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Price comparison websites are everywhere on the internet, their increase driven by constant growth in consumer appetite for the best deals, prices and bargains. The popularity of price comparison websites has grown mainly due to the convenience consumers enjoy as prices and other product information they need are scraped from thousands of relevant websites across the internet, curated and sorted in one place. In the same way consumers take advantage of the visibility price comparison websites provide them, retail businesses can also take advantage of similar technologies to get valuable pricing intelligence and maximise their competitive edge in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
1. Automate for Speed
One of the most important advantages for retail businesses using price comparison websites is the instant visibility it provides on their primary competitors. Intelligent retailers automate this process as a more efficient alternative to manual web searches to figure out what other businesses are selling the same products. A quick stop at a price comparison site or using a competitor price tracking solution will not only give the business clarity on their competitor landscape, they are now able to determine who their real competitors are with greater accuracy and detail, as well as the opportunity to see exactly where the business is positioned based on their current pricing strategy.
2. Sort for Visibility
Retail businesses that use price tracking or price monitoring technologies often find that they’re not offering the lowest price and may reactively adjust their pricing without taking a closer look at other factors that could provide more insight around why the competition has set that price. Browse through some of their websites and take a look at where they may be offering added value to customer, or where they could be cutting corners exposing an opportunity to exploit. Added value can appear in a number of different ways but is only of real value to those businesses who know their customers and understand what they want, like or need.
Some retailers aim to sell their products at the lowest possible price within their marketplace but employing such a strategy without any insight into why other competitors are pricing higher could be a very expensive strategy, especially in relation to maximising margins. If competitors have a similar retail business or sell the exact same or similar products, use this knowledge to gain more insight into their business. Spend time browsing their websites, looking for areas where the cost may be offset but still offering perceived value. A retailer that’s offers a product at £19.99 with free shipping could be perceived better value than the competition offering the same product at £15.99 with £3.99 shipping fee.
Many price comparison solutions for retail businesses also feature reviews from customers, which could provide valuable insight into how the competition is conducting their business and a feel for what customer likes and dislikes are within the marketplace. Are they effective at resolving customers’ complaints? Do they have a simple returns policy? Do they have happy customers? Taking careful note of issues raised by competitor's customers can provide you with a unique way of targeting new offers to your own potential customers as well as using this insight to attract new customers.
Price is an important consideration for every customer, but it's not the only element that matters. Intelligent retail businesses automate their price monitoring activity making it faster easier and simpler to access, analyse and take action on competitive intelligence to determine the most effective strategy for their business.
See how Competitor Monitor turns pricing intelligence into a competitive advantage for online retailers.
