Price comparison

What a price comparison does

A price comparison puts offers for the same product side by side, recognised through the item number. The customer therefore sees prices, shipping cost and merchant ratings in one list and makes a choice faster. For the shop this has a double effect: reach among customers actively comparing, and at the same time direct price competition.

The key difference from a marketplace lies in the role. A price comparison does not sell, it refers. The purchase happens in your own shop, so the customer relationship, the data and the brand presence stay in your hands.

What joining requires

Technically joining means a data feed. Item number, title, description, price, availability, image and category have to be maintained. If the item number is missing or wrong, the offer is not matched and does not appear. If availability is missing, the item is listed as available and produces orders that cannot be served.

It becomes clean when the feed comes from one source. Anyone maintaining the feed by hand has diverging prices within days. Anyone generating it from the shop system or a PIM keeps it correct.

How the cost adds up

• Cost per click: most sites bill per click. The price depends on the category and the competition, not on the outcome.
• Contribution margin as the limit: the permitted click price follows from the contribution margin, not from the basket value.
• Expected click rate: first place receives far more clicks than tenth. The effect is not proportional to position.
• Returning visitors: some arrive through the comparison, some come back directly later. The second group cannot be attributed and makes the balance look better than the click calculation alone.

Which disadvantages exist

The first disadvantage is price pressure. Anyone wanting to rank high lowers the price, and that movement is visible and mirrored by competitors. The comparison therefore shifts competition from performance onto the number, which is not sensible for every assortment.

The second disadvantage is handing over data. Anyone joining supplies prices, stock and product data to a third party. With own brands that is unproblematic; with items under a deliberate pricing strategy it is a decision that should be taken consciously.

The third disadvantage concerns the customer group. Price comparison brings price sensitive customers who return less often than customers reached through brand or content. The effort of looking after them stays the same.

Frequent questions

• Do I have to join? No. But customers who compare will not find the shop.
• Can I join with single items only? Yes, the feed can be filtered, for instance by margin.
• How much does joining bring? That depends on the category and the competition, not on the portal.