As retailers, brands, or eCommerce business owners, you have to keep an eye on your competition. And one of the most important aspects you need to look out for is ‘price monitoring’. Customers today have easy access not only to your products but also to your competitor’s products.
In fact, according to a study, 87% of customers make their purchase decision based on the price. So if you want to stay ahead of your competition, you have to monitor your competitor’s prices to alter your pricing strategies accordingly.
Also, customers have access to search engines that allow them to compare the prices of the same product across multiple brands, retailers, and websites. According to a study by AYTM, 78% of consumers compare prices offered by different brands and choose the one that offers the lowest price.
Price monitoring also helps you predict future sales and manage your inventory better. For example, if a seller drops the price of a popular item to serve as a loss leader then you know that the sales for that particular item will dip amongst other sellers. So with proper price monitoring, you can be better prepared for this situation and make the necessary changes in inventory and ordering.
Keeping a track of all your competitors’ prices across multiple products can be challenging and doing it manually is not going to cut it. This is where ‘price monitoring software’ comes in.
With a price monitoring software, you can see when a competitor has lowered or raised a product’s price in real-time. And plus, you can always be sure that the price information you get is accurate so you will always make decisions backed by 100% accurate data.
What is Price Monitoring Software and What Does it Do?
It helps you gain real-time information about your competitors’ product prices, promos, availability, and other data you can use to optimize your pricing strategy.
Especially, if your store exists in an extremely competitive domain, you need accurate information about your product’s position with respect to your competitors. This also helps you understand at what levels do your products compete and how your competitor’s pricing-related actions affect your sales.
Features to Look for in a Price Monitoring Software
- The most basic feature any price monitoring software should have is product price monitoring wherein it helps you keep track of all the products’ prices across multiple competitors
- The software should also track the system for changes in stock and promotions so you can change your pricing strategy accordingly to drive maximum sales
- The software would also give you information about price history where you can track which competitor started to lower the prices and when
- The software should also be able to help you segment product prices based on different categories like the type of product, brands, custom tags, name, etc.
- The software should also be able to provide you with reviews of the competitors’ products and reports of the bestselling products
- The software should also be able to identify other competitors you may like to keep a track of
How Can Retailers Leverage Price Monitoring Software And Maximize Profits
By using a price monitoring software you can get a clearer picture of what’s going on in the market. Based on this information you can then make appropriate changes to your pricing strategy in order to drive more sales and maximize your profits.
Making use of the software will prove to be convenient for you as you can view all the information on a single platform. You can view information like competitors’ prices, trending products, offers, promos, etc. all in one place. This helps you imagine the bigger picture more clearly, after which you can make the most effective changes to your own strategies. It also helps you understand where you stand in the market.
It also makes sense to use price tracking software as it is a one-time investment and you wouldn’t need to employ someone to do the job manually. Monitoring prices manually is a cumbersome job and it wouldn’t be possible to get pricing data in real-time. There would always be a lag of at least 5-7 days. This is why using a price monitoring software seems to be the most effective solution.
Here’s how you can leverage price monitoring software for your benefit:
- You can easily track the prices of your direct competitors or retailers who sell your products as well
- You can also analyze what position your product stands in as compared to your competitors in the market
- You can also analyze the market to ensure that your business stays competitively relevant for your industry
- You can always be on the lookout for opportunities to increase your profit margins by watching your competitors prices
- Since the price monitoring software gives you the information in real-time, you can make decisions backed by data that you know will work in the market
- By gaining actionable insights through the software, you will be able to make better decisions for your business. Soon enough, you’ll see a positive change in your sales growth
- It has the ability to track prices offered by numerous retailers both at the national and international levels. This can help you understand the market and gain a complete picture of the market both at a national and an international level
- You can always stay on top of price trends and offer the best prices to your customers. This will not only increase sales but also help improve the image of your retail store or brand.
What to Do with all this Information from the Price Monitoring Software?
Okay, so you’re sold on the benefits of this software. But what next? How would you use all that information and turn them into actionable steps you can take? Well, here’s how:
- Price monitoring will help you create the most beneficial offers for your customers. You can create effective solutions for your customers based on which category of products your customers are most interested in.
- Once you know what your customers are interested in, you can adjust your prices to lure the customers and once they’re in you can upsell and cross-sell to your customers to increase your sales (both online and at your retail store)
- You can track competitor prices and analyze market trends in real-time. With this information, you can make immediate changes to your pricing strategy using credible and reliable information. This way, your customers will also get the most beneficial offers from your store
- You can perform an accurate price analysis. This can help you establish competitive prices for your products both at your retail store and website. You can attract more customers by offering competitive prices
- By analyzing competitor trends, you can implement tactical solutions for your benefit. Like, for example, if a competitor dips their prices for a particular product, you can hold selling that particular product until your competitor goes out of stock
- You can also keep track of any new products that your competitors might start selling. This way, you can add new products to your own store’s assortment by keeping a track of your competitors
- And finally, you can plan your advertising campaigns in a more successful manner once you know what your competitors are offering. You can launch multiple promotions, offer deals and discounts or offer anything unique that is not already being offered by other competitors
Final Thoughts
The point is that you have to be able to track all your competitors. Even if you have, say about, 10-20 products, it is not enough to track a couple of direct competitors and alter your pricing strategy based on just those competitors.
And plus, your competitors are everywhere – social media, marketplaces, some even have their own websites and apps.
This is why you simply need to stay on top of your competitors and the best way to do that is by monitoring their prices and everything related. But doing it manually is going to cost you a lot of dollars plus time and it still won’t be accurate. Hence the simple solution is price monitoring software!
