Last year, it was estimated that over 2.14 billion people would buy one product or the other online, and the eCommerce industry was pegged to surpass over $4.2 trillion. And while this is great news, there is a downside to all that growth.
Most notably, there is a massive increase in eCommerce retailers, all wanting a piece of the same market. Currently, there are between 12 million to 24 million eCommerce websites and platforms scattered across the globe.
And since all these websites aim to sell to over 2 billion customers, there is fierce competition on the market.
Therefore, some platforms would secure more customers and, subsequently, sales and dominate the market. In contrast, others will gradually fizzle out and die from their inability to make sales and profits.
Brands that frequently work with data and make all important decisions only after analyzing a large expanse of data usually make it on the market. But to get this data, you need to have the right tools.
One of such tools is an eCommerce scraper, and today, we will find out what this is and how exactly it helps your cause in gathering eCommerce data.
What is eCommerce Scraping?
ECommerce scraping is a type of web scraping and generally constitutes the largest portion of the total web scraping activities.
For instance, about 48% of all harvested data is done for eCommerce and eCommerce purposes. ECommerce scraping is the process of automatically collecting different types of data from eCommerce websites and platforms.
It involves using tools that can interact with major eCommerce websites and extract publicly available data that can be further analyzed and used to create business insights and intelligence.
After creating these insights, companies can often make decisions that herald their growth and domination of the market.
How is eCommerce Scraping Used?
There are several ways that eCommerce scraping can be applied but below are just some of the most common uses:
1. Price Analysis and Comparison
Of all the market factors, price holds the largest sway on what happens. It affects supply and demand and influences consumers’ sentiments and buying behavior.
Whether or not people will patronize a brand and its products will be based largely on the prices of those products compared to other similar products or alternatives.
For this reason, brands use eCommerce scraping to gather data that can be used to analyze and compare prices.
This can then be used to set consumer-friendly prices to boost sales while also ensuring the brands are not incurring any losses.
2. Product and Market Research
ECommerce brands also need to conduct systematic research on both products and the entire market to prepare for their next move.
Through this type of research, a brand can understand what new product to manufacture, which new market to penetrate, and which adjustments to make to better fit the needs and wants of potential customers.
3. Competitor Monitoring
One of the indirect ways of working towards market domination is to keep very close tabs on the competitors.
Every brand has a unique way of doing things and luring customers in, and it is only by monitoring them that a brand can find these out.
When you monitor your competition, you allow yourself to learn new things that can help you outperform them.
What Kind of eCommerce Data Can You Collect?
Below are some of the types of eCommerce data that you can collect without breaking any rules:
1. Customer Data
This includes demographics about the customers, including their gender, age and location. You can also collect their search queries and online activities on websites and other eCommerce platforms.
They are also interested in certain products and services and their buying habits and behaviors, all the things you can collect to improve your business decisions.
2. Product Prices and Related Data
You can also freely gather the prices of similar products across various platforms and markets and use that to weigh the prices of your products to see if you need to make certain decisions.
Gathering product prices also allows you to see what prices consumers are making the most purchases.
3. Transactional Data
No data collection is complete in eCommerce without data about payment methods, cost of shipping, and taxations in different parts of the world.
This data helps to influence your prices in different regions, and without it, you may incur unprecedented losses.
How can eCommerce Scraper Benefit A Company?
Now that we understand eCommerce scraping, its importance, and the types of data that can be scraped, let us highlight the five ways that eCommerce scraper can benefit your company:
- It offers you the chance to collect data from numerous eCommerce platforms, including those dominating your industry or niche
- It works automatically, thereby saving you time and energy that can be channeled into other areas of the business
- It provides you with valuable insights that help to determine the right strategies aimed at improving and growing your business.
- The data extracted is often clean, easy to read, and accurate as it is collected in real-time with minimal errors.
- An eCommerce scraper can help to bypass restrictions and get you where you need to be.
- Some scrapers can function as APIs, which drastically reduces the cost for your brand. One of the most efficient eCommerce scrapers can be found on the Oxylabs’ website.
Conclusion
With a considerable increase in eCommerce retailers over the last few years, the competition on the market has risen progressively, which makes it harder for businesses to stay afloat. At the same time, there are certain ingredients to beat your competition and dominate the market in a highly competitive market.
One of the most effective ways is to use web scraping to constantly collect eCommerce data to help you make more informed decisions and act strictly for the benefits of your business.
An eCommerce scraper allows you to do this easily and automatically while also helping you collect the needed data without breaking any rules or facing unwanted restrictions.
About the Author
Richard is a content writer and cybersecurity expert. Richard currently contributes to numerous cybersecurity and data science-related websites; he has years of expertise and a unique perspective on the issues and challenges concerning cybersecurity topics. Master’s degree in Data science combined with a passion for cybersecurity makes Richard‘s insights very valuable to the field.
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