As ecommerce solidifies its position as a critical revenue growth driver for brands, organizations must reevaluate their operations to take a more holistic omnichannel approach to commerce. Category management is central to this transformation and an underrated element of it.
In our new research piece, eCatman and the Path to Omni-Category Management, co-authored with TPG, we explore how evolving the position of category manager to Ecommerce Category Manager, or eCatman, can help brands effectively navigate the nuances of digital commerce.
Customer Stories: Brand/Retailer Collaboration is Critical
For our research, The Digital Shelf Institute (DSI) collaborated with The Partnering Group (TPG) to interview two retailers and 11 industry leaders about their eCatman strategies. Here’s what they shared:
“The secret to eCatman is finding the right balance between the brand strategy and the retailer’s strategy to make a holistic story around the insights you have, and nine out of 10 times, the retailer will be on board to collaborate,” said Vivian Valks, Global E-Commerce Acceleration Manager at Arla Foods, and she is correct; eCatman success requires a deep understanding of how a retailer’s ecommerce tech stack works and how algorithms (and increasingly artificial intelligence and machine learning models) drive the personalized shopping experience.
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“The teams were beginning to say if an item wasn’t accepted in-store, then it should go on Amazon, and we took a step back and said we need to develop a new product with the lens of what the product looks like for the retailer. How we define that is through beginning to develop ecommerce category management,” said Ash McMullen, Head of Ecommerce, Advantice Health. Consumers are now expecting greater personalization than they’ve experienced elsewhere online. They want retailers to leverage their past purchase history and online browsing patterns to create a more personalized digital shelf and product recommendations. This area offers brands the most significant opportunity to influence how their products and categories will be shopped online.
“eCatman needs to be built on data,” said Catrina Muffoletto, Manager, Shopper and Channel Insights, Ecommerce, Danone. In ecommerce overall, brands struggle with specific and accurate data. Brands use Neilsen, Circana or Kantar data to inform their decisions, but sometimes, it’s unavailable for a particular retailer. Suggestion: Gain internal alignment so the data is directionally correct and so you don’t get stuck in the details and can look at the broader picture.
The Evolution of Category Management in the Digital Age
Traditionally, category management has served as a way to guide consumers to products via strategic in-store products or ad placement. However, as consumer shopping habits evolve, the static confines of physical aisles are giving way to digital shelves. Rather than browsing the pet food aisle in a store, a consumer types “sensitive stomach pet food for large breeds” into a search bar, relying on algorithms to help them find what they need.
Today, category managers must ensure their products can be found online so they can be bought. Otherwise, they risk losing market share and search rank to competitors.
The Critical Role of eCatman
eCatman helps to drive online search excellence by making products findable to the consumer. There are a few key areas this role can affect:
- Category Insights: The eCatman role provides insights into online shopping behaviors, helping refine retailers’ product categories to align with consumer expectations. This alignment is critical for improving searchability.
- Taxonomy and Navigation: Successful eCatman initiatives ensure that a retailer’s site’s taxonomy aligns with consumer search terms. One brand that participated in our research partnered with Kroger to improve its online taxonomy and realized a double-digit sales increase in its category.
- Keyword Mastery: Keywords in product content must match consumers’ language when searching for products. eCatman helps pinpoint which keywords hold the most power, thus ensuring sustained product visibility.
The era of digital retail demands a new approach, and eCatman is emerging as a strategic imperative. Brands must act now to remain competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Matt Pierre is a leader in The Partnering Group’s digital commerce, customer development and training and development practices. His focus is on enabling organizations to drive advantaged growth with tailored digital strategies that are effectively integrated into their commercialization across functional teams. Lauren Livak Gilbert is a recognized ecommerce leader in digital and content strategy, renowned for her role leading the Digital Shelf Institute (DSI), where she connects more than 8,000 industry leaders, shapes industry standards and hosts the “Unpacking the Digital Shelf” podcast. At Salsify, she worked with over 100 strategic customers helping them develop an overall commerce strategy and vision for their commerce journey, leveraging her work at Johnson & Johnson, where she was the owner of the digital shelf for the consumer family of products for North America.
