Product Catalog
The structured list of everything a merchant sells, including price, images, and descriptions for each item.
What is Product Catalog?
A product catalog is the structured collection of every item a merchant sells, with each item's core details (name, price, images, description, and identifying codes) organized in a consistent format. It's the digital equivalent of a printed catalog: instead of pages, it's structured entries, one per product, that software like a website, an app, or a search engine can read and display. An online clothing retailer's catalog lists a jacket as its own entry alongside every other item it sells.
Why it matters
A product catalog is typically stored in a Product Information Management (PIM) system or an ecommerce platform's database, then exposed externally in different shapes depending on the destination: HTML pages with embedded structured data for search engines, a delimited feed file for ad platforms, or an API response for apps. Schema.org models this with types like Product and the broader OfferCatalog, letting a catalog's structure be described consistently regardless of which system renders it. Catalog size and attribute depth vary enormously. A large retailer's catalog can span millions of SKUs, each carrying dozens of structured attributes beyond the basics.