PRICE LIST - WEBSCRAPING
Definition
Price monitoring is the process of collecting competitors’ prices for a sample of products, either in physical stores or online. It can be done manually (on-site data collection by surveyors) or automatically (web scraping, APIs, data panels). Price monitoring is the first step in any price monitoring strategy.
Competitor Price Tracking or Web Scraping: What Is It?
Competitor pricing analysis can be conducted in several ways: online through e-commerce sites, directly at retail locations, or using specialized data collection and analysis tools. The goal is to gain an accurate understanding of how market players position their prices.
In practice, a competitor price survey typically includes the listed price, current promotions, applicable discounts, product availability, and other useful information such as packaging or how the offer is presented.
A valuable decision-making tool, competitor pricing analysis serves as a strategic lever for optimizing pricing strategies, enhancing competitiveness, and quickly identifying opportunities or gaps in positioning relative to the competition. Through regular price monitoring, companies can adjust their prices in line with market trends and maximize their sales performance.
Why is the price list important?
- Know your market position: without price data, it’s impossible to know whether your key products are competitive or out of line with the market.
- Identifying opportunities: Regular monitoring reveals areas where you can raise your prices (more expensive competitors) or need to adjust them (aggressive competitors).
- Feeding data into analytical tools: The data feeds into your pricing analytics tools, price indexes, and strategic dashboards.
A concrete example:
A home improvement retailer conducts weekly price surveys on 300 items (tools, paint, hardware) at five competing stores within its catchment area. Surveyors record the prices displayed on the shelves as well as the promotions at the end caps.
The data is consolidated in a dashboard that automatically calculates price differences for each product. The pricing team identifies 40 products for which their prices are 10% higher than the competition’s and decides to adjust the prices.
How do you conduct price surveys?
Manual data collection: Surveyors visit competing stores with a list of products to record. This method is reliable but costly and time-consuming. It is useful for brick-and-mortar stores or products not sold online.
Automated data collection: Bots scrape competing e-commerce sites to gather prices, inventory levels, and promotions. This method is fast, comprehensive, and cost-effective. It requires rigorous product matching.
Data panels: Some providers aggregate data from the databases of multiple retailers and provide consolidated price reports. This method is accurate but limited to partner retailers.
Common errors observed:
- Irregular price checks: Checking prices every three months isn’t enough in e-commerce, where prices change daily. Adjust the frequency to match the pace of the market.
- Non-representative sample: Selecting 20 random products is meaningless. Focus on your KPIs and high-turnover products.
- Ignoring promotions: Comparing "regular" prices without taking current promotions into account gives a distorted view of the competitive landscape.
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