Naver to adopt global standard in product specs for easier online shopping

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Naver will team up to establish a standard for product information that e-commerce players will upload to a centralized platform.

Kim Joo-kwan, head of Naver Shopping, third from left, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) director Chang Keun-moo, fourth from right, pose for a photo with others after the signing ceremoy held at KCCI's office building in central Seoul on Monday. [KCCI]

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Naver will develop a platform that can systematically manage product information registered by Korean e-commerce sellers, simplifying the process of comparing purchasing options for consumers.

The KCCI and Naver signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to standardize product information distributed online and establish a platform for manufacturers, companies and online sellers to manage the relevant details.

The product information will be organized by applying the GS1 international standard product codes. GS1, or Global Standard One, is a nonprofit global organization with 117 member countries that promotes business communication and standards in the retail sector.

Before, sellers had to register their production information directly on each e-commerce platform that they wanted to join, leading to redundant or inaccurate details. Sellers also used different formats to register the information, making it difficult for consumers to search or compare prices.

With the establishment of the platform, sellers will only need to register the product information once on the centralized system that will index items based on barcodes. Each e-commerce platform will be able to access and use this information to manage the products being sold on their respective sites.

Consumers are also intended to benefit with the ease of comparing sales and purchase options of multiple sellers on one platform.

The collected information will also be used as data that will be utilized in other industry sectors such as AI, personalized product recommendations, analysis for new product trends and consumption patterns.

Naver will come up with the classification standards for item information, and will recommend that online sellers register their products on the platform that will be built by the KCCI.

“This agreement with Naver and the establishment of the standardized platform will significantly increase the competitiveness of the domestic retail industry, especially in the midst of intensifying competition from Chinese e-commerce companies such as AliExpress and Temu,” said Chang Keun-moo, director at KCCI, in a statement. “Even when entering the global market, products can be efficiently distributed based on the international system without the need to separately enter product codes.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]