What Is a Product Catalog and How to Create One That Increases Sales

Many people think that a product catalog is old fashioned, but it is still one of the simplest ways to allow the customer to browse quickly and purchase with confidence.  

A catalog gives shoppers a clear picture of what you sell without subjecting them to click through dozens of pages.  

A product catalog is more than a list; it's a strategic tool that organizes and presents products in a way that lets customers easily navigate, compare and make buying decisions as easily as they would in a store.  

Key takeaways

• A catalog helps to increase the speed of browsing and let your customer understand your products without digging through your site.  
• Depending on buying habits, catalogs are of many types: print, digital, interactive, and B2B wholesale.  
• The best catalogs are clear and consistent, and have sharp images, accurate information, and transparent prices.  
• Inclusion of essential data - product specs, images, price - to ensure accuracy across the board.  
• Catalogs - help in managing inventory and pricing across all sales channels.  
• FAQs eliminate uncertainty and prevent buyers from leaving to "think about it."  
• Every catalog needs to have a good call-to-action: shop now, contact us, or request a quote.  

What is a product catalog?

A product catalog is a neat organized list of all that you have to offer, in one place. A digital catalog collects all product information in a central database, making it possible for buyers to find, compare, and evaluate products quickly.  

Instead of requiring visitors to click through a bunch of pages to put a product together, a catalog lets them glance and compare and make a decision without having to do much more. It can be printed, downloadable PDF, or on-site digital version.  

When your buyers understand what you sell, and can see what all their options are, they shop faster. Confusion or overwhelm results in hesitation, and hesitation often becomes abandonment.  

A catalog usually has a list of important information - features, price, color, description, dimensions, weight, availability, and reviews. Catalogs are great when you have lots of products or lots of variations of a product or something that needs explaining. They also lend themselves to sharing: a customer can save a catalog, a sales rep can forward a catalog, and a buyer can send it to a colleague.  

Think of a catalog as being a shortcut. It is not a replacement for your website, but it helps it along. It creates confidence in a short time which increases the likelihood of purchase.  

Types of product catalogs

The type of catalog that is best depends on how your customers purchase, and how frequently your business changes pricing, inventory or products. Choices range from online product catalogs, retail catalogs, printed catalogs, digital e-catalogs, and virtual catalogs, each one chosen based upon your reach and needs.  

Some catalogs are physically distributed at trade shows or meetings; printed catalogs enable you to distribute tangible documents full of photos and product content. Others are shared immediately through a link - online catalogues and digital e-catalogues that are accessed on the web or through mobile apps.  

Virtual catalogs are a combination of the features of color and digital e-catalogs that help to create a more interactive experience. Retail catalogs are visually pleasing marketing tools that present products and prompt rapid sales and that exist in both print and digital versions. Online stores depend on complete and up-to-date catalogs for their smooth shopping experience across all their digital channels.  

Print catalogs

Print catalogs are the traditional marketing tool. They are the physical copies that are given out at trade shows, meetings or inside a store. Such catalogs are used for efficient distribution of documents with accompanying photographs and other product content. They work best when selling higher ticket items or when the customer enjoys a tactile review. The bad side is obvious, once printed it is expensive and slow to update so frequent changes in price can soon render them out of date.  

Digital and online catalogs

These are the most common options since they're easy to share and update. Digital e-catalogs are an example of how paper catalogs can be reproduced in digital form, available on the Internet or through mobile applications. They are often PDFs that you can email, download or send through a message.  

An online catalog is a digital version of a traditional catalog that is available on your website or app. It is easy to update and it provides interactive browsing that allows people to skim categories and products at a glance.  

The primary advantage is convenience. Customers can open it instantly, you can keep it up to date, you don't have to reprint anything if things change.  

Interactive catalogs

Interactive catalogs are similar to digital catalogs but enhanced with more experiences. They have clickable elements, embedded videos, and 360deg product views to enhance engagement. Viewers can drill down into sections, open detailed product pages and interact with multimedia content - useful when products require more explanation or when you want a more engaging format than a plain PDF.  

B2B catalogs

B2B catalogs are used by wholesale and bulk buyers. They usually include bulk pricing, minimum order quantities, and advanced search capabilities to simplify the large-volume procurement process.

What to include in a product catalog

This is the part that makes a catalog actually work. Because a catalog isn’t just there to look good. A well-designed catalog uses design elements, such as color schemes, fonts, layout, and interactive features, to create strong visual appeal, making browsing easy, engaging, and consistent with your brand. It’s there to help someone understand your products fast and feel confident buying.

Additionally, a robust product catalog provides valuable data on customer preferences, which can help develop targeted marketing campaigns.

Front cover

Your cover should make it obvious who you are and what you sell. The front cover should visually communicate your brand's identity by using signature imagery and design elements for instant recognition. Keep it clean, include your brand name, and use one strong product image that represents your best product or your style. If the cover feels confusing, people won’t even open it.

Table of contents

If your catalog has more than a few pages, you need a table of contents. Organizing products by product category in the table of contents helps customers find what they need more efficiently, as they can quickly navigate to the relevant section. It helps people find what they want faster instead of scrolling through everything. If your products use model numbers or part numbers, this is also a good place to help people locate those quickly.

Product listings

This is the core of the catalog. Each product should have a clear name, a professional photo to enhance credibility and visual appeal, and a short description that gets to the point. You want to include the key features, the main benefit, and anything important that helps someone pick the right option.

It's important to show product availability so customers know real-time stock levels, which builds trust and improves the shopping experience. Displaying product prices, including local currency or regional pricing, helps customers make informed decisions and can highlight trending items in their area. If you have SKUs or model numbers, include them. It helps with comparison, re-ordering, and it makes the whole catalog feel more organized.

Product catalogs also allow you to group individual parts into larger assemblies or kits for sale, which is especially useful for companies offering package deals. Including customer reviews and testimonials in your product listings can significantly increase customer confidence and influence purchasing decisions.

High-quality photos and consistent images

Photos can make or break a catalog. If the images are blurry, dark, or inconsistent, people lose trust fast. Most buyers are visual, and if they can’t clearly see what they’re buying, they hesitate.

Try to keep your photos consistent across products. Similar angles, similar lighting, and the same general style. The goal is to make browsing feel smooth, not messy.

Simple descriptions that still answer what matters

Descriptions shouldn’t be long, but they should be complete. They should explain what the product is, who it’s for, and why it’s worth buying. Including detailed specs and accurate product data in your descriptions helps customers make informed decisions by providing all the important product details they need. If there are materials, sizing, variants, or any details people usually ask about, include it in a simple way.

Reviews or trust signals

If you have reviews, ratings, or short testimonials, add them. Even a simple line of social proof can help someone feel more confident and make a decision faster.

Promotions and discounts

If you’re running deals, bundles, or seasonal promos, include them. This can push people to make a decision sooner, especially if the offer is clear and easy to understand.

Policies and contact details

Don’t make people guess. Include the basics like shipping notes, return policy, warranty if it applies, and your contact details. This removes last-minute doubt and helps people feel safer buying from you.

A clear call to action

Every catalog needs a next step. Shop online, buy now, request a quote, contact us, or order wholesale. Whatever your next step is, make it clear and easy to find.

How to create a product catalog without making it complicated

Creating a product catalog is a lot easier when you don’t start with design first. If you jump into layout too early, it gets messy fast. The better way is to organize everything first, then design it after. Free templates from online design platforms like Canva, Venngage, and Adobe Express can simplify the catalog creation process, making it easy and cost-effective to design a professional-looking catalog.

The marketing team plays a key role in designing and organizing the catalog to attract and inform your target audience, ensuring that product details are presented clearly and effectively.

Start by grouping your products into categories that make sense for the customer. Not how your team labels inventory, but how someone would actually shop. If people have to think too hard about where something belongs, they’ll get frustrated and stop browsing. Integrating product data with CRM systems and ERP systems ensures consistency and efficiency across your catalog, streamlining order processing and data management.

Distributing your catalog across multiple channels, such as social media, online stores, and search engines, increases your reach and sales opportunities. Leveraging AI-powered systems for catalog management can also free up valuable resources, allowing your team to focus on more strategic activities.

Collect the details and make it easy to scan

Next, collect your product info in one place before you build anything. Gathering all your product data in a centralized product database streamlines catalog creation and ensures your information is accurate and consistent. You want the product name, price, SKUs or model numbers, materials, sizing, and any key details people usually ask about. Using a product catalog page that's built into an inventory management system allows your brand to see key information about each SKU at a glance. This saves you a lot of time, because you’re not stopping every five minutes to hunt for information.

After that, focus on images. Make sure the photos are clear and consistent. If you’re showing the same product in different colors or styles, keep the angles similar. When images feel random, the catalog feels confusing. And when the catalog feels confusing, people hesitate.

Section 6: Final thought and next step

A product catalog is one of the simplest ways to make buying easier. An ecommerce product catalog provides an enhanced customer experience by ensuring efficient inventory management and real-time stock updates, so customers always see accurate product availability. It gives people a quick view of what you sell, helps them compare options without getting lost, and answers the basic questions that usually slow down the decision. When you remove that friction, people feel more confident, and it becomes easier for them to move from browsing to buying.

If you’re building in Webflow and you want a no-code way to keep the shopping experience consistent from product page to checkout, try Penni Cart for free today. It has no transaction fees, stays fully inside Webflow, and it’s free until you launch. After launch, it’s $39 per month on a live domain, currently for the US and Canada, with gateways like Stripe, Authorize.Net, and Elavon.

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