5 PIM market trends to watch in 2026

1. AI moves from experimentation to enterprise-scale automation 

According to McKinsey’s State of AI 2024 report, 65% of surveyed companies now use generative AI regularly in at least one business function and adoption continues to rise year over year. 

This shift signals that AI has entered a phase of normalization, where it’s not merely testing grounds or pilot projects—it’s part of the everyday digital toolbox. In product information management, this means AI is now being applied to: 

• Content enrichment: Automatically generating optimized titles, descriptions, bullet points, and attributes for specific channels. 

• Classification and structure: Tagging SKUs, organizing attributes, and aligning data models using machine learning. 

• Quality assurance: Detecting missing attributes, formatting inconsistencies, or channel compliance gaps in real time. 

• Workflow acceleration: Helping teams reduce repetitive tasks so they can focus on higher-value merchandising and strategic work. 

As organizations mature in their AI literacy, PIM becomes the natural foundation for integrating AI safely, consistently, and transparently—especially as businesses require greater explainability and governance around automation. 

2. Data governance surges in importance as regulatory complexity accelerates 

2026 marks a turning point for product transparency, traceability, and compliance. The European Union’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) enters broader implementation phases, requiring brands selling into the EU to track and disclose detailed product-level information—materials, sourcing, repairability, environmental impact, and more. 

For global organizations, this means data governance is no longer a “nice-to-have”—it’s a core operational requirement. To respond effectively, companies need systems that: 

• Maintain accurate, complete, and version-controlled product attributes 

• Provide audit trails for changes made across teams and systems 

• Support role-based access controls to protect sensitive information 

• Centralize data structures that can feed compliance reports and digital identifiers 

At the same time, emerging regulatory frameworks around AI transparency and data provenance increase the pressure for organizations to manage product information with greater discipline. 

PIM platforms now function not just as content hubs, but as governance engines—ensuring that organizations can meet regulatory demands with confidence and traceability. 

3. Customer lifetime value (CLV) becomes a cross-functional priority powered by clean product data 

Across retail, manufacturing, and B2B commerce, customer acquisition costs have risen steadily—driving brands to focus heavily on customer lifetime value. According to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index, shoppers continue to demand more personalized, consistent, and accurate product experiences across channels. 

While CLV has traditionally been a marketing metric, it now depends on something more foundational: high-quality product information. 

PIM plays a vital role in improving CLV by enabling: 

• Consistent product content across marketplaces, D2C sites, distributors, and retail partners 

• Accurate compatibility data that fuels cross-sell and accessory recommendations 

• Rich post-purchase content, like manuals, specifications, and guidance, that reduces returns 

• Better product discovery through structured attributes that power filters and search 

The modern customer journey is product-led. That means the experience a customer has with a SKU—before, during, and after purchase—directly influences their likelihood to return. PIM gives brands the structure required to keep those interactions consistent and reliable. 

4. Cloud-native and composable PIM becomes the global standard 

Organizations continue to accelerate investments in cloud-based PIM solutions, automation, and API-driven ecosystems. 

This aligns with what we see across PIM buying behavior: 
Companies want systems that can scale globally, integrate seamlessly with e-commerce and ERP platforms, and enable fast collaboration across distributed teams. 

Cloud-native PIM platforms offer: 

• Faster deployments and reduced IT dependency 
• Real-time updates across channels and systems 
• API-powered syndication to marketplaces, retailers, and data pools 
• Easy extensibility through composable services and modular integrations 

As e-commerce channels diversify, marketplaces, social commerce, and AI-driven discovery engines require flexible data foundations that evolve quickly alongside them. Cloud-enterprise PIM has become the standard approach for organizations prioritizing speed, scalability, and digital shelf performance. 

5. Sustainability will still be important – but approaches may change  

Sustainability is still a top priority for global companies, but the focus is shifting from purely compliance to operational efficiency and product transparency. This aligns with the EU’s direction on circularity and the requirements emerging from the Digital Product Passport. 

The ability to track and communicate sustainability data depends heavily on structured, centralized product information—including: 

• Material breakdown 
• Sourcing locations 
• Energy usage 
• Packaging specifications 
• Repairability instructions 
• Lifecycle impacts and certifications 

The DPP framework reinforces that sustainability information must be verifiable, accessible, and linked directly to individual products. A modern PIM system provides the foundation for assembling, validating, and distributing data across supply chain partners, retail channels, and downstream users. 

As transparency becomes a competitive differentiator, PIM empowers organizations to communicate sustainability attributes clearly, strengthening consumer trust while enabling more efficient environmental reporting. 

Inriver: The flexible, future-ready PIM built for 2026 

As AI adoption accelerates, regulatory expectations expand, and competition on the digital shelf intensifies. Organizations need a PIM that can adapt as fast as their markets shift. Inriver is built for that reality. With AI-powered content enrichment, single-click API syndication, digital shelf analytics, and a cloud-native, composable architecture, Inriver gives teams the flexibility and precision they need to operationalize product information at scale. 

Our platform brings structure to complexity, strengthens governance for emerging regulations like the Digital Product Passport, and streamlines collaboration across suppliers, merchandisers, and product teams. In a landscape where product data drives every channel experience, Inriver delivers the confidence, speed, and intelligence to help businesses own the digital shelf—today and in the years ahead.