Properties / attributes

In brief: Properties or attributes describe a product, such as its name, weight, colour, material or performance. Each attribute has a data type and is assigned a value for each product. Attributes are at the heart of every PIM data model.

Types of attributes

• Global attributes apply to all products, for example item number, name and brand.
• Specific attributes apply only to certain classes or categories, for example screen size for monitors. Some vendors call them features.
• Localisable attributes have a separate value for each language, for example descriptions.
• Channel-specific attributes have a separate value for each channel, for example a short description for marketplaces.
• Variant axes distinguish between variants, for example size and colour.

Setting up attributes correctly

Each attribute needs a clear definition, a data type, a unit where applicable and, wherever possible, a fixed list of permitted values. Duplicate attributes with similar names are among the most common data modelling errors. Where industry standards such as ETIM or ECLASS apply, it is worth adopting their characteristics.

Example

For a cordless drill driver, a manufacturer maintains global attributes (name, brand, EAN), attributes specific to the “cordless drill driver” class (voltage in volts, torque in Nm, battery capacity in Ah) and localisable text in six languages. These become filters in the online shop and ETIM characteristics in the data export for retailers.

See also

• Values
• Units
• Classifications
• Features
• Data model