How Products Get to Market Faster – and How AI Helps Shoppers Find Them (episode 611)
Mark Howell is the Director Retailers EMEA at Rithum, where they help the world’s leading brands and retailers list, market, fulfill, and optimise products across every major commerce channel – from catalog to consumer. Rithum’s single connected network now has over 40,000 brands, suppliers and retailers including Walmart, Marks & Spencer, Samsung, and many more. Before his decade at Rithum Mark spent 10 years at Tesco supporting all drop ship and marketplace sellers to list and launch on Tesco.com.
In this episode, Chloe and Mark unpack the hidden engine behind modern eCommerce growth: product data. They explore how brands can get products to market faster, manage listings across multiple marketplaces, and prepare their data for the next wave of AI-powered shopping and search.
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Dive in:
[05:53] Describing products with evidence
[08:06] Managing different retail platforms
[12:19] Brands asserting eCommerce guidelines
[15:21] Negotiating retail brand guidelines
[17:20] Handling Marketplace Customer Expectations
[22:33] AI implementation challenges and oversight
[23:22] Legal challenges in agentic commerce
[29:34] Storing and sharing business data
[32:04] Listen to Mark’s Top Tips!
[36:17] Episode sponsored by Rithum. Find our more about Rithum >>> https://ecmp.info/rithum
Better product data helps shoppers find your products faster
AI search is changing how customers discover products. Shoppers now ask questions in natural language instead of typing short keywords. Mark explains that product data must answer those real customer questions. That means adding useful context, not just technical specifications. If your data is clearer than your competitors’, your products are more likely to appear in AI-driven search results.
Faster product launches mean faster revenue
Many brands still lose weeks getting products online. Mark says the key metric is “time to online.” The sooner a product is live, the sooner it can start selling. Good product induction removes delays between buying the product and listing it. This lesson is especially important for teams launching new ranges, seasonal products, or marketplace listings.
One source of truth saves huge amounts of work
Every marketplace asks for product data in a slightly different format. Trying to manage those differences manually quickly becomes a nightmare. Mark recommends keeping one central set of product data and adapting it for each channel. Good software can remember those channel rules for you. That reduces errors, speeds up launches, and helps teams stay sane as they expand.
Accurate product information reduces returns and customer complaints
One of the biggest return reasons is “not as described.” Mark explains that strong product data protects both the customer experience and your profit margin. Clear images, correct specifications, and honest descriptions set the right expectations before purchase. Fewer disappointed customers means fewer support tickets and lower return costs. This is a simple change that can improve profitability quickly.
Use AI to assist your team, not replace it
AI can help create product copy and fill in data fields. But Mark warns that AI-generated content still needs human review. Incorrect claims, wrong specifications, or poor translations can create legal and customer-service problems. The best ecommerce teams use AI as a productivity tool while keeping experts in control. That balanced approach gives you speed without sacrificing accuracy or trust.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Skip the business book and spend dedicated time experimenting with AI tools like Claude through hands-on learning.
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Invest in your professional network and learn from other eCommerce practitioners and industry experts.
Tool Top Tip
- Run collaborative AI working sessions where team members test tools together and share what they learn.
Carbon Top Tip
- Reduce excessive packaging and focus on more efficient order packaging practices.
Interview links
- Episode sponsored by Rithum. Find our more about Rithum >>> https://ecmp.info/rithum
- Mark on LinkedIn
Related Episodes
- 10 Top Tips for Using AI to Scale Your eCommerce Business (episode 451)
- What Would You Do to Tackle the Opportunity that is AI Chat and GEO? – with Miracle Inameti-Archibong (episode 578)
- 5 Big Wins You Get with an AI Shopping Assistant (episode 599)
Without the sponsors the podcast wouldn’t be possible – please do check them out:
When an AI recommends a product to your customer, is it recommending yours? Rithum surveyed over a thousand US and UK shoppers on how they use AI to find, compare, and choose.
One in five shoppers had bought from a brand they’d never heard of because AI recommended it — and only five percent verify what AI tells them by visiting the brand’s own site.
AI is answering these questions already. The data you publish decides what it says.
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