Distributors often underestimate the impact product content has on sales. Here’s what happens when data isn’t complete or accurate:

• Products don’t show up in search because descriptions and keywords are missing
• Filters don’t work correctly when attributes aren’t normalized
• Customers don’t trust the information when specs, images, or documentation are outdated
• Returns and support tickets increase when buyers make the wrong choice due to poor product content

In short: weak product data costs you sales, damages customer trust, and makes it harder to compete with marketplaces like Amazon and Grainger.

Why Rich Product Data Matters

Rich product content isn’t just about having the basics—it’s about giving your customers everything they need to make confident buying decisions:

• Detailed Descriptions that answer buyer questions upfront
• High-Quality Images + Videos that showcase products clearly
• Complete Specifications + Attributes that power accurate search and filtering
• Supporting Documents like spec sheets, manuals, and certifications
• Up-to-Date Pricing + Availability that reflects real-time changes

When all of this comes together, customers find the right product faster, check out with confidence, and come back for more.

The Distributor’s Dilemma

Here’s the problem: sourcing and maintaining rich product data is time-consuming, messy, and never-ending.

• Every manufacturer delivers data differently (Excel sheets, PDFs, portals, emails)
• Data is inconsistent; some suppliers send great content, others don’t
• Internal teams spend hours cleaning spreadsheets instead of focusing on selling
• By the time data is uploaded, specs or pricing may already have changed

For many distributors, this creates a data bottleneck that slows down e-commerce growth and frustrates both staff and customers.

How Distributors Win with Better Product Data

Distributors who prioritize rich, accurate, and complete product content see measurable results:

• Higher Online Sales: Rich product content can boost conversions by up to 20%
• Improved Customer Experience: Enhanced content like images and user-generated content can increase conversion rates by over 100%
• Fewer Returns: With average e-commerce return rates of 20–30%, accurate specs reduce errors and misorders that drive returns
• Faster Time-to-Market: Distributors who automate onboarding cut SKU launch cycles from months to days, capturing revenue faster
• Competitive Advantage: Product pages with rich media (like video) drive up to an 86% higher conversion rate than those without

The DDS Advantage

At DDS, we help distributors eliminate the pain of chasing, cleaning, and managing product data by delivering complete, manufacturer-approved content directly into your systems—ERP, PIM, or e-commerce.

• 12.5M+ SKUs enriched and ready-to-use
• 1,730+ manufacturers already delivering content through DDS
• 450+ distributors connected globally
• AI-powered enrichment to improve categorization, names, attributes, and filtering

With DDS, you can focus on what you do best—selling—while we take care of the product content behind the scenes.

Final Thought

The future of distribution belongs to those who can deliver a better digital buying experience. And it all starts with rich, accurate, complete product data.

👉 If you want to see how better product content can help you sell more online, book a 30-min demo here.

Author Bio

Matt Christensen is President and co-founder of DDS (Distributor Data Solutions), the leading e-commerce product content provider for the wholesale distribution industry. Prior to launching DDS in 2014, he spent a decade as technology director at an independent electrical distributorship, where he helped pioneer one of the industry’s first online offerings — an experience that shaped DDS’ unique, data-driven approach.