Why and how to monitor prices if you are an ecommerce

07/09/2017

Angela de la Vieja

85% of online shoppers compare different ecommerce prices before deciding which product to purchase. For digital buyers buying online means buying, it's as simple as that. Therefore, if the prices of your ecommerce are not similar or better than those of your direct competition, the sale will be for your competitor, it´s that simple.

Understanding this competitive scenario is a very powerful reason to monitor the prices of your competition, it is essential to understand the ecosystem in which you move and what your conversion opportunities are. But it is not the only reason, there are some more...

The marketing reasons and the 3 P´s

From a marketing point of view, monitoring the competition offers valuable information about the three big P's of e-commerce: prices, products and promotions.

1. First, price, which, although not everything, is the most influential factor in the purchase decision. When competitive prices are monitored and both historical and real-time analyses of their prices are carried out, a real competitive landscape is achieved. It is the ideal way to find the best selling prices, which are associated with the positioning of e-commerce marketing.

2. Secondly, the products. Monitoring the competition means getting information about your complete catalogue of products, allowing you to have a view of both the assortment and stock. This vision is valuable information to understand the digital merchandising policy of other ecommerce and to know to which category they give more importance or in which product to put more effort in to give it visibility.

3. Third, promotions, which are the result of combining price and product information. If price behaviour is monitored, the detection of downward trends may foresee an aggressive discount policy. If stock increases are detected, for example, the launch of large-scale promotional actions will be anticipated.

But it's not all marketing in e-commerce. An online store is a more transactional aspect, it needs a regular flow that follows these steps: traffic, landing, search, selection, add to cart and purchase.

When monitoring the competition and, moreover, when this information is crossed with internal data, it is possible to give very efficient responses to market trends (with new products, for example), to the seasonality of the sector (with promotional campaigns, for example), the management of purchases and stocks (process optimization), are three other more powerful reasons to monitor the competition.

Where to start when monitoring the competition

Monitoring the competition can seem like a very complex task, but fortunately technology makes the complex simple. A competitive analysis tool allows you to track and store price data (nominal, discount in percentage and in figure, offer, etc.) and of products (names, descriptions, images, stocks, etc.).

With the right technology, you simply have to follow a process like the one that we will propose below:

• Select the right competitors. It is not necessary to select all the companies in the market, but the ecommerce that are considered relevant competitors. This selection is key because otherwise you could collect information that is not valuable to you.

• Identify the correct product assortment. This point may be even more important than the previous one. An ecommerce does not necessarily compete with other ecommerce with the same offer, so the relevant thing is to detect products in which it competes and monitor them in an integral way.

• Define the frequency of follow-up. Deciding how often to track data is an important decision, since after collecting the data you have to analyse it and an internal process is necessary to convert that data into something valuable. Follow-ups too frequently can create bottlenecks, opportunities can rarely be missed.

• Analyse the data and transform it into actions. This is the crucial point of monitoring, it is necessary to define which vision of the data brings more value. Trend analyses, for example, are very useful for understanding long-term price policies, while spot alerts are very useful for reactions with short-term tactical actions.

11/11/2022

Consumer behavior: How can behavior tracking be effective for setting the right pricing strategies?

Behavior tracking is becoming massively popular today. As a result, pricing strategies born from studying consumer behavior are a merchant's dream come true. If done right, it can conquer every market for the business quickly. With abundant data available, the strategic makeover of the pricing models is becoming easy for companies.

What is behavioral tracking, and how is the data beneficial in pricing?

For a quick understanding, behavioral tracking refers to gaining in-depth knowledge and insights into consumers through their web data. Their browsing habits, spontaneous decisions, shopping interests, and preferences come under behavioral tracking.

How can enterprises use customer behavior data?

Companies can use customer behavior data as a tool to strengthen their hold on the market. A customer’s preferences, values, and tendencies allow businesses to work in sync with them through the collected data. Apart from this, customer behavior can also aid in:

Tailoring customer needs for customer retention

Personalization is becoming the heart of a company’s growth. No matter in which area an enterprise is functioning, tailoring the services, products, and solutions is becoming increasingly crucial. Uniqueness and personalization attract the crowd like no other.

Increasing the overall value

One of the best ways customer behavior data affects a business is by upgrading the value of customers for the business. The customer’s characteristics allow the company to target the people that match the business prospects well.

Optimizing every type of content

Everything that is up for digital display requires content. You must have seen companies unveiling their products or services through advertisements and making the initial public appearance. Two essential sales strategies – upselling and cross-selling comes through content optimization.

Pricing Strategy

Last but certainly not least is the influence of customer behavior data on the pricing strategy. The pricing strategy essentially constitutes content derived from data analysis. Companies need to have a dynamic approach to the pricing system to attract the right customers.

17/02/2015

Saint Valentine’s Day, always a good opportunity

V-Day is looming, a long-awaited date for all and also a good occasion for the eCommerce. According the study conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, it is forecasted the average consumer expense that day will be the highest in last years. Furthermore, 25% of them will buy online, which means an increase of 4% regarding 2014 (The US department of Commerce). This is, therefore, a key date where market competitiveness increase and which could be assumed as a big opportunity for our business or, a big fail if we do not adopt the correct strategies.

How to turn this event into an opportunity? To achieve this goal, we need to adapt our prices to this hostile environment, i.e. we need to develop an appropriate Dynamic Pricing strategy that allows us to adapt our prices to the variations produced in supply and demand and to position us ahead of our competitors. In V-Day, the frequency in changes will be higher, carrying it out each hour or even each minute. It is estimated that 65% of leader retailers have the ability to respond quickly at these variations, such Amazon. For this reason, it acquires great importance the correct use of a software specialised in price motorisation of competitors. Do not miss the time and adapt your business to new adversities.

28/12/2022

Which are the best footwear marketplaces to sell on?

Footwear marketplaces are booming. The last decade has seen the launch of new specialized marketplaces with millions of different users. Among them are Spartoo, Sarenza and Farfetch, portals with international reach. Their main value is that they unite hundreds of footwear brands, as well as offering clothes and accessories. Although each has its own characteristics, they are all vertical marketplaces, i.e., they focus on a specific area, and their sales categories are interrelated. For sellers, these portals provide an opportunity to expand sales channels and drive the globalization of their e-commerce business. We explain how to sell on these footwear marketplaces so that you can assess whether they align with your plans for the future and then start defining a possible pricing strategy.