How many times have you looked for a product online and shopped around on other sites? While you can’t compare apples to oranges, price comparison websites make it easy to find the best value for your money. According to PwC, 94 per cent of Australian shoppers conduct some form of research on price comparison websites before making an online purchase.
Price comparison websites also known as comparison shopping engines (CSE) allow online merchants to get an inside look into what competitors are doing. It can be a great way to increase sales and attract new customers.
What are price comparison websites?
Price comparison shopping websites allow consumers to compare your product against alternative options on the market to find the best overall value. The information is displayed on a single page and is based on collecting product information such as:
- Price
- Retailers
- Features
- Shipping
- Merchant
- Location
- And more
The end result? Find the online merchant offering the best value for a particular product. It gives online merchants a chance to showcase how you differ from competitors. It’s a chance to show off your unique selling points and value adds. Some features to highlight to help you stand out in the market could be:
- Free shipping
- Free installation
- Value packs
- Warranties
- Bonus add ons
For example
Let’s say I’m an eCommerce merchant launching a new beauty product line. I’m looking to stand out in the market. There’s a plethora of beauty products available online but I want to see how I compare to my competitors. Enter a price comparison website like Adore Beauty and search based on category.
Here’s how it works:
As an eCommerce business, price comparison websites are an opportunity to get in front of (and closer to) prospective customers. If a buyer is using a price comparison website, it is likely that they are ready to make a decision to purchase. There is likely a higher conversion rate making it ideal for online merchants who want to promote their product and lead by competitive advantage.
How do price comparison websites in Australia work?
Comparison sites show products side-by-side to give consumers an idea of how products compare to one another in terms of pricing, size, location, features and more. Price comparison websites in Australia vary depending on what you are looking for.
If you are an online merchant looking to get your products on a price comparison website in Australia, price comparison websites will help you show up in relevant searches. Typically, you pay a set up fee and submit the content required to make a posting and list your products. Once accepted, your products can be found in a relevant search and on the product comparison website. It’s a great way to learn more about your competitors and customers to develop a well-informed pricing strategy. Adjust your pricing up or down based on similar products in your space to ensure you make a profit.
In this post, we’ll cover the top 4 price comparison websites for your business in Australia. Use these sites to help you stay competitive in your market and show up in related searches.
1. Finder.com.au
Finder is Australia’s most active price comparison engine. It allows you to run a price comparison on things like shopping, utilities, insurance and more. Finder makes it easy for Australian’s to run a cost analysis across multiple providers offering online sellers unique market insights and pricing strategies. As a business, price comparison websites provide a large chunk of data to inform how your business is positioned in the marketplace. Finder.com.au extensive database can help you identify gaps in the market as part of your market research before you launch a new product or new features.
One of the main advantages of large price comparison websites like Finder.com.au is the additional website traffic and search results you appear in once listed. If you are listed on Finder.com.au, you can benefit from the site’s SEO optimisation and established traffic. As a small online store, this is a quick win to increase traffic to your website and build brand awareness when you’re up against well-established competitors.
2. GoogleShopping
Google Shopping is a great way for Australian online merchants to leverage the search engine as a price comparison tool and sell their products online for free. Before the pandemic, Australian’s spent more than $29 billion on online goods which was up by 20.8% year-on-year. Post Covid, we’re looking at an estimated 68 percent of online shoppers who have increased the number of online purchases after the crisis. Google Shopping now allows Australian eCommerce retailers and small businesses to sell products on Google Shopping for free.
This gives Australian businesses a huge competitive advantage. Small businesses and online retailers can take advantage of the free exposure to millions of Google users everyday. Regardless of what your product is there is a place for it on Google Shopping. Hosting your products on Google Shopping increases your brand and product exposure. As an eCommerce advertiser on Google, it means your paid campaigns will gain an increase in views and site visits leading to an increase in sales.
3. GetPrice
Getprice.com.au and PricePanda are price comparison websites owned by NetCommerce. The website allows Australian retailers and advertisers to compare listings for the best possible purchase. If you are a small business or eCommerce website competing with large retailers and brands, you can operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis so you can price your products based on the Australian CPC average. It’s a great way for eCommerce businesses to save money and host products online to stand out from the competition. Leverage your unique selling proposition and value adds like free shipping, installation, bonus, warranties, etc.
4. Camelcamelcamel
The price comparison platform Camelcamelcamel is great for eCommerce merchants selling on Amazon. The website’s free Amazon price tracker monitors millions of products daily. It sends alerts to you when prices drop. CamelCamelCamel can help you determine when customers will look to buy and what discounts are being offered. It can also help you take advantage of unique product strategies to stay competitive in the marketplace.
The company Thursday Boot Company is using CamelCamelCamel’s Amazon price drop to their advantage. They sell their best sellers on Amazon and feature a wider selection including new releases on their online store. This way, you can take advantage of CamelCamelCamel’s notification on Amazon price drops to stay competitive in the vast Amazon marketplace and still get the most exposure to your best selling products on Amazon. CamelCamelCamel provides you wish a dashboard and report with consistent product and pricing strategy insights based on their competitors.
Price comparison websites are here to stay
When it comes to price comparison websites in Australia, you may feel like a small fish in a big pond. However, even small businesses and online merchants can take advantage of comparison sites. Small businesses can keep an eye on their competitors and maintain a leg up. You can stay ahead of pricing changes, market trends, consumer preferences and changes to your industry. It can also lead to increased brand credibility based on the value your product has to offer.
Remember, customers who visit a price comparison website are likely ready to buy. So as an online merchant or small business, use this to your advantage to target customers and prioritise the products you want to push. In fact, large corporations may struggle on price comparison websites because they are more likely to have strict standards and slow to implement changes on product pricing changes. Large companies struggle when competing with small businesses and online merchants offering the lowest possible price. As a result, consumers will opt to search for alternative options on the market so be prepared for customers who are ready to make a purchase.