Is Your Organization Ready for PXM? 5 Signs It's Time To Evolve Beyond PIM

Consumers’ shopping habits are changing fast and require comprehensive methods for managing product information. 

Traditional product information management (PIM) systems do a great job of organizing product data, but they weren’t built for today’s ecommerce landscape, where customers expect rich, engaging, multi-channel product experiences.

Product information quality is now "the North Star to drive conversions," according to Forrester Research. To truly enjoy sales value in today's digital-first landscape, you need more than just a central database. You need a solution designed for the complexities of modern commerce.

Research and advisory firm Gartner predicts that the number of vendors offering product experience management (PXM) solutions will double by 2027. This indicates that businesses are shifting from simply managing product data to delivering seamless, personalized shopping experiences. 

But when is the right time to evolve beyond PIM? And how do you justify the investment? Learn more about the limitations of traditional PIM solutions and the benefits of implementing PXM.

 The Limitations of Traditional PIM Solutions

The primary goal of a traditional PIM solution is to create one source of truth (also called a golden record) for product information that can then be used to power an organization’s owned direct-to-consumer (D2C) or business-to-business (B2B) sites or connect to other internal systems that reference product information.

Although a central product database was revolutionary 30 years ago, traditional PIM solutions aren’t always equipped to handle modern ecommerce demands. 

Here’s where traditional PIM solutions fall short: 

• Traditional PIM solutions were built to maintain an internal golden record and weren’t designed with external customer-facing channels in mind. 
• Businesses now deal with numerous downstream channels, each with unique requirements that traditional PIM sol struggle to accommodate. 
• Different regions have different regulations that affect product information, creating complexities that traditional PIM solutions can’t manage. 
• Traditional PIM solutions weren’t built to accommodate the unique merchandising opportunities on every single sales channel. 
• Today’s sales channels have different digital sophistication levels that need different approaches to product information. 

5 Signs You Might Need To Evolve Beyond Traditional PIM Solutions

If you’re unsure whether your current setup is holding you back, here are five signs that it’s time to move beyond PIM and embrace PXM.

1. Loss of Revenue 

It might sound obvious, but the biggest indicator of whether you need to upgrade your PIM to a PXM solution is revenue loss, and here’s why. 

The buying journey isn’t linear anymore. It might look something like this: 

• Shoppers might begin researching a product on social media
• Compare specs on your website
• Check reviews on a marketplace
• Make a purchase in-store or through an app

If your product information is inconsistent across these touch points — different descriptions, missing images, outdated specs — you’re creating friction that costs you sales because shoppers will abandon their carts.

According to Salsify’s “2025 Consumer Research” report, 54% of consumers have abandoned an online sale because of inconsistent product information across websites.

If your product content confuses shoppers, they’ll turn to a competitor that provides a smoother, more reliable experience. Poor product data can lead to higher return rates, lower conversion rates, and lost customer trust, all of which hit your bottom line.

PXM ensures your product content is, first and foremost, accurate, but also engaging and optimized for every channel. It lets you create compelling, enriched product experiences that increase conversions and keep customers coming back.

If you’re seeing revenue slip because of inconsistent product data, it’s a clear sign it’s time to evolve beyond PIM.

2. Hidden Costs of Managing Product Data Silos 

Your team might be spending more time wrangling product data than actually optimizing it. 

Many companies rely on traditional PIM solutions that need manual data entry, spreadsheets, or custom integrations between disconnected platforms. This creates silos, which are separate pools of product information across different teams, regions, and sales channels.

The result is considerable time lost on data cleanup, duplicate work, and miscommunications. Your marketing team might be working with outdated descriptions while your ecommerce team scrambles to update pricing. Every delay in syncing product information slows down your speed to market, making it harder to launch new products or promotions efficiently.

Beyond the time cost, there’s the risk of expensive errors. A mismatched price, a missing product variant, or an outdated spec can lead to customer complaints, lost sales, and even compliance issues in regulated industries.

Why You Should Consider a PXM Solution

PXM breaks down these silos by centralizing and automating product experience management. It makes sure that every department, channel, and customer touch point pulls from the same, up-to-date source of truth, saving you time, reducing errors, and improving collaboration.

If you’re seeing silos build up across departments, it might be time to consider a PXM solution. 

3. Scalability Challenges With Current PIM Solutions

What worked for managing a few hundred SKUs might not cut it when you’re handling tens of thousands. 

As your business grows, your product data becomes exponentially more complex. You might be adding more product lines, expanding into new markets, or increasing the number of sales channels, all of which bring their own special mix of challenges. 

The issue is that traditional PIM solutions were designed for structured data management, not for scaling rich product experiences. They struggle with dynamic content, localized variations, or the need to tailor messaging to different audiences. The more your business grows, the more manual work is required to keep everything in sync, slowing down your ability to scale efficiently.

Why You Should Consider a PXM Solution

On the flip side, PXM is built for growth. 

PXM goes beyond storing data to actively managing, enriching, and distributing product content at scale. Whether you’re expanding internationally, entering new sales channels, or adding more SKUs, a PXM solution adapts to your needs without requiring endless workarounds or IT interventions.

If your current system feels like it’s bursting at the seams every time you expand, it’s a strong indicator that you need to move beyond PIM.

4. Customer Experience Gaps in Competitive Markets

When customers have endless choices, the experience becomes a critical differentiator. You’re not just competing on price or features, you’re competing on how easy, engaging, and personalized your shopping experience is.

A traditional PIM solution can store product information, but it can’t tailor experiences for different audiences. It can’t personalize recommendations based on a shopper’s behavior, deliver high-quality visuals across multiple touch points, or adapt content dynamically for different regions and customer segments.

In contrast, PXM treats product data as a customer experience asset. It helps you create immersive, interactive experiences that go beyond basic descriptions, whether that’s rich media like 360° images and videos, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven personalization, or localized content that resonates with different audiences.

Why You Should Consider a PXM Solution

“PXM has not replaced PIM. Instead, PXM builds upon the foundation that PIM provides, whereas PIM is a critical component within the PXM framework. PIM is evolving and expanding to include PXM because modern consumers expect more tailored shopping experiences,” Gartner says. 

If your competitors are delivering seamless, engaging product experiences and you’re struggling to keep up, it’s time to look beyond PIM and invest in PXM.

5. Struggling To Deliver Omnichannel Efficiency 

Your customers don’t think in channels — they expect a seamless, consistent experience whether they’re browsing on your website, scrolling through social media, shopping on a marketplace, or visiting a physical store. If your product information isn’t aligned across these touch points, you’re creating confusion and eroding trust.

Many companies rely on PIM to manage product data, but PIM alone doesn’t guarantee that information is optimized for each channel’s specific format and requirements. 

A product description that works well on your website might be too long for an Amazon listing. The images you use on a marketplace might not be engaging enough for social media. 

If pricing, promotions, or availability aren’t updated in real-time across all platforms, customers may encounter mismatched information that leads to frustration and lost sales.

Why You Should Consider a PXM Solution

PXM bridges this gap by dynamically adapting product content to fit the needs of each channel while maintaining a single source of truth. Instead of manually adjusting product details for every platform, PXM automates this process, making sure content is accurate, engaging, and channel-specific.

“Segmentation plays a crucial role in PXM by dividing users into groups based on common characteristics such as demographics, behaviors, and usage patterns. This allows for more targeted experiences, which can significantly improve user engagement and retention by leveraging great product information from your PIM,” Gartner says. 

If your team is constantly firefighting inconsistencies, manually tweaking product content for different platforms, or dealing with customer complaints about conflicting information, it’s a strong sign that you’ve outgrown PIM and need a PXM solution.

Building a Business Case for PXM Investment 

Upgrading from PIM to PXM involves more than just solving technical challenges. You ideally need to prove the business impact. Decision-makers need clear evidence that investing in PXM will drive measurable return on investment (ROI).

Here’s how to build a business case for PXM:

• Lost Revenue Calculation: Show how inconsistent product data leads to lost sales, higher return rates, and lower conversion rates.
• Operational Efficiency Gains: Highlight how PXM reduces manual work, eliminates data silos, and speeds up product launches.
• Competitive Benchmarking: Compare your product experience capabilities with industry leaders. If you’re falling behind, it’s a risk.
• Scalability Needs: Demonstrate how PXM supports business growth, from omnichannel expansion to international localization.

A strong business case ties PXM directly to revenue growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage. If you’re already having conversations about these challenges, it’s likely time to evolve beyond PIM.