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Did you know that 94% of customers compare prices online before they make a purchase? So why as a business would you give them scope to consider your competitors’ products by sleeping on the power of tracking their price history? In the e-commerce space where every click has an impact and the preferences of your potential client bases or audience change fast, competitor monitoring is the real deal especially understanding how they price their products.
That’s because keeping a tab of your competitors' price history can help you predict market trends before they unfold, adjust your pricing in real-time to cut through in the competitive markets no matter what industry you're in and supercharge your sales. Research shows you can even boost your profit margins by 10% using this strategy as 79% of customers compare prices online and consider it as one of the most important factors when making purchasing decisions.
Want to know all about competitor price history, what it is, its importance and how can you do competitor price comparison? Read along.
What is Competitor Price History and How Can It Be Helpful?
Competitor price history is simply the name given to systematically tracking and analyzing the changes or fluctuations in your competitors’ product or service pricing over a certain period. As a business, this can help you get insights about how your customers price their offerings, and some trends related to how they increase or decrease their prices, especially around certain times so you can price your offerings competitively and get a thorough idea of the market and consumer behavior.
For example, notice that a certain competitor offers promotional discounts or usually lowers their prices during festive or end-of-season times. In that case, you can adjust your business’ pricing accordingly so you don’t miss out on sales.
Importance of Competitors' Price History
Competitor price comparison or history can help your business in many ways including:
Informed Pricing Decisions
By tracking the historical price data of your competitor businesses, you can set competitive prices that attract your customers while also increasing your profitability. For example, by offering discounts around the same time as your competitor or some time before, you can make great sales even with reduced prices. Let’s say you sell a product for 50 dollars and you keep it the same while your competitor offers the same product for 35 dollars during sales. Now, if you don’t reduce your pricing, your customers might end up buying their product whereas if you adjust promptly and even offer a minimal discount of five dollars your customers will buy your products. That’s how sale psychology works, research shows consumers are more likely to buy your products when they see a sale or document badge.
Market Trend Insights
Tracking price history can help you identify emerging trends before they become noticeable to others. For example, if your price history data reports a steady increase in prices for a specific type of product, this can give away about the rising demand or the reduced supply.
Enhanced Competitive Positioning
Understanding how your competitors price their products can help you position your offerings more effectively. As we discussed, if your competitor raises prices on a popular item, this can let you choose to maintain or slightly decrease your price to seize some market share rather than completely miss out on sales.
Improved Profit Margins
By finding that sweet spot between competitiveness and profitability, you can easily avoid setting prices of your offerings that are too low or way too high. One study found that as much as 67% of consumers hold competitive pricing in high regard when they’re shopping online, which highlights the importance of strategic pricing.
How To Examine Competitors’ Price History – Simple Steps
Examining competitor price history can be straightforward if approached methodically:
1. Identify Key Competitors
First up, start by identifying who are your main competitors in your particular industry or market niche. This is important for a thorough and effective analysis.
2. Utilize Price Tracking Tools
Tools like PriceIntelGuru provide comprehensive solutions for tracking competitor prices over time. With features that allow for real-time updates and historical data analysis, these tools can help streamline your pricing strategy.
3. Collect and Analyze Data
Regularly gather data on competitors' prices and analyze it for trends and patterns. Look for seasonal variations or promotional strategies that could inform your pricing decisions.
4. Adjust Your Pricing Strategy
Use the insights that you get from certain price history tracking tools and information from your analysis to make appropriate adjustments to your pricing strategy. Just make sure you stay competitive in the marketplace.
How to Take Advantage of Pricing History?
Understanding and using pricing history can allow you to experience its many benefits for your business. Here’s how you can make the most of the valuable pricing-related data you get:
Improving Pricing Strategies
You can take advantage of pricing history when improving your pricing strategies because pricing history is not just about analyzing your competitor's rate, but also about analyzing what worked out for you regarding pricing and what didn't work out in the past. For example, if certain pricing strategies of yours led to increased sales, or at certain times some discounts worked more for increasing your profitability, you can work accordingly.
Use Price History to Analyze Product Performance in the Market
You can also use price history data to analyze how well your product or service is performing compared to similar products or services that your competitors are offering. If you see that a certain product of yours is selling well throughout the year at a very specific price point but others are not selling the same or better, you can use this data to make your future pricing decisions. Besides, when you are tracking your performance metrics closely while tracking price history, you can also adjust your pricing strategy in real time to increase your sales as well as your business’s profitability.
Transforming Data into Profitable Outcomes
The data you get from competitor prices through monitoring can be also used to turn into actionable strategies for your own business and brand. For example, if you notice that your competitor is frequently running promotions during certain times of the year, try to time your promotions similarly or even offer better deals during those discount times or promotional offerings. These very well strategically aligned marketing and promotional activities can help you attract more customers and increase your sales.
By effectively utilizing pricing history, you position yourself to make informed decisions that drive sales and improve customer satisfaction. Embrace these insights to enhance your pricing strategies and watch your business thrive!
Inventory Management Insights
Competitor price tracking also provides valuable insights for inventory management. By understanding how pricing affects demand, you can adjust stock levels proactively. If historical data indicates rising prices for certain products, it may be wise to stock up before demand increases further.
Examples of Brands Using Competitor Price History
Many leading brands successfully utilize competitor price history analysis as part of their overall strategy:
Amazon vs. Walmart
Amazon and Walmart, the leading supermarket brands constantly change and adjust their prices using different pricing algorithms in line with their competitor’s actions. This helps them remain competitive and keep on attracting customers with the best deals and price points.
Uber vs. Lyft
In the ride-sharing industry, big names like Uber and Lyft are no different. Both companies closely monitor each other's pricing strategies so they can offer competitive fares, discounts, and offers to their customers.
Emerging Trends in Price History Analysis
As technology evolves, so does the approach to analyzing competitor price history.
Use of AI and Machine Learning in Price Analysis
AI and machine learning are becoming integral tools in price analysis. Both of these technologies can analyze a vast amount of data in a very short time, and identify different trends and patterns that human analysis can easily miss. For example, the AI-driven tool PriceIntelGuru can predict future pricing trends based on historical data and current market status.
Real-Time Data Tracking
In a competitive landscape where prices change frequently, real-time data tracking is essential. Different businesses are now using real-time tracking tools supported by AI that can respond swiftly to competitive price changes and ensure that they remain competitive without any delays.
For example, during peak shopping seasons like Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales or Christmas season, different brands, namely Amazon and Walmart, use real-time data analytics to consistently adjust their prices based on whatever their competitors are up to.
How PriceIntelGuru Helps with Competitor Price History?
When it comes to tracking competitor price history effectively, PriceIntelGuru stands out as an industry leader. With its advanced features for real-time tracking and detailed analytics, as well as automated updates, PriceIntelGuru can empower businesses like yours to make informed pricing decisions that enhance your competitiveness in the market and improve profitability.
Final Thoughts
All in all, understanding competitor price history is not just about staying informed; it's about using these insights to make strategic decisions for your business that guarantee increased sales and high customer satisfaction rates.
Now that you know about the importance, if you’re looking to implement effective competitor price tracking solutions, choosing PriceIntelGuru can be your best bet to transform data into actionable strategies that supercharge your business's bottom line.
Don’t let your competitors outpace you, start optimizing your pricing strategy today with PriceIntelGuru! Book a free demo now and take the first step toward smarter pricing decisions!