Tracking prices in online stores

An online store is a modern tool for online sales of any goods. The main task of any marketer is to sell as many goods as possible. What are the options for increasing the turnover of goods?

Similar and recommended products - one of the first directions that can increase sales by 10% or more.

However, internet-shop owners pay little attention to this way of increasing sales turnover. Often, as similar products, in the best case are exposed, those that counted the employee store, or even selected randomly from the list of products in this category. Therefore it is more useful to use a specialized algorithm for the selection of similar products.

For example, the online cosmetics store when buying lipstick makes no sense to show similar lipsticks from this category, but it makes sense to show lip liner pencils. Or when buying a women's perfume, you can show products from the same family, and you can show generally male products perfumes, which may like to choose this women's perfume. The likelihood that a customer will buy two perfumes from similar families is very low. In contrast to buying at the same time men's perfume, which although not included in the plans. The choice will be made on a hunch - a paired fragrance.

The output of similar products, at a minimum, will increase the duration of the session on the site, and as a maximum and increase product turnover.

Heat map of clicks - this is another way to track on the site

With its help it is possible to increase the conversion rate, as well as to conduct a behavioral analysis of users. Heat map can show, so to speak, bottlenecks and causes of low conversion, namely:

• Inconvenience and problems with design.
• The presence of broken links and non clickable buttons.
• Identification of non-selling texts.
• Identifying the correct placement of hyperlinks.
• Determining the effectiveness of pop-ups and checking their clickability.
• Checking evocative design elements.
• Identify the most interesting places on the page for the customer in order to increase these elements on the entire site.
• The ability to understand what is clicked on in the first place, again, with a view to replication.

Misconception that the heat map clicks need only SEO specialists. With its help, the owners of online stores can detect problems with their site and then contact the experts for correcting them. Also web designers can analyze sales leaders in the world and use these findings for their clients, to create selling online stores.

Click map shows the direct behavior of visitors on each page of the site separately. To be more precise, the full interaction with all elements. That is, it indicates the degree of scrolling, frequency of pointing, the sequence of clicks and clickability of each part of the page.

Exactly the heat map helps to understand what and how users do on your site: how they scroll the page, how they move the mouse, what they click on and in what order, etc. The brighter the area of the site, the more interaction with the customer.

Getting pricing trends can be a separate primary goal of competitor benchmarking! For example, for a new business startup, the price tags of major competing stores will be the first benchmark to form their own policies.

Benchmarking competitors' prices for pricing

In this case, it is important to ensure regular and retrospective collection of information:

• On established price tags for retail sales;
• prices for wholesale customers (taking into account the discount on a certain quantity);
• forms and conditions of payment;
• the degree of profitability in the selected industry group (keep low or average rates).

Conducting a comparative analysis on a regular basis will not allow you to miss market trends, dynamics on current prices and promotions offered by direct competitors.

Price competition is not always good for business! There are several explanations for this:

• Your customer has direct access to information! About the product, about the company, about prices and product reviews. No reviews is a negative factor for development.
• Price elasticity will definitely take a downward trend.

Dumping is not the answer! Emphasize the convenience of ordering, increase the quality of product items, and organize post-sales customer service!

Detailed competitor profile with all the key information about the competitor - the main goal of the benchmarking

The work in this direction can be divided into 2 phases:

1. The boundaries of the market field are delineated and research processes are conducted in an automated mode (program). As a result, data is collected and processed.
2. Analysis of the resulting report. In this phase, the numbers are converted into conclusions and a systematic understanding of market trends.

Any business grows and develops in an environment where there is definitely competition and therefore dumping. Knowing and controlling your competitors will allow you to survive in the long run and maximize your profits in the short term!

Helecos is a modern system for benchmarking your competitors and detecting dumping. The report document has in addition a number of comparable parameters in order to get a complete picture of the competitor and its pursued policy.

Price monitoring software is used for the automatic analysis of the price offers at the competitors' online stores (detection of dumping in the network).

The service traces external and internal fluctuations of goods prices on the market and allows making the most objective decisions at the stage of pricing.

Price monitoring program value for internet-shops

• For internal analysis. By systematizing all of your online store's price tags, the service will allow you to break down your chosen pricing strategy in detail and adjust it in the right direction. Internal analysis also means rotating products from your assortment and studying the value of the brand you represent.
• To monitor your segment's competitors. In this way, it is possible to monitor dumping in the market and modernize your price offer to the customer. This will give you the opportunity to maintain your position in the sales ranking and keep your sales at a constantly high level.   

Requirements for programs to monitor prices in online stores

The effectiveness of a service for monitoring pricing policy is determined by several parameters.

1. Variability. In addition to effective monitoring of the price policy pursued by competitors, using systems of the type in question, it is possible to manage risks, use them for lead generation, etc.
2. Versatility. Programs for price monitoring can be used in any business sector, wherever there is a place for prices and sales of goods or services via the Internet.
3. Multifunctionality and automation. In addition to control of price markups and tracking competitors' behavior, the software is capable of automatically adjusting your chosen pricing strategy in your online store. Thus, prices on your website will adapt to changes in competitors' price lists according to an algorithm set up during the setup phase.

The service of the price policy analysis on the market can be interesting not only for sellers (individual online stores) but also for producers (suppliers) in order to control the observation of the retail price by individual retailers.

Helecos is a program that takes into consideration the latest developments in the field of monitoring and offers a comfortable and intuitive interface along with functionality, automation, and high performance.

Price monitoring is an indispensable point of the plan when creating a profitable business online! By resorting to timely analysis of the market it will be possible to exclude unauthorized sales of products and correctly "put" yourself in the thematic market in the chosen segment. We are talking about an automated analysis system, which:

• continuously collects data, and registers price fluctuations for certain positions in the required time interval;
• stores the collected information;
• continuously analyzes the data with the goal set by the researcher.

Price monitoring service is an important tool both for producer and dealer!

The main tasks solved with the use of the price parser for the manufacturer of goods are:

• Formation of objective price policy - a guarantee of maximum profit for all market participants.
• Control of adherence to RCP - exclusion of unfair and ineffective competition, which ultimately leads to losses for the supplier.

Why is the competitor monitoring service important for an individual seller (dealer):

• Tracking dumping in the market - stable income for you, building a customer base, improving the reputation of the store and sold products in the eyes of the consumer.
• Getting information about unplanned promotions and discounts from competitors allows you to make a unique and more interesting offer to your customer!
• Setting a competitive price that does not violate RCS.

Supplier, manufacturer, individual online store, or marketing agency - the goal is the same for all: to establish effective pricing in the market and maximize sales, and in parallel, the profitability of the business!

What distinguishes Helecos competitor price monitoring system from other identical programs?

We are talking about one of hundreds of similar services on the market, but with significantly extended functionality and service advantages:

1. Dynamic price change. Price tags for your goods will be automatically adjusted depending on the state of the market online. You can set the algorithm for these changes individually!
2. Automatic notifications on violations. There is no need to launch the competitor monitoring program over and over again - everything is done only at the initial stage. The next step is automatic sending of reports on violations.
3. You can monitor your competitors' merchandise assortment. Thus, you can understand which goods your competitor sells better. Thanks to this function, you can also identify scarce products and those that are not in great demand online.
4. Quick and specific helpdesk work with extended working hours.

Other features of the online competitor price monitoring system Helecos:

• The convenience of reporting materials - prepared summaries are sent to the customer in xml and api file format.
• The loading of the products is automatic. The user will have an opportunity to load the products both manually and by bulk uploading all the items from a YML, CSV, and API file. Here we should also note the possibility of regular additional loading of information through the url.
• 24/7 operation. The service may be controlled from any device which has a browser and Internet access.
• The launch can be carried out on an individual schedule. It is possible to configure the formation and sending reports at a convenient time for their analysis.

What confirms the QUALITY of the data collected from Helecos?

The key arguments confirming this fact are:

1. Data collection with maximum detail. We take into account all possible variables that can affect the price and availability of the competitor's products - sizes, colors, materials and others.
2. Matching with maximum accuracy. Runs a multi-parameter assortment analysis with parallel manual process control for maximum accuracy.
3. Scalable technology is used. Helecos analyzes and collects up to 1 000 000 data points daily without harming the sites to be scanned.
4. A fully customizable platform is implemented. Only manual configuration (at the beginning)! We are talking about the following parameters:

• The logic of extracting information from competitors' online stores.
• The content of reports and their format.
• Alerts.
• Research scheduling.
• Rules of dynamic pricing.

How does an online competitor price monitoring system work? What does it require from you?

The procedure for monitoring pricing policy is formed of several steps:

Setting up.

At this stage, you search for competitors who offer your product online. You will need to do the following steps:

• Select a number of stores to be monitored - forming a task.
• Initial setup of data collection.
• Decide on the frequency of monitoring.

It is at this stage that the optimal rate for you is determined, which best meets your requirements.

Process of price analysis

All operations at this stage are fully automated and do not require human intervention. We are talking about performing the following tasks:

• Formation of reporting documentation on prices.
• Fixing violations of your trademark rights by individual retailers (relevant for suppliers/manufacturers).
• Analysis of the assortment, identification of dumping, and automatic notification in case of violations.
• Automatic price changing depending on pricing trends of your competitors - set at the initial stage.

As a result, you will not only be able to control dumping in your commodity business but also develop an effective pricing system for the goods offered depending on the results of monitoring.

The real problem - is the operative solution with the Helecos price monitoring system

"Dumping on the threshold - profit for it"

The prerequisites that served to find a solution to the problem:

• Systematic dumping by competitors is observed.
• User interest in the brand and the products being sold is decreasing.
• The price tag has "slipped" far beyond the price range.
• The retailer's earnings have dropped to a minimum and barely cover the cost of the advertising campaign.

The result of turning to the Helecos price monitoring system and the correct analysis of the results was:

• A decrease in the percentage of dumping competitors online from 75% to 10%.
• Merchandise business in the segment turned from low-margin to high-margin for individual sellers - up 115%.
• Brand and trademark reputation has strengthened and the demand for the products offered has increased.

"Brand Protection - Preserving Brand Reputation."

In case of uncontrolled dumping in the market the situation should be resolved with the direct involvement of the manufacturer of the sold products.

The objectives of price monitoring at this stage: search for online retailers that sell goods under your brand without your consent, arrange unreasonable promotions from the store and conduct an indiscriminate pricing policy with blatant dumping.
On the basis of the information received on the results of monitoring and the decisions taken it will be possible to ensure the RESULT:

• Your brand's products will be sold only from authorized sellers.
• Counterfeit and contraband goods will be completely removed from the market.
• The trust of consumers and partners to you will increase.
• The number of your representatives (online stores) will increase.

A cloud-based price parser is one type of system for automating the flow of information and monitoring your competitors' prices. A key feature of such a program is its operation "in the cloud". What this means:

1. There is no need to download and install additional tools to apply the software module.
2. The cloud parser cannot work autonomously and necessarily requires an Internet connection.

From the user's point of view, the cloud price parser is an ordinary website filled with certain functionality.

Advantages of cloud price parsers

The popularity of this type of services for monitoring is particularly high. It is explained by factors:

• PC security - no need to download additional software of dubious origin.
• Mobility - the cloud price parser "does not bind" the user to a single gadget! You will have access to it from anywhere in the world where there is network access.
• Minimum computer requirements - virtually any computer-type device (from tablet to ancient desktop computer) meets the requirements of such services.

Copy and upload a large number of products to the site, compare prices to competitors, to analyze the chosen strategy of partners - the online module in question offers a wide range of functionality to its user at 100% accuracy of information.

For whom will the cloud price parser be relevant?

The application of the considered module in its direction will be relevant if:

• There is a need for mass copying of goods from the supplier's site and reloading them to your resource. This implies a complete transfer of data from the source site, including descriptions, pictures, names, and even prices.
• The primary task for you is to regularly analyze the pricing policy of competing online stores in order to detect dumping.

Cloud-based monitoring services provide you with uninterrupted information about your competitors in a fully automated mode, alerting you in a timely manner when they are detected!

Monitoring prices on competitors' websites is a popular service not only among Ukrainian entrepreneurs and manufacturers! Often a number of foreign services are offered for use, but how justified they are for the Ukrainian user?

Why are valuable exactly Ukrainian services to monitor the prices for sites in the zone "ua"?

1. The fastest service. The offices of such companies are also concentrated inside the country and provide the most rapid response to the treatment of their customers.
2. The language of the interface and the convenience of the resource. Foreign services of price monitoring, respectively "written" in their native languages, may not always be suitable for the perception of the Ukrainian user.
3. The simplicity of calculation. All payments are made in local national currency and using Ukrainian payment services, which is also accompanied by maximum simplicity.

Automation of price monitoring using Ukrainian services

Yes, you can use a manual method of analysis for this, but it will take a lot of time. In addition, until the process of monitoring will be completed, your competitors will have time to change the price more than once or twice.

By resorting to Ukrainian monitoring services, you will be able to:

• Quickly receive reports on prices with a guarantee of actual data, even if they change dozens of times a day.
• Track all changes in the pricing policy of the goods that have just been launched and are being tested.
• Monitor the price lists of suppliers and small dealers.
• Keep track of competitors' promotions and discounts, making timely decisions for your strategy.
• Keep a history of price policy changes by other Ukrainian Internet resources.

Ukrainian service for analyzing price offers of competitors' online stores Helecos provides the most favorable price plans for the user and monitors prices in fully automatic mode in only 5 steps!

1. Importing the goods to be analyzed into our system.
2. Tasks are added to the program (which sites you should gather information from).
3. Products are linked: relevant products are automatically selected from competitors' resources.
4. Monitoring is conducted.
5. A report document is downloaded via API or Excel.

Helecos is a cloud price parser, which offers the maximum functionality, which you can evaluate using the demo version of the resource (free trial period). You can get the consultation by phone: +38 (073) 072 1221.