Gain Access to the Global E-commerce Market as Open Icecat Sponsor

On behalf of global brands like HP, LEGO, L’Oréal, SONY, Hotpoint, Signify, Microsoft, Tefal, Whirlpool, Intel, Oral-B, and hundreds of others, Open Icecat distributes standardized product content to tens of thousands of channel partners worldwide. Free of charge for the brand’s channel partners. There is virtually no e-commerce category in which Icecat is not active.

Via our unique Open Icecat content distribution model, we deliver Product Information Management (PIM or PDM or PCM) As-A-Service to brand owners that want to increase their product’s visibility and success in the fast-growing e-commerce market. We flexibly support with our digital rights management (DRM) system the brand’s syndication policy, ranging from very open to very restricted.

In short, Open Icecat is a unique free of charge product catalog with standardized product data-sheets (PDSs), syndicated under an open content license. Each PDS contains unique identifiers like a brand product code or a GTIN, a brand name, one or more product images and videos, localized marketing texts, leaflets and manuals, sustainability and other feature logos, and logistical data.

Why become Open Icecat Sponsor?

1. Free of charge and easy access for channel partners

Channel partners have free access to brand-approved product content in Open Icecat. Furthermore, they can download or include via one API any product data of any of their brands. This gives brand owners in turn a compelling argument to easily convince their existing and new channel partners to use free Open Icecat as well for the brand’s product content to better position and sell their products. It fits the expectation of most channel partners, who expect their supplier brands to provide product data for free, in a standardized format.

Some manufacturers still ask channel partners to fetch manually product content from brand portals. This is too cumbersome for the average resellers. Especially, given the size of webshop catalogs. In case of Amazon that amounts easily to 100 million different products! Even small stores, can still have portfolios of some 30K products, for which they are not able to timely produce product data-sheets themselves.

2. Co-operation with all big marketplaces

The Icecat syndication network includes integrations with Amazon, Google, Alibaba, major platforms like Magento, PrestaShop, and Shopify, and lots of other major platforms and retailers. In case of Google, an advantage is to have automatically a live connection with Google Manufacturer Center connection, whereby data is used for improving product search and where-to-buy. The Amazon AFS connection is optional as it might require some data mapping and optimization to make a brand’s data fit AMazon’s taxonomy.

3. Unburden product management

We make it as easy as possible for a brand to start with us. Icecat editors can fully unburden a brand’s product managers by creating standardized product data-sheets on behalf of a brand. Further, we have automated options to upload a brand’s product feeds: via ETL or APIs.

The product content in Icecat is easy to integrate for brands themselves in their business applications or by their channel partners: via Live inserts (javascript), via our APIs (XML, JSON, Excel/CSV), or via standard add-ons to mainstream tech platforms. This fosters brand awareness in the online channel and makes it easier to introduce a new brand or product. Because the online channel will only start selling a product when its product data-sheet is made available as well.

4. Multilingual supported

The Icecat catalog supports product content in more than 60 popular languages and locales worldwide. Therefore, most channel partners of a brand will be able to use the product content in their local language. And, a brand is able to adapt its messaging to local requirements.

5. Digital Right Management (DRM)

A brand owner can take full control of its content in the channel, decide who gets what, and differentiate digital assets per reseller if desired. The control of digital assets is handled by Icecat’s DRM module in Open Icecat. The brand uses it to manage content access for its Authorized Resellers, and also set release and end-of-life dates per product.

6. Cross-sell & up-sell

Icecat Cross-Sell & Up-Sell is a service that allows brands to increase their online visibility and sales by cross-selling and up-sell their products along with popular main products. For example, supplies, accessories, or parts are linked to the compatible main product. It can be a general option, a recommended option, a compatible option, or a right-sell alternative. All of your channel partners can automatically import cross-sell, up-sell, or right-sell relationships into their webshop or ERP system for free as part of Open Icecat access.

7. Save cost and time

The time-to-market for a brand’s products is heavily decreased. With Just-in-Time (JIT) updates, a brand can add new products timely to the Icecat catalog. As a result, all the brand’s channel partners are directly informed, which will save a brand cost and time.

8. Up-sell Add-ons available

Icecat also has add-ons available for Shoppable Reviews, a Brand’s own PIM, Feed Management, and Where-To-Buy. With Shoppable Reviews, brands can improve conversion rates and customer loyalty, and quickly populate their product pages with consumer opinions and send leads to key local retailers. A dedicated PIM solution helps to manage a brand’s product content for all its global operations. Feed management helps to streamline the exchange of logistical and ordering data throughout the brand’s supply chain. Where-to-buy solutions make a brand’s product instantly shoppable online and increase overall sales and tracking capabilities.

Brand Rank Page

Icecat added a brand rank per country to Icecat’s online brand rank page. To clarify, we base the brand rank per country on a brand’s relative number of product data-sheets views and downloads. The lower a brand’s global rank, the more views, and downloads it received, relative to other brands. It gives a quick insight into a brand’s relative position in the global but also a country’s e-commerce market. Of course, also this brand statistic is subject to a large number of factors, such as a brand’s syndication policy, local presence, and distribution channel, to name a few.

In case you would like to upgrade your subscription to an Open Icecat Sponsor, please contact your account manager. Also, you can contact Icecat directly or, by clicking the button below you can request an upgrade to your plan.