What Is an Ecommerce Catalog?

An ecommerce catalog is commonly defined as any online catalog that showcases the products or services of a company that operates primarily online, or in "e-commerce." The ecommerce catalog represents part of a general shift in the way the world's consumer base does business. A large amount of what used to take place in physical stores now happens online. Just as physical or "brick and mortar" stores have migrated to the internet, many of their catalogs have moved from print to online formats.

There are many different types of ecommerce catalog setup options for businesses to choose from. One of the popular high-tech options is an "online shopping cart" - this kind of technology provides for full-featured online shopping, where software helps web users select products, compare prices, and order, all online. Other ecommerce catalog setups are less functional, but still display the full range of products. Some ecommerce catalogs use phone support as a backup service for sales.

In developing an ecommerce catalog setup, companies have some specific issues to address. One of these is whether to migrate an existing print catalog. If the business wants to start over, they will need new graphics and text for the online version. These choices are critical to success, since the effect of the right words and pictures are just as important online as they are in a print medium.

For ecommerce catalog development, there are also a lot of questions for business leaders to answer regarding the actual technology. Businesses can outsource a lot of their ecommerce functions, such as credit card processing, or arrange for control of these processes through their in-house servers. They can use staff to provide phone support, or outsource this element as well.

It is often important for a business to clearly define responsibility for making these choices and doing the work of implementing an ecommerce catalog. Without clear delegation, an effort to migrate a catalog can end up floundering due to a lack of focus. Good project management can help in creating the optimal ecommerce catalog setup for any sized enterprise, no matter what products the company is selling.

After a catalog is established online, businesses will often track results. This way, they can adapt to the market research that the catalog provides. One way to enhance an online catalog is with keyword content that attracts consumer interest. Businesses of all kinds do ongoing market research through their web sites to adapt for the future of the enterprise.