In the world of e-commerce, where choices are endless, and competition is fierce, both customers and merchants are looking for innovative ways to stay ahead.
Shoppers want an easier way to find the best deals without constantly monitoring prices. For merchants, it’s about staying relevant and visible in a crowded marketplace. Enter Google Shopping Price Tracker, a game-changing tool from Google that bridges the gap between savvy customers and merchants.
For customers, the price tracker simplifies the process of finding the right product at the best price by notifying them when prices drop on items they’re tracking. No more manual checking or missing out on discounts! Meanwhile, for merchants, this tool offers a powerful way to attract value-driven buyers, highlight competitive pricing, and improve the visibility of their products.
Whether you’re a customer hunting for a bargain or a merchant seeking new ways to connect with your audience, the Google Shopping Price Tracker is a feature worth leveraging to make smarter shopping decisions easier for everyone.
Here is a comprehensive guide on how to use the Google Shopping price tracker, its manifold benefits, and more. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
Introduction to Google Shopping Price Tracking
Google Shopping’s price tracking feature allows users to monitor and compare prices of products across various retailers directly within Google’s platform.
Its primary purpose is to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions by providing real-time price updates and alerts when prices drop. Price drop is one of Google Shopping ad extensions among other extensions such as Google Merchant promotions, shipping labels, local inventory ads, etc.
Price tracking informs customers about price changes and helps them make smart buying decisions. Merchants can also use it to understand market trends and adjust their pricing to boost sales.
Please note:
| Price tracking is only available in India and the United States. On October 23, 2024, it was phased out in other countries. |
However, if users outside the US or IN want to track prices on Google Shopping, they can use third-party apps like Prisync, Dataweave, and more.
How Google Shopping Price Tracking Works?
Google uses automated bots to “scrape” pricing and other product data from various websites. The data is then processed and examined to find patterns and variations in prices.
Machine Learning algorithms examine the gathered data and then qualifies if a pricing has seen a noteworthy decline over a period of time. This method ensures that the notifications are sent to the end users only when there is a significant drop in the pricing.
Using Google Shopping’s price tracker is a simple process. Here is how to do it!
- First, search for the product that interests you on Google.
- Visit the product page and locate the tiny bell icon next to the URL bar (This is visible when the price tracker ensures there is enough price history data available for a product)
- Tap on the icon to turn on price tracking and specify a desired notification limit.
Once the price tracker is activated, here is what customers can expect:
Customers will receive notifications about price drops.
Additionally, Google lets customers personalize their notification settings. You can choose to receive regular email highlights that compile recent price cuts, or you can opt for alerts through push notifications on your mobile device.
This adaptability enables you to customize the frequency and mode of alert delivery to your liking, guaranteeing a seamless experience.
The Price Tracker comes with several benefits and is intended to improve the entire online buying experience. These consist of:
- Historical pricing information: Users can view comparative line graphs showing past price trends for every product, which help in identifying future price predictions.
- Comparative buying: The price tracker assists buyers in obtaining the best deal for the product they have selected by comparing prices from several merchants.
- Coupon Search: The price tracker searches the web for applicable vouchers and adds them to the checkout process.
Key metrics to track in Google Shopping:
- Price changes: Price changes indicate any adjustments (increase or decrease) made to a product’s price, over a specified period. It allows users to stay updated on any fluctuations.
- Price trends: Price trends refer to the historical movement of a product’s price over time, showing how prices have changed in the past (days, weeks, or months). It helps users anticipate future changes and make informed decisions.
- Price comparison: This metric enables users to compare the prices of the same product across different retailers, ensuring customers can get the best deal.
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Google Shopping Price Tracking for Customers
Customers can use Google Shopping’s price tracker tool to buy products at the best prices by receiving alerts when prices drop. This way, customers no longer need to keep checking the product pages continuously. Let’s see how it works.
How to Enable Price Tracking on Google Shopping?
Enabling price tracking on Google Shopping is straightforward, whether you’re using a mobile device or a desktop browser.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for mobile and desktop:
1. Using Google Shopping on Mobile
- On your Android device, open Chrome.
- Search for the required product.
- Go to the product page.
- At the top right corner, tap on the “three dots” and toggle on Track prices
2. Using Google Chrome (or any browser)
- Launch Google Chrome: Make sure you’re running the most recent version of the browser for optimal performance.
- Select any product: Browse a product or type the product name in the search bar.
- Save the item to your bookmarks: To view the product listing’s information, click on any one of the products. To bookmark the listing, click the star icon in the address bar (as shown in the image).
- Set up alerts: If the price tracking option is present, you can click on the bell icon to set up alerts. This will allow Google to send you an email or notification when the price changes.
Note: The Google Shopping price tracking feature requires you to log into your Google account, enable sync, and allow Web and App activity.
Managing Notifications and Alerts
Once you have set up price tracking, managing notifications ensures you receive relevant information without being overwhelmed.
Please note that notifications can be customized to suit your preferences:
- Frequency Control: You can change how frequently you wish to receive alerts in the settings of your Google Ads account. Typical choices include weekly updates or instant alerts for each price drop.
- Product Management: You can control which products you track by going to the notifications settings in your Google account. Here, you can add or remove products that suit your interests.
Tips for Effective Price Tracking
To maximize the benefits of price tracking on Google Shopping, consider the following tips:
- Choose your items carefully: Pay attention to products that you wish to purchase. Prioritize expensive things or ones you’ve had your eye on for some time, as they could result in more savings when prices go down.
- Have realistic expectations: Understand that not every product will experience significant price drops. You can look at past price trends to determine reasonable expectations for price drops.
- Handle alerts carefully. Pay attention to how often you receive alerts. If you track too many things, it can become difficult to keep track of a large number of notifications. Select a reasonable number of products to monitor closely.
Google Shopping Price Tracking for Merchants
Google Shopping’s price tracking tool allows merchants to monitor competitor pricing on the platform, providing key insights into market dynamics.
Hence, merchants can adjust their prices to attract more customers by observing what competitors are charging for similar products. This helps them maximize their revenue and stay relevant.
However, merchants who require more advanced tracking can use third-party tools such as Prisync, DataWeave, Competera, and more. These solutions enable merchants to optimize their pricing strategy by offering comprehensive information and analysis that surpasses simple tracking.
| If you’re actively running Google Shopping ads for your store, you might want to read Understanding Google Shopping Feed Requirements |
Key Metrics for Merchants to Monitor
When tracking prices, the important metrics that merchants should focus on are:
- Competitor Price Changes: This metric tracks fluctuations in competitors’ pricing for similar products.
- Seasonal Trends This provides historical data to identify patterns in product demand throughout the year. Merchants can change their pricing strategy by knowing how prices fluctuate throughout specific periods of the year, such as holidays or sales events.
- Position Relative to Competitors: This metric evaluates a merchant’s standing in comparison to competitors, often represented as a ranking or percentage indicating how their pricing stacks up.
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Top Software Solutions for Competitor Price Tracking
Here are some of the top software solutions for tracking competitor prices, highlighted by their features, pricing, and trial options.
1. Prisync
Prisync is a powerful price tracking solution that provides real-time price tracking for businesses to keep up-to-date information on competitor prices.
Prisync’s competitor analytics solutions also provide pricing recommendations based on industry trends, helping merchants change their pricing strategies. These solutions also help merchants examine their market position.
Features
- Product variant price tracking: Allows merchants to monitor multiple product prices using one common URL.
- Price change detection: Offers 5 different notification types as per user preference to access instant or daily alerts.
- Daily price change notifications: Automates the monitoring of competitor price adjustments and sends notifications directly to your mailbox.
- Price history: Allows you to forecast future prices by analyzing historical price variations.
Starting Price: $59/month
Free Trial: A 14-day free trial is available.
2. Price2Spy
Price2Spy is a feature-rich price monitoring application that lets merchants keep tabs on competitor prices. It sends email notifications to let users know when there are important changes in prices.
Additionally, the platform has API integration for smooth data connectivity that can be customized to fit certain business requirements.
Features
- Product price monitoring: Tracks competitor prices to help businesses stay competitive.
- Reporting mechanism: Provides detailed reports and analytics to help retailers understand price trends and sales performance.
- Tracking promotions and stock: Monitors promotions and stock levels, allowing retailers to adapt their strategies to capitalize on market opportunities.
Starting Price: $19.95/month
Free Trial: Yes, a 15-day free trial is available.
3. DataWeave
DataWeave is an AI-powered analytical tool that provides insights into pricing optimization tactics and specializes in advanced price intelligence. The platform’s configurable dashboards allow users to display data that best meets their business requirements.
Merchants can use DataWeave to make data-driven choices about inventory control and pricing.
Features
- Pricing intelligence: Use statistical data to support pricing strategies that maximize revenue margins.
- Digital shelf analysis: Assess your product exposure compared to competitors in organic searches and paid listings
- Assortment analytics: Determine the demand for particular products and monitor the mobility of the stock situation, product rankings, and pricing data.
Starting Price: Custom pricing (usually for enterprise)
Free Trial: Contact for a demo or free trial.
4. Competera
Competera is a pricing platform that offers resources for competitive pricing techniques and price monitoring. Based on real-time market data, this tool helps merchants optimize their pricing with AI-driven recommendations.
Competerra allows users to compare prices with competitors and make changes to maximize profitability.
Features
- Data-driven Insights: Makes use of multi-ML models to convert consumer behavior data into well-informed pricing recommendations.
- Dynamic Pricing: Provides all pertinent pricing information in one convenient location.
- Advanced Simulations: Enables real-time simulations of different pricing schemes.
Starting Price: Custom pricing based on business size
Free Trial: Yes, a trial is available upon request.
In addition to dedicated software solutions, various Chrome extensions can help merchants track prices directly from Google Shopping. Here are a few best options:
5. Camelizer
Camelizer is a well-known Chrome add-on that lets users monitor the costs of items on Amazon. It can also be helpful for Google Shopping. Camelizer’s price history charts show how prices have changed over time, enabling users to make well-informed purchasing decisions.
Users can set up alerts for specific products to receive notifications when prices drop.
6. Honey
Honey is a popular Chrome extension that helps users find coupons while shopping online. In addition to its coupon-finding features, Honey includes a price-tracking tool that notifies users when prices drop on specific items.
7. Keepa
Keepa is a great plugin for tracking prices which mostly focuses on Amazon products but can also offer useful information for Google Shopping.
Keepa allows users to set price drop alerts and view price history graphs. Customers who want to save money by making timely purchases will find this tool to be extremely helpful.
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How to Use Price Tracking Data On Google Shopping?
Merchants can use Google Shopping’s price tracking data to refine their strategies, while customers can improve their buying experiences. Let’s understand this with the help of some relevant examples.
For Merchants
1. Competitive Pricing Analysis
Merchants can use Google Shopping price tracking data to monitor competitors’ pricing strategies and identify market trends.
A merchant selling outdoor gear can monitor the prices of similar products. If a competitor lowers the price of a popular tent, the merchant can reduce theirs to match or offer a promotion to attract buyers.
2. Promotional Timing
By examining the pricing information in the past, merchants can improve their timing of sales and promotions to correspond with consumer purchasing trends.
For instance, a merchant can track the spike in demand for camping equipment before summer. Further, they can plan discounts a few weeks before this surge to maximize sales.
| Read Also: A guide to google shopping promotions |
3. Inventory Management
Inventory management for a merchant involves tracking and controlling stock levels, orders, sales, and deliveries.
When a merchant uses the price tracker tool and notices the price of a particular product is declining, they might choose to hold off on restocking that item until its value stabilizes. This helps in preventing losses.
| Did you know that Google also allows you to promote your local store and products via local inventory ads? Here’s a complete guide on Google local inventory ads |
4. Recognizing trends
Recognizing trends means identifying patterns or shifts in consumer data that depict their interests in product categories.
Using price tracking to analyze consumer interest in certain types of products can motivate merchants to increase their product collections to satisfy consumer demand.
For Customers
1. Price Alerts
Customers can set price alerts using Google Shopping price tracking data to receive notifications when products drop below-desired price points.
For example, a customer searching for a new laptop can use the Google Shopping price tracker to set a price alert. They will receive notifications when the laptop’s price drops, ensuring they get the best deal.
2. Historical Price Insights
Historical price insights refer to past pricing data that helps customers make informed buying decisions.
Customers can assess whether a current price is reasonable by examining previous price trends. If the price has been continuously decreasing, they can wait to buy the product at a better offer.
3. Comparison Shopping
Comparison shopping is the process of evaluating the prices of the same products across different retailers.
By using price tracking to compare similar products, customers can determine which one provides the most value for their money and, ultimately, make better decisions about what to buy.
4. Seasonal Buying Decisions
Seasonal buying refers to purchasing patterns influenced by specific times of the year, such as holidays.
Customers may notice that certain items, like Christmas decorations, are cheaper after the season ends. By checking price history, they can plan their purchases to save money.
Pros and Cons of Price Tracking for Customers and Merchants
Let’s understand the Google Shopping price tracker’s benefits and disadvantages for customers and merchants.
For Customers
Pros
- Enables customers to monitor price changes and find the best deals without overpaying for selected products
- Enhances shopping efficiency by aggregating and comparing prices from different retailers, ensuring customers find the best deals available during sales or holidays.
- Provide a sense of guarantee by ensuring that customers are paying a fair price compared to market standards.
Cons
- Customers may experience alert fatigue due to the constant barrage of notifications for price changes.
- An overwhelming number of notifications can create confusion and make it difficult to differentiate which alerts are genuinely beneficial.
- Sometimes, price fluctuations can create a sense of uncertainty; a customer may wait for a lower price only to find that it has increased, potentially losing out on a good deal.
For Merchants
Pros
- Allows merchants to maintain their competitiveness in a saturated market
- Helps merchants modify their strategies to guarantee that they are providing competitive rates. This enhances ad performance and boosts sales.
- Enables retailers to react swiftly to competition pricing and market changes, thereby improving consumer relations.
Cons
- Tracking pricing changes requires time and resources, which may divert attention from other critical business operations.
- Reliance on third-party software for tracking can lead to potential inaccuracies in data reporting and the risk of increased operational costs.
Conclusion
Google shopping has grown in popularity, and shoppers are always looking for ways to find the best offers while saving money.
Using Google’s price tracker feature enables shoppers to keep an eye on the price changes of particular products and receive notifications when there is a significant decline.
Additionally, merchants can embrace Google’s price tracker’s potential to expand and increase profitability significantly.
FAQs
How do I set up Google Shopping Price Tracking?
To set up Google Shopping Price Tracking, search for the desired product on Google, click on the item, and select the option to track prices. You will then receive browser notifications or email alerts about any price changes.
Is Google Shopping Price Tracking available worldwide?
As of now, Google Shopping Price Tracking is available only in the US and India. However, you can use third-party price-tracking apps from any part of the globe to track prices on Google Shopping.
Can you set price alerts on Google Shopping?
Yes, you can set price alerts on Google Shopping for specific items. When you track a product, you can receive notifications about price changes directly to your email or notifications through Google Shopping or Chrome when enabled.
Are there alternative tools for price tracking if I’m outside the U.S. or India?
Yes, individual shoppers or merchants can employ third-party apps like Prisync and DataWeave to track pricing outside the US and India.
Why was the price tracking feature removed from the shopping website?
The price tracking feature is removed from the shopping website due to changes in the platform’s functionality or user preferences. However, it is still available in the US and India.
What devices can I use for price tracking on Google Shopping?
You can track prices on Google Shopping using any device that supports web browsing, such as a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Additionally, you can also use price-tracking apps on mobile devices.
Can I track multiple products at once?
Yes, you can track multiple products by including them in your shopping list. Additionally, you can get alerts on price tracking for several merchants.
Does Google Shopping Price Tracking work for all products?
No, Google Shopping Price Tracking is not guaranteed to work for every product. Some exceptions are event tickets, automotive, travel services, and real estate.
Can I use Google Shopping Price Tracking for price matching with retailers?
Yes, you can use Google Shopping Price Tracking to compare prices with retailers and monitor competitors. This helps you stay on top of emerging trends.
Are there any charges for using Google Shopping Price Tracking?
No, there are no charges for using Google Shopping Price Tracking. This feature is part of Google’s free services, allowing users to stay updated on product prices without any fees.
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