Monitoring competitors' prices: what's important to consider when choosing

Researching the precise prices of products sold online is an important competitive measure. However, the large number of competitors and product groups complicates the manual process of collecting and analyzing data. For this purpose, it is recommended to use specialized services, including Competitor Price Monitor.

What parameters are considered when choosing a service?

This type of market research can have varying costs and cover a wide range of products and sellers. However, when selecting a service, the following factors are primarily considered:
The client's business size, the type of competitors, and the cost of the service itself. Some services are targeted at individual entrepreneurs based on a combination of indicators, while others cover a vast number of products and sellers, but are expensive. These are suitable for large companies. Their features may be excessive for small businesses, and the cost may not be optimal.
A set of features, among which automatic data collection and dynamic pricing based on the information collected are mandatory. Price adjustments are also processed automatically.
Data accuracy and timeliness. Some systems allow for hourly monitoring.

Capabilities for analyzing the obtained data. The monitoring system should be able to bypass blocking and extract data from online stores, marketplaces, catalogs, and price lists.

The volume of extracted data should include, in addition to price, product availability, delivery terms, promotions and bonuses, and warehouse stock. These parameters will provide a more objective picture of the market.

Tips

It's worth using trusted services that offer a variety of market research tools. You can define product groups and specific competitors to track their offerings.

The monitoring service should be able to identify instances of dumping and overpricing, eliminating these indicators, thereby eliminating random occurrences from the analysis.

The diverse information obtained should be compiled into concise and comprehensive reports, and these reports should be used to create tables, graphs, and other visual aids that allow for quick and accurate information processing.

The price monitoring service should also integrate with the client's other business programs, creating a unified financial information environment. In other words, a comprehensive approach is recommended when choosing a price monitoring service.