Price Trackers

How Do Price Trackers Work And What Are The Benefits?

Consumers have come to expect great prices from online retailers. Moreover, price trackers enable consumers, B2B owners, manufacturers, retailers and eCommerce stores the ability to price watch the market and identify the best deals.

If you want to leverage sales, your pricing strategy has more pulling power than any other marketing tactic.

Yet the worldwide web is a huge marketplace and prices are constantly fluctuating. It’s impossible to keep track of the marketplace in real-time unless you have a price tracking tool.

Being able to track and monitor prices quickly and efficiently is a huge advantage for small businesses to implement an effective pricing strategy.

Price tracking software enables you to monitor the marketplace and adjust your pricing at the right time. With critical data to hand, you can save your business money, increase sales volume and ultimately boosting your bottom line.

If you want to know how to track Amazon prices or track the price an item listed on Google, price trackers provide valuable insights you can use to take action with confidence.

Let’s take a closer look.

Whats is a price tracker?

A price tracker is a tool that can be used to track, compare, and analyse prices from websites around the world. In general, price tracking tools are rudimentary browser extensions. More advanced price trackers, however, are built into price monitoring software.

There are all kinds of price trackers. Some tools are geared towards consumers, others towards manufacturers and various B2B transactions. There are also price trackers that target specific commodities. For example, the gas buddy price tracker helps car owners find the cheapest gas station in relation to their location.

Whilst price trackers can help shoppers and small business analyse the cost of specific items and keep an eye on fluctuating prices, most tools have limitations.

For example, a Google Shopping app will only identify local businesses. An Amazon price tracker will only notify you when the price of products changes on Amazon.

To implement an actionable pricing strategy you can rely on, you need to recover insightful data that enables you to see the bigger picture across the entire market.

How do price trackers work?

Price trackers work in a similar way to search engines. If you don’t know how search engines work, let’s keep this simple.

A price tracker has an in-built algorithm which can identify websites with an indexed keyword - usually a product. You select the keyword you want the price tracking tool to scan and analyse.

For example, let’s say you sell digital cameras. Your keyword will be Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III. The price tracker will then search for pages that advertise the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III.

Next, the data retrieved by the price tracker is imported into a database not too dissimilar to an Excel spreadsheet. Typical information will include product title, price and the number of items in stock.

Advanced price checkers will provide more information such as price history, render price history charts, notify you of price drops, allow you to set price alerts and more.

It should be noted that not all price tackers to access static HTML pages. Websites that are dynamically rendered, for example, cannot be scanned by crawlers.

The Benefits of Price Tracking Software

Today’s consumers have access to price checking apps that enables them to compare brands and find the lowest prices. OUr recent study identified that 94% of shoppers compare prices online before making a purchasing decision.

Make Informed Decisions

Two-thirds of shoppers in the UK confirm that price is an important factor when making a purchasing decision. To remain in consideration, online stores need to consistently monitor competitor prices and adjust your products to the best prices at the right time

It’s also worth bearing in mind that consumers don’t always opt for the lowest price, they prefer to purchase products that offer the best value for money or buy from eCommerce stores that offer the best shopping experience.

Price tracking saves time

Manually pawing through hundreds of product pages is extremely time-consuming. As a matter of fact, because online prices continuously fluctuate, price checking products for the lowest prices in real-time is a 24/7 job.

Eliminate errors

If you are manually inputting competitor prices into an Excel spreadsheet there is a wide margin for human error. Using a competitor price tracking tool automates the prices and eliminates potential mistakes that could prove costly.

Continuous price watch

The amount of competition online means price points are highly dynamic. Add to the melting pot seasonal sales, special promotions, strategic discounts and various pricing strategies, it is impossible to keep track of current prices.

Price tracking software enables you to set price comparison parameters across the entire market. When the desired price points are breached, you will be alerted immediately. This enables you to make informed decisions quickly and proactively respond to the marketplace.

Improve analytical data

Competitor pricing tools provide valuable insights that enable you to take calculated risks with confidence. The data provides you with a clearer picture of your competitors' average prices, how much stock they have in store, an estimate of their profit margins and their pricing history.

Conclusion

Having access to up-to-date intelligence in real-time is a valuable asset online businesses cannot afford to be without. Being able to track the prices of your competitors across any site and in any location gives you a brand overview of the market and enables you to compete with your rivals.