Competitive and Pricing Intelligence

Competitive price intelligence (also called price intelligence) refers to the use of detailed analytics to create and optimize a retailer's pricing strategy. For example, a retailer might use price intelligence tools to scan the Web for pricing data, then use competitive price intelligence software to optimize its pricing based on the accumulated pricing data in order to better compete in the market and improve sales.

Most competitive price intelligence software and platforms provide retailers with the tools required to analyze industry pricing and obtain information on current market prices, detailed analytics to help make informed business decisions about pricing and the tools to measure the effectiveness of a competitive pricing strategy.

It consists of tracking, monitoring and analyzing pricing data to understand the market and make educated pricing changes at speed and scale. Because product pricing changes often, retailers need to constantly monitor their relative price position and incorporate changes within a dynamic strategy. However, this doesn’t mean lowering the price just because a competitor does.

Why is Competitive and Pricing Intelligence important?

• Lets you control competition: Competitive pricing strategy let your business control the competition by preventing losing its market share and customers to your competitors. That is assuming you’ll have the adequate intelligence from the competitors through the right technology. 
• It is an important tool in today's online markets: Pricing is considered to be one of the most important criteria for online shoppers while making their final purchase decision. Research has shown that more than 60% of shoppers marked pricing as the first indicator when it came to buying their products online. Moreover, according to the e-commerce pricing facts, an average online shopper will visit at least 3 websites before finalizing their purchase.
• Its a sophisticated marketing strategy With the competitive pricing strategy, you’ll take the first steps of dynamic pricing, a more sophisticated approach that stands at the top of a competitive pricing strategy. In dynamic pricing, frequently updated competitor pricing information can be used as a triggering factor to update your own prices depending on certain pricing rules for your product assortment.