Product data consistency not price is the driver of checkouts, repeat purchase and long-term loyalty, explains Justin Thomas, VP sales EMEA North for Akeneo, who also explains why AI is so important to success
In 2026, the retail landscape finds itself in a paradox. Shoppers are more willing than ever to research, compare and discover products across touchpoints, yet they are also more impatient and less forgiving when product information is not clear. During NRF in New York in January, a clear theme emerged; consumers don’t abandon purchases because of price, they abandon them because their confidence collapses when product stories are inconsistent or incomplete.
Today’s commerce experiences are fragmented, from social discovery and marketplace browsing to AI-driven search and brand-owned sites. In that context, consistency is a precondition for conversion and trust. And delivering it requires not only data accuracy but foundational product information that is governed, enriched and activated across every touchpoint.
Insights from Akeneo’s research reveal that two-thirds of global shoppers have abandoned a purchase because product information was missing or incorrect. That might occur online when a specification doesn’t match across channels, or in-store when a QR-code link doesn’t deliver expected detail. These moments quietly erode buyer confidence and they happen far earlier in the consideration journey than many retailers appreciate.
As digital experiences evolve, so do consumer expectations; nearly half of shoppers are willing to pay more for products from brands that clearly communicate their values and attributes. In a world where discovery can happen in milliseconds, on TikTok, in a marketplace or via an AI agent, any inconsistency becomes a signal to move on.
Consistency accelerates conversion in practice. Two leading retailers illustrate how a strong product information foundation translates directly into improved performance.
City Furniture, a top 100 US furniture retailer, faced the challenge of scaling product information for a wide assortment while maintaining omnichannel consistency. By integrating Akeneo PIM with a modern DAM system and implementing automated syndication tools, City Furniture built a single source of truth for product data that feeds every channel consistently and reliably.
That foundational work paid tangible results within a year of adopting PIM. The company doubled its SKU and attribute counts without sacrificing quality or consistency. It accelerated enrichment workflows and reduced manual errors, allowing teams across departments to enrich, govern and publish high-quality product content fast. More importantly, consistent product experiences helped convert browsers into buyers, giving physical and digital channels equal footing in the customer journey.
Meanwhile, the Paper Store, with more than 100 retail locations across the US, operates in a category that sees intense seasonal demand and deep product variation. In its environment, even small discrepancies in colour, size options or imagery can disrupt conversion. Instead of relying on fragmented spreadsheets or disparate systems, the retailer invested in a centralised product information strategy that harmonises data and assets at scale, a move that is critical to maintaining shopper trust throughout high-traffic periods.
In both examples, the retailers needed automated workflows, governed enrichment and data that could be trusted everywhere it appeared. When shoppers encounter consistent product stories with no surprises, conflicts or no guesswork, their confidence rises and with it, conversion rates.
AI and fragmented discovery demand strong foundations
The role of AI in commerce has accelerated the importance of consistency even further. AI-powered search, recommendation engines and agentic commerce are quickly reshaping how products are discovered and evaluated. Instead of relying on traditional search and browsing, shoppers increasingly interact through generative tools that respond to nuanced queries about products, features and suitability.
The critical distinction is that AI doesn’t infer meaning from visuals or subtle brand cues, it reads structured data. For an intelligent agent to recommend a product confidently, the underlying product data must be complete, consistent, contextualised and trusted. Inconsistent descriptors, missing attributes or conflicting values lead models to either surface competitors or ignore products altogether. In short, fragmented discovery instantly punishes weak foundations.
In 2026, execution has overtaken enrichment as the competitive edge. Retailers that treat product information as a backend task will struggle while those that treat it as a strategic asset gain both shopper confidence and conversion momentum.
This evolution continues to elevate the role of product information management from a technical utility to a growth engine. Investing in automated workflows, AI-supported enrichment and governed product truth ensures that every channel, whether social, marketplace, owned sites, or AI interfaces, speaks with the same confident voice.
Consistency is the foundation of trust and in a world where shoppers can choose what to buy with the click of a recommendation, trust is the most valuable of currencies, one that converts.
