What is a repricer? A beginner's guide to tracking competitor prices

Online shoppers compare prices. They open a few tabs, check two or three stores, and buy from the one that looks like the best deal. If you sell products that other stores also sell, your price is often the deciding factor.

Most small stores keep track of competitor prices by hand: someone opens competitor websites, notes the prices in a spreadsheet, and updates their own store. It works for ten products. It falls apart at a hundred.

This is where a repricer, or competitor price tracking tool, comes in.

What is a repricer?

A repricer is software that collects competitor prices automatically and helps you decide what to charge. Some only report the data. Others suggest or change your prices for you, based on rules you set.

There are two parts to it:

• Price tracking: regularly checking what competitors charge for the same or similar products
• Repricing: using that information, plus your own rules, to set your prices

You might also hear the terms competitor price monitoring, price intelligence or dynamic pricing. They describe the same idea at different levels of automation.

How competitor price tracking works

At a simple level, a price tracker does four things:

• Matches products. It links each of your products to the matching product on competitor stores, usually by name, model number, barcode or SKU.
• Collects prices. On a schedule, for example daily, it checks each competitor page and records the price, and often stock status too.
• Compares. It shows where you are cheaper, more expensive or level, and how prices have changed over time.
• Alerts or acts. It flags important changes, or adjusts your price within limits you set.

Rules keep you safe. A good repricer never goes below your minimum margin, however low a competitor goes.

A real example: T-Dot Wheels

T-Dot Wheels sells electric scooters, e-bikes and accessories in Toronto and across Canada. It is a competitive market, where the same models are sold by many stores and customers shop around.

We built a repricer engine for their team so employees can track competitor pricing data for their products in one place, instead of checking competitor sites one by one. The team can see how their prices compare and make faster, better-informed pricing decisions. It sits alongside their Shopify store, which we also help design, build and maintain.

The point was not to always be the cheapest. It was to stop guessing. Read the full T-Dot Wheels case study.

Want to stop checking competitor prices by hand? We build price tracking tools that work with your store. Ask about a repricer for your store.

When does an online store need a repricer?

You will probably benefit from price tracking if:

• You sell branded products that are also sold by other retailers
• Your customers compare prices before buying, as they do with electronics, mobility, appliances and parts
• You have more products than your team can realistically check by hand
• Competitor prices change often, especially around sales and holidays
• You sell on marketplaces where the lowest offer wins the sale

You probably do not need one yet if you sell your own unique products, like handmade goods or your own brand, that nobody else sells. In that case, your price is about value and positioning, not matching others.

How to use pricing data without racing to the bottom

Price tracking is powerful, but used badly it simply teaches you to cut prices until you stop making money. Some ground rules:

• Set a floor for every product. Know your landed cost and minimum margin, and never go below it.
• Don't match everyone. Choose the competitors that really matter: the ones your customers actually compare you with.
• Compete on more than price. Free shipping, warranty, faster delivery, good reviews and helpful service let you charge a little more and still win.
• Watch stock, not just price. When a competitor is out of stock, you may not need to be the cheapest at all.
• Review regularly. Look at the data weekly and adjust your rules as you learn.

Ready-made tool or custom build?

There are ready-made repricing tools, especially for marketplaces like Amazon. They are a good start if your needs are standard.

A custom tool makes sense when:

• Your competitors are niche stores that off-the-shelf tools do not cover
• You need to match products in unusual ways, such as specific models, bundles or variants
• You want the data in your own dashboard, connected to your store and your margins
• You want the rules to reflect how your business actually prices

If you are weighing up the options, our guide on off-the-shelf vs custom software walks through the decision.

How Errgo can help you track competitor prices

We built the repricer engine T-Dot Wheels uses to track competitor pricing, and we can build one around your products and market. We can:

• Match your products to competitor listings, including models, variants and bundles
• Collect competitor prices and stock status on a schedule that suits your market
• Show everything in one dashboard next to your own prices and margins
• Add alerts, rules and margin floors so you stay competitive without underpricing
• Connect it to Shopify, WooCommerce or your own systems

Because we also manage online stores, we understand how pricing fits into the rest of running a store. See our work.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to track competitor prices?

Checking publicly displayed prices is a normal business practice. A well-built tool should respect each website's terms, check at a reasonable pace and only collect public information. If in doubt, take advice for your market.

Will a repricer change my prices automatically?

Only if you want it to. Many businesses start with tracking and alerts only, then allow automatic changes once they trust the rules.

How often should competitor prices be checked?

For most stores, once a day is enough. Fast-moving markets and marketplaces may need more frequent checks, especially during sales.

Does a repricer work with Shopify?

Yes. A repricer can read your Shopify products and, if you allow it, update prices through Shopify's tools for developers. Custom tools can also connect to WooCommerce and other platforms.

The bottom line

A repricer gives your team the facts about competitor prices, so pricing becomes a decision, not a guess. Start with tracking, set firm margin rules, and compete on more than price alone.

Want to see what price tracking could look like for your store? Our e-commerce management and business systems and automation services cover it. Get in touch.