A shopper in Poland can check the price of the same product in a German shop in a couple of clicks — and a reseller all the more so. Within the European Union, goods move freely between countries, and prices in one country affect sales in another. That is why companies that sell in several EU countries or compete with foreign shops track prices beyond their own market. But comparing prices across countries is harder than within one: different currencies, taxes, rules and platforms. Here is what you need to take into account.
Currencies
The euro is the currency of 21 EU countries, but not of all of them. Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Sweden and Denmark use their own currencies. To compare prices, you need to convert them into a single currency, and two rules matter here:
- Keep the original price and currency. A converted price is a derived value: if the exchange rate changes or a different rate source is chosen, the original data lets you recalculate everything from scratch.
- Use a single exchange-rate source. For example, the European Central Bank's reference rates, published every working day. That way, a currency fluctuation will not look like a change in a competitor's price.
VAT
Consumer prices in the EU are shown including VAT, and standard rates differ: 19% in Germany, 21% in Spain, 23% in Poland, 27% in Hungary. The same VAT-inclusive price in two countries means a different price before tax — and a different seller margin. To compare competitive positioning, what matters is what the shopper sees, i.e. the price including VAT. To analyse margins and supplier prices, use the price excluding VAT. B2B sites often show prices before tax, so when comparing you need to know which price you are looking at.
Discount rules
Since 28 May 2022, the EU has applied the Omnibus Directive rule (Directive (EU) 2019/2161): when announcing a price reduction, the seller must state the lowest price over the previous 30 days. For monitoring, this means the struck-through "old" price on the page does not always match what the seller was charging yesterday, and discounts are more reliably analysed against your own price history than against what the seller puts on the price tag.
Local platforms
Each country has its own set of platforms where prices are formed. Besides online shops and Google Shopping, these include:
- price aggregators: Ceneo in Poland, idealo in Germany and a number of other countries;
- national marketplaces: Allegro in Poland, Bol in the Netherlands and Belgium, Cdiscount in France, eMAG in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria;
- local Amazon storefronts — each country has its own, with its own prices and sellers.
Build the list of sources separately for each country: where shoppers compare prices, not where the data is convenient to collect.
One product, different names
In each country a product is described in the local language, and sometimes it is sold under a different name or in a different configuration for the local market. Matching products across countries by name is unreliable; the anchor is the EAN/GTIN barcode and the manufacturer's part number, and where these are missing from the page, matching by attributes. It is also worth checking that you are comparing the same configuration: versions for different markets may differ in bundled accessories, power plug or pack size.
The price depends on the shopper's country
Many shops detect the visitor's country or ask them to choose a delivery country, and show different prices and terms. Shipping costs and delivery times also depend on the country. This means prices have to be collected the way a shopper from the relevant country sees them, recording which country each price was obtained for.
Where to start
- Pick two or three countries where you have the most sales or the strongest competitors.
- Take your key products — the ones shoppers compare prices on and that bring in most of your revenue.
- Draw up a list of sources for each country: main competitors, a price aggregator, a marketplace.
- Set the check frequency: daily or more often for electronics and marketplaces, less often for stable categories.
- Agree internally which price you compare (with or without VAT) and at which exchange rate.
How it works in Helecos
Helecos finds your competitors, matches products using AI with 99% accuracy and collects prices on a schedule from more than 50 sources in the EU and Ukraine. Every check stores the price, currency, availability, seller and time. The interface is available in five languages, and data is processed in data centres in Nuremberg and Helsinki. Learn more on the competitor price monitoring page.