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Saturday 11th February 2012

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You are here: Home | News | New online pricing benchmark shows how retailers use competitors' websites in battle for leadership

New online pricing benchmark shows how retailers use competitors' websites in battle for leadership

A new survey benchmarks the way retailers turn competitors' websites to their advantage by shaping pricing, product and positioning policies and increase profit margins.

The research, from Cogenta, shows 87% of companies use competitors' websites in the battle for leadership. Eighty percent of the respondents handle the process in an adhoc way, by manually searching websites on just key product lines.

An increasing n

umber, one in five, are now using an automated process to collect competitive information. These retailers use information daily and are more advanced in their systems, while those that handle the process manually check competitors' online data weekly, monthly or whenever they can, by manually trawling websites and searching for individual product prices. Douglas Orr, CEO of Cogenta, explains, “The research shows that scouring the internet for pricing data is an obvious business tool, however, there is a lot of scope for improvement. Retailers of all sizes that want to retain or challenge leadership positions and are determined to change pricing policies, need real-time information to ensure this is enabled. In more competitive online markets, such as consumer electronics, it's becoming a prerequisite to check competitive pricing data frequently and systematically.

“There is no room for ineffective processes, however frequently you need reliable data. It's possible to gain competitive intelligence and analysis to accurately shape pricing and promotion policies, even on a daily basis if the competition is that tight.”

The NetPrice service from Cogenta tracks millions of products daily with 100% accuracy. An added benefit is that data can also show whether competitors are being given better deals by manufacturers, so customers gain reliable bargaining power to positively affect margins.”

The survey also shows the percentage of the complete product range retailers check within any given month. Thirty percent of respondents check just 6% of the product range, another 30% check 6-25%, 20% check 26-50%, while 20% check more than 50%. 75% of retailers tracking 51% or more of their product line are using an automated process.

Tagged as: cogenta | online | retailing

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