TL;DR
9 out of 10 online shoppers compare prices before buying. Web scraping lets you monitor competitor prices across any e-commerce site. Set up automatic alerts when prices change. Adjust your pricing strategy based on real data, not guesses.
Why Price Monitoring Matters
E-commerce is a price war. If you're 5% higher than competitors, you lose the sale. If you're 10% lower, you're leaving money on the table.
Manual price checking doesn't scale. Amazon has 350 million products. Walmart has 75 million. You need automation to stay competitive.
What Data Can You Track?
| Data Point | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Current Price | Know where you stand vs. competition |
| Original Price (RRP) | Calculate discount percentages |
| Promo Price | Track flash sales and deals |
| Shipping Cost | True total cost comparison |
| Stock Status | Opportunity when competitors are out |
| Price History | Understand pricing patterns over time |
Platforms You Can Monitor
- Amazon - 350M+ products, multiple marketplaces
- eBay - Auction and Buy It Now prices
- Walmart - 75M+ products with in-store pricing
- Target - Online and store pickup prices
- Google Shopping - Aggregated prices from multiple sellers
- Shopify stores - D2C competitor pricing
- Any e-commerce site - Custom scrapers for niche retailers
How Dynamic Repricing Works
- Collect competitor prices - Scrape target products daily or hourly
- Define pricing rules - "Match lowest price" or "Stay 2% below leader"
- Set floor prices - Never go below your margin threshold
- Automate updates - Push new prices to your storefront
- Monitor results - Track win rate and margin impact
Recommended Price Scrapers
Amazon Crawler - Extract prices, reviews, and product details from any Amazon marketplace
Walmart Scraper - Get Walmart prices with stock status and shipping info
eBay Scraper - Track auction prices and Buy It Now listings
Google Shopping Scraper - Compare prices across multiple retailers at once
Cost Comparison: Build vs. Buy
| Solution | Monthly Cost | Products Tracked |
|---|---|---|
| Prisync | $99-$399 | 100-1,000 |
| Competera | $1,000+ | Enterprise |
| Price2Spy | $24-$399 | 100-10,000 |
| Apify (DIY) | $49-$199 | Unlimited |
Technical Challenges
E-commerce sites in 2025 are harder to scrape than ever:
- JavaScript rendering - Prices load dynamically, need headless browsers
- Anti-bot protection - CAPTCHAs, rate limiting, IP blocks
- Frequent redesigns - Site changes break selectors
- Geographic pricing - Different prices by location
Apify handles these challenges with residential proxies, browser fingerprinting, and automatic retries.
Start Price Monitoring
Track competitor prices across any e-commerce site. Free tier available.
Start Free Trial →FAQ
How often should I scrape prices?
Daily for most products. Hourly during Black Friday or major sales events. Weekly for stable categories like B2B supplies.
Is it legal to scrape competitor prices?
Scraping publicly visible pricing data is generally legal. Most e-commerce sites prohibit it in their ToS, but enforcement is rare for reasonable competitive research.
Can I scrape prices from behind a login?
Avoid scraping logged-in pages without permission. Stick to publicly visible prices that any shopper can see.