Web Scraping and Big Data is Must for Shaping eCommerce Future

According to studies, businesses that use data have a nearly 20 times greater chance of success and a more in-depth understanding of their clients. Therefore, web Intelligence is becoming more and more crucial for companies that rely on data, especially for platforms that use publicly available data to track customers, monitor competitors, and create leads.

By Gediminas Rickevius, Vice President of Global Partnerships at Oxylabs

For any eCommerce business, web scraping and big data are of the utmost importance because they enable businesses to learn from competitors and offer the most recent data on pricing, promotions, as well as market trends.

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Here are the changes witnessed in the retail landscape

Traditional retail stores in the US decreased from over 450 thousand to nearly 350 thousand in 2021, and only slightly increased by 2% in 2022. Traditional stores are gradually recovering from Covid, but rising rents and living expenses are posing new problems for these companies. The long-term viability of eCommerce is assured by estimates that over 50% of sales will be conducted through digital channels this year.

The transition to online purchasing highlighted the need for businesses to more thoroughly and quickly get to know their expanding client base. Companies will be compelled to gather as much data as possible while competition only intensifies. More data is frequently considered to imply a more robust business.

Big Data Turbocharges eCommerce Competition

eCommerce businesses now have the advantage of tracking customer activity more precisely because of the growth of easily accessible analytics tools and data-driven marketing methods. Because of this, they are better able to customize their services and products to precisely fit the needs of clients and outperform their rivals.

In the eCommerce world, it has been found that competition is driven by Big Data in many ways. eCommerce store owners can now understand the behavior and preferences of their customers for effectively targeting their marketing efforts and personalizing their shopping experience to intensify conversion rates. Additionally, advanced analytics can be used by businesses for knowing about patterns and trends that could provide them with a competitive advantage.

The setting of pricing in eCommerce is also shifting due to data. Retailers can monitor their competitors’ prices in real-time and change their own to remain competitive. Furthermore, increasingly prevalent dynamic pricing algorithms are reducing old price barriers by taking into consideration several variables.

Get Big Data with Web Scraping

Approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data get generated every day, and while this information flood might be overwhelming for enterprises, it also offers an extraordinary chance for growth. Competitors in the eCommerce market will be well-served by those who can gather this data and use it to their advantage.

Companies may make the most out of this data surplus and use it to their advantage by mapping the ecosystems of their competitors. This entails not only figuring out who your direct rivals are but also figuring out how they interact with other market participants.

Web scraping enables businesses to effortlessly obtain information on competitor product offerings, track price changes, keep track of new product introductions, and learn about the strategies of other businesses. The competitive landscape can then be mapped using all this data, which can be useful for many things, including:

Analyzing Market Trends

It enables analysis of new product and technology introductions, modifications to market conditions, and changes in consumer preferences. Businesses can modify their strategies to remain competitive and get hold of new possibilities by keeping up with these changes.

Competitive Awareness

A company can keep track of its immediate rivals, suppliers, and any other businesses that might be clashing with its customers’ business by using a competitive ecosystem map.

Planning Strategically

Businesses can visualize the competitive environment and gain a better understanding of their rivals by using a competitor ecosystem map. For this, it’s crucial to not only find direct competitors but also examine how they interact with other market participants including suppliers, distributors, and customers. Businesses can use this to find prospective new suppliers, customers, partners, as well as dangers.

All in all, companies can expand their market share by developing strategies due to having a broad perceptive of their competition. Hence, it is rightly said that today’s eCommerce businesses cannot afford to function well without web intelligence and big data as these information sources are necessary for making data-driven decisions and enhancing growth.