Between now and 2030, the EU ESPR Regulation will come into force, which, among other measures, includes the Digital Product Passport (or DPP).

What is the Digital Product Passport? What sectors does it cover? What impacts will it bring with it? In this article we take stock of the situation.

Digital Product Passport: what is the DPP

Let’s get straight to the point.

The acronym DPP stands for Digital Product Passport is a digital register containing a variety of information related to the value chain of an item.

Soon, European companies will have to accompany each product with a detailed list of data on its lifecycle, from production to recycling, through repairability and disposal.

Digital Product Passport: how does it work?

The fruition of DPPs will be clearer from the moment they see their full implementation, but it is likely that standards already in the market such as QR codes will be exploited to access a product’s digital passport.

Once scanned, the code will return to the consumer a set of detailed data on materials, composition, production cycle, varying from sector to sector.

What are Digital Product Passports for?

To understand the purpose of the digital passport produced, it should be mentioned that it is part of the ESPR regulation, approved in spring 2024.

ESPR stands for Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation, a regulation that is part of the Green Deal, a package of EU initiatives to reduce emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030.

ESPR’s focus is to extend eco-design to most products on the EU market in order to reduce the environmental impact of their lifecycle, as is already the case with household appliances.

In addition, ESPR introduces new requirements and standards regarding durability, reparability, energy efficiency and recycling of items in order to counter planned obsolescence and promote circularity.

In this context, the DPP will serve as an informational reference point:

• for companies, which will have a lever of objective and concrete transparency
• for consumers to make more informed and green choices
• for the authorities-who by receiving the data to display in their portals-will be facilitated in controls and increase consumer confidence.

… okay but what about the competition?

Indeed, in the free market, companies’ duties of transparency may collide with the protection of competition.

The broad informational scope of the DPP, could compromise the confidentiality of strategic data, such as those related to production and procurement flows.

For this reason, the Legislature clarified that of all the information included in the DPP, only some will be accessible to consumers, while others will be accessible only by parties witha “legitimate interest,” as determined by the Regulation itself or by the Commission.

When will the Digital Product Passport be mandatory?

At least two steps are planned before the DPPs come into effect:

• the European Commission will present a three-year work plan in 2025, establishing the types of products affected by the regulation
• defined the types of products, a delegated act will be made for each of them, which will enshrine what data each sector must adhere to.

In general, the Digital Product Passport will become mandatory from 2027 for most industries, although there are exceptions.

Digital product passport: starting with batteries

From an initial analysis by the European Commission, the product categories first affected by the new Digital Product Passport appeared to be batteries, textiles, electronics and construction.

As of today, for one of them, the obligation is already fixed.

From 1 February 2027, in fact, battery companies for electric vehicles will have to provide – for every item with a capacity greater than 2kWh – a DPP with information on durability, performance and CO2 impact.

The EU has set up a single electronic battery register, in which the various digital product passports will converge for surveillance purposes.

Which sectors will be obliged to the digital product passport next?

A new study of the European Commission carried out at the end of 2024 by the Joint Research Centre, has identified the next product categories for which the digital product passport obligation is likely to be triggered:

• among final products: clothing, textiles and footwear, furniture, tyres, personal and household care and hygiene products, cosmetics, toys, paints, mattresses;
• among semi-finished products: basic chemicals, iron, steel, plastics and polymers, glass, pulp and paper.

In general, it is likely that the Digital Product Passport – precisely because of its capillarity objectives – will be extended to any other product sector, with a few exclusions (which will apparently concern foodstuffs, animal feed, vehicles and medicines).

What technology will the Digital Product Passport be based on?

Rumors agree that the technology that will enable the emergence of DPP will be blockchain, which is known to offer a digital infrastructure that provides security, transparency and immutability of every record entered by the various actors in an information chain.

By the way, digital passport in luxury fashion already exists

Fashion, particularly that which occupies the highest end of the market, has always been a forerunner of major digital developments.

Not surprisingly, it has also moved ahead at this juncture, through a consortium and voluntary membership project called Aura Blockchain.

The platform, developed by such giants as LVMH, OTB, Cartier and the Prada Group, offers traceability that shields consumers from counterfeits.

Tod’s, for example, has embedded an NFC (Non-Fungible Token) tag in its Di Bag that leverages the Aura project’s blockchain to return data to the customer-who scans it with his or her smartphone-that attests to the authenticity and provenance of the bag’s materials.

Image Source: Temera.com

49% of consumers already know what the digital product passport is

It is precisely fashion that appears to be the sector whose consumers are most ready.

Research reported by Forbes shows that half of the industry’s customers are familiar with the Digital Product Passport, who consider it a useful tool to certify brand authenticity (56%).

DPP: will companies need ad hoc software?

The management of DPP is closely related to that of product information and, in particular, its centralization, enrichment and delivery.

In view of the new obligation, it is clear that companies that are unstructured from a Product Information Management point of view will be able to seize the opportunity to equip themselves with PIM software-or better yet, PXM software.

Conversely, companies that have already embarked on such digital paths will need to ensure that the tools in use support the management and propagation of DPP data.

Our platform, for example, is SaaS, offers a hyper-flexible data model, and, thanks to APIs, delivers product content (data and media) across any channel. Key features to comply with future DPP obligations.

From regulatory obligation to business opportunity

DPPs are much more than a regulatory requirement.

Digital Product Passports, in fact, can be a useful tool for sharing information and documents that enrich the product experience through certified attestations of a brand’s quality authenticity.

It is also a democratic tool for promoting sustainability actions because the data travels on a third-party-guaranteed circuit, making it easier to detect greenwashing phenomena.

Last but not least, it can facilitate the sale of additional services or products such as repair, disposal, maintenance and repair items.

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In the next few lines we will delve into the concept of Product eXperience Management; we will dissolve the PXM acronym, explaining what is meant by Product eXperience and what are the best software for product experience management.

What does Product eXperience mean?

The term Product eXperience (PX) is a niche of the broader concept of User eXperience (UX).

While the latter encompasses a user’s galaxy of relationships with the entire organization (products, processes, people, brand), Product eXperience focuses on customers’ product interactions along the Customer Journey.

What Product eXperience Management means

PXM, which stands for Product eXperience Management, refers to the set of activities designed to make the customer experience:

• comprehensive: that is, rich in details necessary for evaluation and purchase
• consistent: consistent across any touchpoint, omnichannel perspective
• engaging: dynamic, able to involve any user.

Talking about web experience, it should also be noted that 2025 will also be a hot year on the accessibility front, with the European Accessibility Act coming into force.

Product experience management in the omnichannel era

Until recently, when a potential customer might have been content to find a product online, software such as DAM and PIM might have sufficed.

Respectively Digital Asset Management and Product Information Management, these software centralize and deliver media and product information.

However, in an omnichannel context, where physical and digital are relentlessly intertwined, users do not just need brands present; they expect consistency, engagement and personalization.

Here, the more traditional retailer attentions to the in-store experience-such as visual merchandising strategies and in-store pathway designs-are joined by aspects such as the quality of PDP and PLP of e-commerce and marketplaces or the rapid sharing of B2B digital product catalogs.

In other words, tools such as DAM and PIM that store and publish data or photos are no longer enough.

PXM software: product eXperience management tool

PXM software provides omnichannel control of CX, going beyond DAM and PIM.

They, in fact, allow digital assets and product information to be governed from a single tool and, more importantly, shift the focus from the company’s processes (as DAM and PIM do with media and data creation and publishing) to the customer (focusing on quality of experience tout-court).

Concretely, a Product eXperience Management software acts on three fronts:

• data and media centralization: product (as well as brand) information and media content converge in a single platform, where they are automatically associated with each other;

• product content syndication: digital catalogs and product sheets are updated in real time in omnichannel mode;

• catalogs and PDP experience: in addition to publishing, product sheets are enriched with interactive formats (e.g., 3D), run at peak performance (even during traffic peaks), and each user’s experience is dynamically optimized based on the channel they are in.

Digital Shelf Optimization: benefits of PXM for B2C

From a B2C perspective, Product eXperience Management software operates what is known as Digital Shelf Optimization, or the optimization of brand storefronts and web shelves.

Among the business-to-consumer benefits that a PXM software provides to brands are:

• improved SEO ranking: due to rich information (including multi-language) and media optimization that make web pages more readable
• reduction in returns: more details minimize the chances of erroneous purchases
• time to market: all flows of creation, organization and delivery are boosted
• brand consistency: because a PXM updates every web channel instantly and extensively, without manual data entry and the possible errors that can result.

Store, dealer and sales: benefits of PXM for B2B

A Product eXperience Management solution also benefits the B2B customer experience.

First, by centralizing product-related content, sales agents have a single source of truth, updated in real time and constantly aligned with information shared by other teams, such as marketing and product.

In this way, the relationship between sales agent and B2B customer becomes faster and more effective.

In addition, especially if it can support the creation of customized Brand Portals, PXM software can make the experience of other partners, such as B2B distributors, even more agile and valuable.

With brand portals, in fact, you also provide secure and constant external access to product data and media assets, making each stakeholder’s promotional initiatives seamless.

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In this article we will shed light on the definition of Portal Brand, clarifying what it is, what it is for, how it works, what benefits it provides, and analyzing some practical examples of Portal Brand.

What is a Brand Portal?

A Brand Portal is a Web portal through which a company shares information and materials related to its brand(s) with stakeholders primarily external to the organization.

In most cases, a “brand portal” (or Brandportal) is a cloud hub populated with media content that which allows stakeholders to view and download photos, videos, manuals, templates, and brand guidelines made available by the company.

The benefits of a brand portal

Offering your partners a cloud space from which to enjoy branded materials has benefits both inside and outside the organization.

On the one hand, brand, marketing, and communications teams reduce the time spent and interruptions resulting from constant requests from sales (B2B agents) or retailers for updated materials.

The sales network is autonomous in accessing the content it needs to promote and sell, thus seeing its experience, sales performance and omnichannel brand consistency improved.

In general, moreover, the solution increases the control of the brand, which in an instant can check assets in circulation, update or revoke them, sharing files always safe from unwanted access.

What are the essential features of a Brand Portal?

Since it is a file repository, one of the most common features of a Brand Portal is the flexibility of organizing spaces, usually a digital tree of folders, which are assigned different access rights to users (e.g., read only, download, etc.).

Fundamental to an adequate user experience are search engines, filters and sorting, which allow one to instantly find what one needs.

The visual identity of a portal brand, moreover, is usually customizable with headers, colors and logos, which positively accentuate the Brand Experience of users browsing the portal.

The key role of integrability for a brand portal

As is often the case in IT, one of the crucial aspects of Brand Portals concerns integrability. From this point of view, we can distinguish three brand portals:

• Brand Portal not integrated
• Brand Portal integrated with a DAM software
• Brand Portal integrated with a Product eXperience Management (DAM+PIM) solution.

A non-integrated Brand Portal is a file repository that, while fulfilling the need for sharing digital assets, is detached from the IT stack and, as such, must be fed and updated by hand.

The situation is different, however, for a Brand Portal integrated with DAM software, which automatically feeds the portal with the most up-to-date version of content and related metadata that you want to share externally, preventing marketing teams from double manual uploads.

DAM stands for Digital Asset Management, software with which companies manage, share, approve and deliver digital assets such as photos and videos.

The benefits of a Brand Portal integrated with PXM software

A Brand Portal integrated with a Product eXperience Management system (PXM software) undoubtedly makes a difference, both from an internal point of view and from a point of view outside the organization.

A PXM, in fact, combines features of DAM software with those of PIM software (Product Information Management). This means that a Brand Portal integrated with a PXM automatically delivers multimedia content, metadata and any product data it represents.

In other words, the company zeroes out the time spent on sharing both brand and product catalog assets, multiplying the agility of multiple B2B business streams.

4 concrete examples of Brand Portal

We at WARDA have been flanking various global excellences for years.

SeeCommerce PXM, combines DAM and PIM capabilities and natively integrates one or more Brand Portal (Touchpoints) with which to deliver real-time brand assets, data and product catalogs.

A Brand Portal is a flexible tool, suitable for very different purposes. Here are four examples of how some of our clients employ it.

1. B2B Trade Portal

Campagnolo, among the most prestigious global brands of high-end bicycle wheels and assemblies, has implemented as many as two Brand Portals with SeeCommerce PXM.

The first is a Trade Portal, a system through which it provides its distributors with a constantly updated portal from which to view and download campaign images, posters, promotional videos, and information related to its products.

2. Press Portal

A second example of the application of brand portals is the Press Portal.

Returning to Campagnolo’s example, the brand uses it to share real-time with PR and journalists from each brand header up-to-date assets of any item in the catalog.

3. B2B Agent Portal

Several customers leverage Touchpoints (SeeCommerce’s Brand Portal features) to shape a portal from which agents access an actual product catalog on demand.

Perfect for supporting business operations with flexibility and speed, an Agent Portal zeroes in on delays and misalignments between brand and sales, enhancing Brand eXperience and performance sales.

4. Heritage Portal

Another example is the case of Vibram, a world leader in the development and production of high-performance rubber soles, and its Heritage Portal.

Leveraging SeeCommerce PXM, the brand built a heritage-type brand portal, in which it archived, categorized, and made searchable more than 5,000 of the company’s historical media content.

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In the next eleven months, the global value of online sales will touch $7 trillion (Statista).

In the face of this growth, what purchasing trends should be monitored most closely and will be most relevant to those involved in Product Information Management?

Okay the PIM trends… But you already know what Product Information Management is, right?

We recommend you read the article on PIM if you want to learn more about this topic before moving on to 2025 product information management trends.

#1 Eye on Africa and Latin America

By volume and value, the US, EU and China remain leaders in online shopping; but the geography of the industry is changing. And abruptly so.

Between 2020 and 2023, in fact, web sales in Africa increased by 40 percent and will touch a record $75 billion within a five-year period. A similar trend has been seen in South America, which passed the $100 billion mark last year.

Specifically, e-shopping in countries such as Brazil and Mexico is galloping with 25 percent annual growth. (Statista data).

#2 Mobile shopping no longer stops

According to eMarketer & Statista projections, the value of online purchases made from mobile in the U.S. in 2025 will be double that measured in 2021 (710.4 billion vs. 362.1).

For every 100 web purchases 68 occur from smartphones, less than a third from desktops or tablets.

(Statesman).

#3 B2B web shopping grows in double digits

Digital purchasing is growing across the board, including B2B.

Between now and the next two years, an increase of 12.2% per year is expected, from 26.6 billion B2B online sales in 2024 to 37.1 in 2027. Focusing on the EU, the trend does not change, with a forecast of +11% year-on-year.

(The B2B Digital Commerce Scenario and Trends., NetComm, 2024).

#4 Social Commerce will fly on TikTok

We continue our roundup of PIM trends by talking about Social Commerce.

It has been talked about for some time, and it seems with good reason – despite Meta’s brakes on the issue – as there will be 39.5 million social buyers on TikTok in 2026, marking a 67% increase over 2022 (Statista).

A fact to keep in mind, especially given the widespread tendency of competitors to emulate algorithms and features of the Chinese social.

#5 Will sustainability go the way of DE&I plans?

The current drop in investment in Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) projects and initiatives by U.S. giants has confirmed fears that, behind many corporate activities with a social purpose lies opportunism, which many believe is also about greenwashing.

Greenwashing refers to cosmetic environmentalism, implemented through communication strategies by some companies in order to shape a falsely (or exaggeratedly) green image.

Consumers, however, will continue to be sensitive on the issue, and the second-hand sales, also aided by inflation, should not be underestimated.

#6 Augmented reality accelerates the pace

This year the contribution of Augmented Reality (AR) to global retail sales of something like $36 billion.

This is no coincidence, as the 4 out of 10 consumers are willing to pay more by being able to test products from home with AR capabilities.

#7 Increase Buy Now Pay Later Again

BNPL stands for Buy Now Pay Later, a deferred payment mode chosen by more than 40 percent of web consumers in 2023.

Turnover, as of the end of 2024, was reportedly close to a record high of 95 billion.

Specifically, in the Italian market, BNPL requests in 2024 increased by 34.2 percent compared to 2023, driven by consumers from Generation Z and Southern Italy (+43 percent both clusters), the female gender (about 60 percent of the total).(Data made available by the Italian Credit Report).

Not to mention the AI

We want to avoid repeating what you have almost certainly been reading for months everywhere, but a mention of artificial intelligence is in order.

AI is not only already impacting product data management processes, but will soon open up unprecedented scenarios for e-commerce and marketplace customers as well.

Last November, for example, Perplexity launched an AI shopping assistant that guides shoppers through hundreds of products on the Web.

Ride the present and anticipate the future with SeeCommerce

Before we say goodbye, we want to remind you that PXM software like SeeCommerce can prove invaluable in anticipating and governing these and many other challenges related to PIM trends and Product Information Management in general.

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In online shopping, PDPs and PLPs are essential elements.

In this article, you will discover the meaning of Product Detail Page and Product Listing Page, the difference between PDPs and PLPs, their structure and how PXM software can be decisive in building, populating and distributing them.

What PDP and PLP mean in the e-commerce and marketplace world

When it comes to online shopping, the acronym PDP stands for Product Detail Page, while PLP stands for Product Listing Page.

As can be guessed from the name, the product detail page contains all relevant information about an item or service promoted or sold online. 

The PDP usually highlights to the customer the name, description, price as well as information on model and variants, shipping and returns, and payment methods.

The Product Detail Page is also almost always accompanied by digital assets such as images – classic or 360° – and videos of the product.

The Product Listing Page (PLP), on the other hand, offers a cross-section of the company’s online catalogue via a grid layout.

The PLP appears after the user – within the online shop – selects a category, performs a search or applies a filter.

It offers a narrower data set than the PLP such as name, price, preview photo and any new or discount labels.

Why are PDP and PLP important?

Short answer: both are essential to the customer experience.

Resorting to a metaphor, we could say that the PLP is the lighthouse that guides navigation while the PDP is the harbour that welcomes those who sail an e-shop. 

In most cases, the PLP is the first interaction between user and product; a step often necessary to get to the PDP, the point of conversion, where the purchase actually takes place.

PDP, PLP and e-commerce: a bit of advice

There are PDPs and PLPs that work better than others. Why?

The answer is complex as it consists of a mix of copywriting, graphic and web design choices and skills; but we’ll try!

Product Listing Page (PLP): what to pay attention to

Given its exploratory nature, PLP must have little but essential information, offering the user quick searches, powerful filters and intuitive sorting.

E-commerce and marketplaces, in fact, break down the physiological limits of physical spaces by making the assortment potentially unlimited, but it must be searchable easily and immediately.

In addition, from an omnichannel perspective, it is crucial that PLP is responsive.

Product Detail Page (PDP): what are the key factors

As far as the Product Detail Page is concerned, in addition to an unambiguous and obvious Call to Action (e.g. Add to Cart), product information management is strategic for PDP.

The user in PDP, in fact, expects comprehensive, translated and always up-to-date data on the products and services offered, as well as quality images and videos.

PDPs convert users… of PLPs

Beware of underestimating PLPs and focusing only on PDPs.

Product Detail Pages, it is true, convert and it is they that feed the shopping carts. But they do so thanks to the SEO positioning generated mainly by PLPs.

Specifically, category pages – as opposed to product-specific pages – rank 19% higher in keyword rankings and generate over 400% more estimated traffic, according to Jill Brown, Director of SEO at JumpFly.

PDP and PLP: key metrics to be analysed

Indicators for measuring the effectiveness of PDPs include the conversion rate of the page, the average time spent, and the percentage of clicks to CTAs.

For PLP, on the other hand, in addition to the average time and exit rate, the average number of products viewed, the share of clicks to PDPs are measured.

In addition to web analytics tools, heatmaps, which highlight the areas most clicked on or viewed (with eye-tracking devices) by users, are useful for analysis.

The Impact of Product eXperience Management on Product Listing Page and Product Detail Page

Especially in the case of multi-channel strategies with large and deep assortments, managing PDPs and PLPs can become a big issue.

A Product eXperience Management software centralises, optimises and distributes data and media content of the entire product catalogue.

In medium to large companies, a PXM software is essential to have clear, precise information delivered in real time, which can be sorted and filtered on every channel.

Similarly, images and videos – of all formats – are dynamically optimised and published at the highest possible quality, while guaranteeing fast loading speeds for each web page, PDP or PLP.

On the other hand, poor attention to the quality of data and multimedia content is one of the main causes of negative reviews in online shopping.

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