Product catalog management services: what's included and how to check it
Product catalog management services create and maintain your listings: titles, descriptions, attributes, variants, images and product IDs, checked against each channel's rules. Cost is usually per product or per hour and depends on variants, image work and how clean your supplier data is. Judge a provider on a small trial with a written QA checklist.
What a catalog team does each week
| Task | What it involves | What you get back |
|---|---|---|
| New product listings | Title, description, attributes and variants from supplier data | Upload-ready rows in your template |
| Enrichment | Filling missing attributes such as size, material and care | Complete attributes that filters and search can use |
| Image checks | Checking size, background and order against each channel's rules | A list of images to fix, or fixed images |
| Product IDs | Checking GTINs, or flagging items that need an exemption | Valid identifiers or a clear exception list |
| Price and stock updates | Applying supplier price lists and stock files | Changed rows only, with a change log |
| Clean-up | Duplicates, broken variants, inconsistent units and naming | A cleaned catalog and the rules used |
The rules every listing has to meet
Each sales channel publishes its own rules. A good catalog team works from them, not from memory.
| Channel | Rule | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Main image | Pure white background, product filling at least 85% of the frame, no text or logos, at least 1,000 px on the longest side for zoom |
| Amazon | Product IDs | UPCs are checked against the GS1 database; items without one need a GTIN exemption |
| Google Merchant Center | Required fields | id, title (up to 150 characters), description (up to 5,000), link, image link, availability, price |
| Google Merchant Center | Identifiers | Brand for new products; GTIN when one exists; MPN only if there is no GTIN |
| Google Merchant Center | Images | At least 500 × 500 px, enforced from 31 January 2027 |
| Shopify | Variants | Up to 2,048 variants and 3 options per product |
Channel rules change. Ask your provider how they keep up, and check the rules page yourself before a big upload.
A listing QA check you can use today
Pick one listing from your catalog and tick every line that is true. Use the same check on a provider's trial batch.
Does this listing pass?
Tick everything that is true. Your result appears here, and changes as you go.
How to read this
- Needs work: Fix the rules and template first. A provider working from unclear rules will copy the problems.
- Close: Write down the failed lines as rules in your brief, then fix the rest in one batch.
- Passes: Use this listing as a worked example in your brief.
Why listing quality is worth paying for
In Salsify's 2025 survey of 1,910 shoppers in the US and UK (a vendor survey), 54% said they had abandoned a purchase because of conflicting product information, and 71% said they had returned an item because its description was inaccurate.
Usability research points the same way: Baymard Institute found that 56% of test users looked at product images first on a product page.
What drives the cost
Catalog work is usually priced per product or per hour. What moves the price is how much work each product needs, not the number of products alone.
| Pushes the cost up | Brings the cost down |
|---|---|
| Many variants per product | Few, consistent variants |
| Supplier data in PDFs or photos | Clean supplier spreadsheets |
| Several channels or languages | One channel, one language to start |
| Image editing on every product | Images that already meet the rules |
| Rules decided case by case | A written template and style guide |
The only reliable number is one measured on your own catalog. Run a trial of about 50 products that includes your hardest cases, and agree the price per product before it starts.
What to send a catalog team
- Your listing template, and one finished listing you are happy with.
- The channels you sell on, and any house rules for titles and units.
- A sample of about 20 products exactly as your supplier sends them.
- Access to the data only: exports and upload files, not admin logins, where you can.
- Your QA check, so the team checks its own work the same way you will.
Our guide on how to brief a remote team has a brief builder you can fill in, and product catalogs are one of the kinds of work we take on. Send us a brief and you get a clear price for a trial batch, checked by our team before it reaches you.
Questions
What is product catalog management?
Creating and maintaining the product information you sell with: titles, descriptions, attributes, variants, images, product IDs, prices and stock, kept consistent and within each channel's rules.
How much do catalog management services cost?
Usually a price per product or per hour. It rises with variants, messy supplier data, image editing and extra channels. Measure it on a trial of your own products before committing.
What are Amazon's main image requirements?
A pure white background, the product filling at least 85% of the frame, no added text or logos, and at least 1,000 pixels on the longest side so zoom works.
Do I need GTINs to sell on Amazon and Google?
Amazon checks UPCs against the GS1 database and offers exemptions for some items. Google asks for a GTIN when one exists and an MPN only when there is none.
Should I give a catalog team admin access to my store?
Only if the work needs it. Many tasks can be done from exports and upload files, which keeps access limited to what the work requires.
Sources
- Product image guide Amazon Seller Central
- Barcodes for Amazon (GS1 verification of UPCs) GS1 US
- Product data specification Google Merchant Center Help
- The product variant limit is now 2,048 for all merchants (15 October 2025) Shopify developer changelog
- 2025 Consumer Research report (vendor survey, 1,910 US and UK shoppers) Salsify (23 January 2025)
- Product images with descriptive text Baymard Institute