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Businesses have to put on their best to grow in a market. Now, eCommerce is a fast-paced market and there is undoubtedly cut-throat competition. And keeping up with the latest trends can become quite cumbersome. Moreover, retaining a loyal customer or grabbing the attention of the customer in such bombardments can be tricky.
It goes without saying that discounts attract buyers. It makes consumers happy when they get a good deal. Also, if you offer a discounted price on one platform and not on the other, the customers can get upset that they paid more for the same product which was sold at a lesser price elsewhere. So, pricing should be uniform and designed only after an in-depth study. Thus, you need to monitor as well as sync the prices of your product across the channels and not to forget that you need to track competitor pricing along the way to stay alert about any kind of sudden changes in the market. It is safe to say that, keeping an eye on everything that’s going on in the industry can help you make the right decision at the right time.
This makes it important for e-commerce retailers to monitor the market trends followed by offering a competitive price for their entire product range. The issue is that you can’t do it manually especially if you are a medium-scale or large-scale company. You can successfully track competitor pricing with the help of the software.
In today’s blog, we will help you gain a deeper understanding of tracking competitor prices and also how can it be helpful in scaling your business.
So, let us begin and start with the basic concept.
What is Competitor Price Tracking?
Competitor price tracking is about to monitor competitor prices daily for getting an insight into their products, prices, promotions, marketing as well as strategies. The software to track competitor pricing can help in keeping an eye on the competitor’s price, stock availability, and more in the real-time. You will get to know how frequently they update the prices. This can help in making accurate decisions about the pricing strategy. PriceIntelGuru provides the best platform for competitive price monitoring in 2022. Make the best of this before black Friday 2022 is here.
Significance Of Tracking The Competitors
The present eCommerce environment has become very competitive as new players are entering the market all the time. You need to find a way out to keep an eye on their activities. It is extremely important to be aware of your competitors to see if they are outperforming you. If yes, then you need to understand the underlying reason. Furthermore, you need to assess all your operations to stay ahead of your competition.
Earlier, businesses used to track competitor pricing manually with Excel. Now, that was possible because there were only a few companies that you needed to watch out for. And it is not pragmatic to do the same now. Also, manual tracking comes with the risk of errors, biases and mistakes. In a highly competitive market, manual price tracking is almost impossible and not suggested. Thus, automation is the key which can be achieved with competitor price tracking software. It can be said that competitor monitoring is a sophisticated way of spying on your competitors. Your competitors might also be spying on you. It is not wrong to steal their secrets but learning their strategy can be helpful in understanding their mindset towards a particular eCommerce platform. And when we say that you monitor them doesn’t mean that you should follow their pricing strategy.
For instance, if you sell $20 socks and your competitor sells them at $18 then it is not necessary to drop the price. But it is significant to communicate your price with your customers by showing them the value you are selling. It can be better quality, free deliveries or any thing that is not tangible. This helps you build a brand perception in the minds of your consumers.
Role Of Competitor Price Tracking In E-commerce Platforms
E-commerce giants such as eBay, Amazon, etc., keep on changing their prices a few times a day. Now that is called dynamic pricing. Every eCommerce platform has its algorithm that helps them give a better user interface and shopping experience. So, they go through this strategy because they want more engagement for their shoppers. And if you are not aware of these price changes, you can’t compete with them effectively. More significantly, you will lose out on good consumers. So, you need to ensure that you have a good ranking in the eCommerce platforms as well to stay ahead while a user searches for a particular keyword. And automated price tracking can help you achieve that without any hassle.
Here are some features commonly provided by these platforms:
1. Competitor Price Tracking
Understanding what your competitors are charging for similar products is like having a secret weapon in the e-commerce game. Competitor price monitoring involves regularly checking and analyzing the prices your rivals have set for their products. This valuable information helps you make informed decisions about your own pricing strategy.
Price tracking tools gather information from numerous eCommerce brands and marketplaces, consolidating it into a single pricing dashboard. This enables you to easily compare your prices with the retail prices set by your main competitors.
2. Pricing Intelligence
Unlock the superpower of gathering, analyzing, and utilizing pricing data to your advantage. Price intelligence is not just about knowing your competitors' prices; it's about grasping broader market trends. Mastering pricing insights empowers you to make strategic decisions to stay competitive and meet customer expectations. By utilizing it, you can grasp the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, empowering you to strategically launch counter-campaigns in response.
3. Smart Pricing Strategies
Embrace the dynamic world of smart repricing or dynamic pricing. Imagine your online store adjusting its prices automatically based on your competitors' moves. Explore how adaptive pricing strategies keep you in the game, ensuring you always offer the best deals to your customers.
4. Smart Catalog Management
Beyond prices, catalog intelligence involves monitoring your competitors' product offerings and catalog changes. Learn how observing their lineup helps you identify gaps, overlaps, or unique items. This insight allows you to fine-tune your own catalog, making your products stand out in the crowded e-commerce space.
5. Pricing Chronicles and E-commerce Reports
Gain a crystal ball for pricing decisions through a journey into price history and eCommerce pricing reports. Delve into historical pricing data and generate reports to gain insights into trends, seasonal variations, and the effectiveness of your pricing strategies. It's like having a roadmap for navigating the ever-changing pricing landscape.
Certainly, continuously checking for price changes every hour is neither practical nor productive. eCommerce pricing reports offer a solution by automatically delivering all your alerts directly to your email inbox.
Even if you were not into competitor price tracking, it’s never too late. Once you get started, you will enjoy an advantage over your competitors. It is never about offering the cheapest price but the right price.
How Is Competitor Price Tracking Done?
1. Determine the Quality Of Data
Accurate data is important for analyzing competitors. The retailers must take everything into account such as product color, technical features, and other attributes as it contributes to high-quality data. Here accurate web data extraction comes into the picture. WebDataGuru can help you get that. A comparison should be done by combining manual and automated methods to prevent the chances of errors. Also, when millions of data need to be scrutinized, manual extraction will not be helpful.
It is to be known that the data estimated before collection can exceed the usable data which is delivered. You should use the collected data within two hours for re-pricing. But automated data extraction can help you get better insights as well with the help of relevant analytics.
2. Defining Data Parameters
You must determine a few important parameters of the competitive data you want to collect and analyze for the process of pricing. Some examples of the parameters that you need to define are as follows:
- The price index reflects the retailer’s position in the market for a specific product or category of the product during a particular duration of time. It visualizes the impact of market dynamics on sales and offers data on the prices listed by the competitors.
- It has been estimated that at least one-third of the customers look for discounts before buying a product. Thus, you must constantly monitor the promotional activities and discounts offered by competitors in the industry for optimizing the promotional offers.
- By monitoring competitors' price and their stock, you can adjust your prices on the basis of the supply of an item or category of item in the market at any given point in time.
Retailers think to track competitor pricing they only need to perform peer group analysis. However, they need to study internal company data apart from the competitor data. These are just a few of the parameters that can be defined by retailers.
3. Categorize The Competitors
Once you have sufficient data to track competitor pricing, you must classify the competitors based on various factors such as target audience, product quality, and more. The competitors can be divided into three categories.
- Primary- These are your direct competitors who have the same buyer category as yours.
- Secondary- These are the competitors that focus on the downscale or upscale version of your products. Analysis of the secondary level competitors enables your business to develop a bigger idea of your position in the market. You can then improve your strategic skills.
- Tertiary- These are the competitors which are indirectly relevant to you. The analysis of this competition helps you in expanding your product assortment.
4. Smart Pricing Analysis With Machine-Based Pricing Tool
It is time to rely on automated solutions for collecting and analyzing competitor data. There are several benefits of machine over manual tracking such as:
- Improvement in accuracy
- Ability to process bigger as well as complex data
- Timely delivery
- Offer accurate pricing recommendations
5. Track the Online Activity of Your Competitors
To gain a better understanding of the market, you should monitor competitors price and their online activities on websites and social media platforms. You must examine many aspects such as:
- Visual presentation
- Social media activity
- Product descriptions
- If the website is mobile-friendly
- Response rate
- Customer support/feedback options
You can also become a follower on their social media or sign up for their official newsletter. You need to understand what attracts customers to your client’s products.
It is not easy to create a competitive pricing strategy. There are several factors which revolve around data. You need to decide if you wish to use automation within the pricing process and up to what extent.
What Are the Benefits of Tracking Your Competitors' Price?
Let's delve into five key benefits of keeping tabs on your competition and how each can be a game-changer for your business.
1. Swift Price Adjustments:
Ever wondered how some businesses seem to nail their pricing just right? The secret often lies in tracking what others are doing. By staying in the loop on your competitors' pricing strategies, you can make quick adjustments to keep your offerings competitive and attractive to customers.
2. Navigating Different Marketplaces:
Markets vary, and what works in one may not in another. By monitoring competitors across different platforms, you gain insights into the unique dynamics of each. This enables you to tailor your approach, ensuring you're not just competitive but a standout player in every marketplace you enter.
3. Weekend and Holiday Excellence:
Weekends and holidays can be a goldmine for businesses. Knowing how your competitors operate during these peak times allows you to optimize your strategies. You can offer special promotions, manage inventory effectively, and enhance customer service to outshine the competition when it matters most.
4. Staying Ahead of Marketing Trends:
The world of marketing is ever-evolving, and your competitors can be a valuable source of insights into emerging trends. By keeping an eye on their marketing tactics, you can proactively align your strategies with the latest trends, ensuring your brand remains fresh and resonant with your audience.
5. Mastering Stock Availability:
Running out of stock or having excess inventory can be a tricky balancing act. By monitoring your competitors' stock levels, you gain a better understanding of market demand. This knowledge empowers you to adjust your own inventory management, ensuring you're well-stocked when others might face shortages or, conversely, seizing opportunities when competitors experience stock gaps.
These five insights can be the keys to unlocking a competitive advantage, helping your business not just survive but thrive in a dynamic market.
Track, Compete, and Conquer
These are the three steps to remaining relevant in the eCommerce market. And the very first step is to track the competition. So, if the first step is wrong then you can’t achieve the other two steps to succeed. So, make the right decision and choose PriceIntelGuru for tracking the competitor prices efficiently and effectively.
Get in touch with our experts today to know more!