
It’s no surprise that e-commerce accounted for 46% of total retail sales growth last year. Today’s consumers demand round-the-clock convenience, access to a broader range of products and competitive pricing. However, as more brands expand their presence online, the divide between seamless, secure platforms and outdated, opaque systems becomes increasingly apparent.
What Powers Seamless Online Shopping?
So, what sets transparent, trustworthy online shopping experiences apart from outdated, unreliable systems? The answer lies in the unseen engine powering modern e-commerce: data standards. Every click, order, and delivery depends on a robust framework of intel that creates a unified approach for better, more accurate product information, ensuring online products are what they say across the vast online landscape.
Why Unique Identification Matters
Online shoppers expect more than just a seamless purchase: they want full transparency from retailers and richer product details to build trust with the brands they love. Working against this experience are duplicate listings, counterfeit concerns, out-of-date data, and inaccurate inventory, which can quickly erode loyalty and sales.
Complete, accurate listings are needed to win consumer trust. For online marketplaces managing millions of products, the key to efficiency and trust lies in unique identification. At the core of this system is the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), the number that’s encoded in Universal Product Codes (UPCs) that identifies a product both online and instore. GTINs help sellers present their products accurately and consistently across multiple platforms -- all while providing marketplaces with the tools to manage vast catalogs of data.
The way a seller obtains and constructs a product GTIN matters. Many marketplace guidelines specify that sellers must use a GTIN that is compliant with the GS1 System of Standards, which are globally recognized supply chain standards. It helps sellers ensure that the GTIN is not recycled, which often creates confusion and duplicate listings. As part of their authentication process, retail partners often ask sellers for a certificate of ownership to prove the connection between company and product. The result is a complete and accurate listing based on quality data, so shoppers can make informed purchases from legitimate sellers. By giving consumers what they want, when they want it, sellers and retail partners can help minimize returns, improve delivery and win repeat customers.
Standards That Build Trust
Marketplaces like Google, Walmart Marketplace and Amazon often require GTINs as a prerequisite for product listings. That’s because these standards allow marketplaces to better manage their product catalogs and give sellers an advantage by enhancing their findability.
When two comparable products are listed, one with a GTIN and one without, the product with a GTIN is far more likely to appear in shopping results, drive traffic, and convert. The GTIN’s structured data enables algorithms like Google’s to prioritize listings, rewarding complete and verifiable product information – increasing impressions, conversions and ultimately, revenue.
For sellers who operate across both brick-and-mortar stores and online platforms, the Universal Product Code (UPC) serves as a crucial connector. This familiar black-line barcode encodes the GTIN, enabling seamless product identification and tracking whether a customer is shopping in-store or clicking "add to cart" online.
A correctly configured UPC with a GTIN links both physical and digital worlds, ensuring that products can "go beep" at the checkout counter while also being accurately represented online. This dual functionality is essential for omnichannel sellers striving to create a consistent and trustworthy experience across all points of sale. When these identifiers are aligned, sellers can avoid disruptions like account suspension or costly relabeling, enabling smoother operations across channels.
The Power of Transactional Data
Standards also play a critical role in what happens after a product is listed online and purchased. Accurate and complete data linked to GTINs enables seamless post-purchase operations, helping online marketplaces and logistics teams manage inventory, track shipments, and prevent errors. This visibility and traceability are vital for ensuring timely deliveries, maintaining product integrity, and meeting rising consumer expectations for transparency.
Beyond product identification, transactional data sharing bridges the gap between e-commerce and retail supply chains. Standards like the Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) provide a consistent framework for exchanging essential information between suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics providers. By allowing businesses to share real-time data about where products are, where they have been, and what is happening to them at each step of the supply chain, EPCIS helps create trustworthy information trails that are already widely used in regulated industries like pharmaceuticals. When regulatory compliance and patient safety are on the line, having a way to reliably document product chain of custody and ownership is a must-have for businesses and their trading partners.
This transparency not only improves operational efficiency but also enables businesses to detect and resolve issues quickly, reducing delays and enhancing customer satisfaction. By making complex supply chain networks more visible and connected, EPCIS supports innovations like two-day shipping, improving product traceability so brands can deliver on their promises to consumers.
A Seamless, Connected Future
E-commerce success hinges on more than just competitive pricing and wide selection; it depends on the foundation of reliable data standards. From streamlining product listings to enhancing supply chain transparency, these standards ensure that the promises made to consumers—accurate listings, swift deliveries, and trustworthy products—are consistently fulfilled.
As online marketplaces grow more competitive and consumer expectations evolve, the role of data standards will only become more critical. They connect the dots between product identification, transactional data sharing, and seamless shopping experiences, driving efficiency at every stage of the supply chain. By embracing these standards, businesses can build lasting trust, foster brand loyalty, and stay ahead in the ever-changing landscape of modern e-commerce.