In fact, there is not a big mystery behind it. It\u2019s\nabout some obvious competitor moves by which you can tell whether they are\nmonitoring each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, let\u2019s start from the beginning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who follows whom?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe question of all questions \u2013 how to know who\u2019s monitoring whom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The product history chart shows how websites are reacting to price drops of their competitors – when one website drops the price, other websites that are closely monitoring them follow by repricing their own products.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"product](\"https:\/\/www.price2spy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIn this case Red site\ntriggered the price drop, and Violet, Yellow and Green ones followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This leads to 3\nconclusions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Red website is in this case
pricing leader. Other websites are following Red one and adjusting their prices
accordingly<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Violet website uses some
kind of repricing automation \u2013 see how they quick they were to react when Red
site changed their price.<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Green and Yellow websites
took longer to adjust their prices \u2013 most likely this means their repricing
process is not fully automated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nThis feature is especially useful for monitoring MAP\/MSRP violations<\/a> since the MAP price<\/a> is also shown on the chart. Of course, you can select the monitoring period and the competitor websites that you would like to have included in the chart. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow the competitors’ price monitoring process is performed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThere are two ways in which competitors’ price monitoring<\/a> can be done \u2013 automatically or manually. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIn case a website monitors their competitors and\nreprices their products automatically the gap between the price change that\nstarted the chain reaction is shorter. In other words, the price change was spotted\nquick enough. If the website doesn’t have automated repricing, the gap is\nlonger \u2013 the price change will be slower, or in irregular intervals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, if the gap is consistent this means that the competitor is repricing products automatically. In case the gap is inconsistent, this means that the competitor is changing prices manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How frequently are they changing their prices?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNow that you know who\u2019s monitoring whom, your next question should be how\nfrequently are they changing their prices<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\nPrice2Spy\u2019s feature that will enable you to have more\ninsights into your competitor\u2019s actions is Price change dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Price change dynamics report you can see that\nthe price changes are grouped in certain periods. This again indicates that the\nwebsites are closely monitoring one another and repricing products accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take one report as an example:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"competitors'](\"https:\/\/www.price2spy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/who_s-monitoring-whom.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- The green website represents
you, and the other 4 (blue, red, yellow, and the orange one) represent your competitors;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 1 (red) is constantly
on 0 which means that they\u2019re never changing prices \u2013 in other words, being
competitive is not so important to them;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 2 (yellow) is also
mostly on 0, but as you can see, there are some periodical spikes, i.e. once
per week or even less often;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 4 (orange) shows very
frequent activity \u2013 they\u2019re changing the prices little by little, but those
changes are being done constantly;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 3 (blue) is an
example of a website that doesn\u2019t change the prices at all, but then it makes a
drastic change, and only once \u2013 this is usually an indicator of
a strategic change in the way a competitor thinks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nIn Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nBeing aware of your competitor’s actions should be\nyour priority, and therefore, the first and most important step when creating a\nbusiness strategy. However, it\u2019s not enough that you\u2019re monitoring the\ncompetition. Equally important fact is to know if they are also monitoring each\nother. In this post, we showed you how one of the most used Price2Spy\u2019s\nfeatures can help you with reaching that goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides these two, Price2Spy can offer you numerous features<\/a> from which you can choose\nthe ones that are the most suited for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIn this case Red site\ntriggered the price drop, and Violet, Yellow and Green ones followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This leads to 3\nconclusions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Red website is in this case
pricing leader. Other websites are following Red one and adjusting their prices
accordingly<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Violet website uses some
kind of repricing automation \u2013 see how they quick they were to react when Red
site changed their price.<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Green and Yellow websites
took longer to adjust their prices \u2013 most likely this means their repricing
process is not fully automated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nThis feature is especially useful for monitoring MAP\/MSRP violations<\/a> since the MAP price<\/a> is also shown on the chart. Of course, you can select the monitoring period and the competitor websites that you would like to have included in the chart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How the competitors’ price monitoring process is performed?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There are two ways in which competitors’ price monitoring<\/a> can be done \u2013 automatically or manually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In case a website monitors their competitors and\nreprices their products automatically the gap between the price change that\nstarted the chain reaction is shorter. In other words, the price change was spotted\nquick enough. If the website doesn’t have automated repricing, the gap is\nlonger \u2013 the price change will be slower, or in irregular intervals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, if the gap is consistent this means that the competitor is repricing products automatically. In case the gap is inconsistent, this means that the competitor is changing prices manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How frequently are they changing their prices?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Now that you know who\u2019s monitoring whom, your next question should be how\nfrequently are they changing their prices<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price2Spy\u2019s feature that will enable you to have more\ninsights into your competitor\u2019s actions is Price change dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Price change dynamics report you can see that\nthe price changes are grouped in certain periods. This again indicates that the\nwebsites are closely monitoring one another and repricing products accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s take one report as an example:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n- \n
- The green website represents
you, and the other 4 (blue, red, yellow, and the orange one) represent your competitors;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 1 (red) is constantly
on 0 which means that they\u2019re never changing prices \u2013 in other words, being
competitive is not so important to them;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 2 (yellow) is also
mostly on 0, but as you can see, there are some periodical spikes, i.e. once
per week or even less often;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 4 (orange) shows very
frequent activity \u2013 they\u2019re changing the prices little by little, but those
changes are being done constantly;<\/li>\n\n\n\n - Website 3 (blue) is an
example of a website that doesn\u2019t change the prices at all, but then it makes a
drastic change, and only once \u2013 this is usually an indicator of
a strategic change in the way a competitor thinks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nIn Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Being aware of your competitor’s actions should be\nyour priority, and therefore, the first and most important step when creating a\nbusiness strategy. However, it\u2019s not enough that you\u2019re monitoring the\ncompetition. Equally important fact is to know if they are also monitoring each\nother. In this post, we showed you how one of the most used Price2Spy\u2019s\nfeatures can help you with reaching that goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides these two, Price2Spy can offer you numerous features<\/a> from which you can choose\nthe ones that are the most suited for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- The green website represents