Price comparison engine - what is it for and how to use it?

The e-commerce industry is booming, so entrepreneurs are turning to various methods to gain confidence in the market and increase sales. One of these is price comparison websites, a useful tool both from the perspective of e-shop owners and their customers. What is a price comparison site and what advantages can it give you?

Price comparison sites - what are they used for?

When making purchasing decisions, it is often the price of a product that is the dominant factor for consumers. For this reason, customers like to use price comparison sites, which from their perspective are a useful tool for finding the most attractive offers and bargains.

Thanks to them, Internet users do not have to visit several online shops to find out how much they have to pay for the selected item in each of them. Instead, all they have to do is use a price comparison engine, which brings all the offers together in one place and selects the cheapest one.

However, comparison shopping and price engines are a functional and advantageous option not only from the point of view of the potential customer, but also from the point of view of the e-commerce industry. Such tools are treated by business owners as an additional sales channel and contribute to increased brand recognition.

How does a price comparison engine work?

Price comparison websites rank e-shops according to the amount to be paid for the product the customer is looking for, but not only. The chosen tool may also take into account a number of other aspects such as, among others, the address of the shop's stationary point, basic information about the selected offer, the cost of shipping and opinions and reviews about the item in question.

In order for a shop to be listed on an online price search engine, it needs to establish a partnership with one. Of course, such a service is paid for and the way it is billed depends on the model chosen, as you will find out later in this article.

The partnership between the online shop and the lowest price search engine is based on the uploading of up-to-date article data from the e-commerce representative's website and their subsequent systemisation on the comparison website. The range of products to appear on the comparison engine is determined by their retailer.

In addition, the tool can be used for other promotional activities. For example, the most popular price comparison site in Poland offers its customers the possibility of selling products directly on its platform, without the need to redirect to an e-commerce site or publish short texts encouraging the purchase of a given product in the price comparison site.

Price comparison sites - the main benefits of using them in e-commerce

Partnerships with price comparison and search engines mean a number of benefits for the e-commerce industry. First and foremost, the customer accessing such a platform has already made a decision to purchase the item in question. For the retailer, this means that there is a high probability that the process will result in a purchase once they have entered their site.

Thanks to price comparison sites for online shops, in addition to a relatively high conversion rate, e-commerce representatives can count on an increase in traffic to the website, and therefore the benefits of positioning, as well as greater brand recognition and the attraction of new customers.

What's more, options such as, among others, belonging to the safe shopping guarantee programme provided by the comparison site and protection against fraudulent practices of retailers (this is an additional, paid option) contributes to building trust among the brand's audience.

The range of benefits arising from additional promotional activities cannot be overlooked either. In addition, the price comparison engine is a source of information on customers and competitors.

What are the most common billing models with price comparison sites?

Online shop owners entering into a partnership with a price comparison website most often bill for the service on the basis of the CPC model, i.e. Cost Per Click.

This means charging sellers for each click that results in a potential customer being redirected to their shop's website. The cost of a single click is relatively small and usually ranges from a dozen to a few tens of pennies.

Another, much rarer solution, which is usually combined with the CPC model, is to charge a commission for the purchase of a single item. Its amount can vary not only depending on the chosen comparison engine, but also on the product category.

In addition, the commission system usually settles purchases directly on the comparison platform.

Price comparison sites - how to maximise sales through them?

Even the best price comparison engine will not increase sales results if the online shop does not meet customer expectations in terms of both functionality and design. If redirection to an e-shop page practically never results in a purchase, cooperation with a price engine seems pointless.

In the meantime, the reason for this may be a daunting font, graphics or colour scheme on the site, or processes that are incomprehensible to the user and which were intended to lead him or her to complete the purchase.

A retailer who has observed that potential customers redirected to a shop's website via a comparison site leave the site before purchasing their chosen goods should carefully track their movements. This will allow them to get to the root of the problem and rectify any errors or inconveniences as soon as possible.

Furthermore, the ratings of the shop's existing customers are an extremely important element in successfully maximising sales. It is therefore worth encouraging them to share their comments online, with positive feedback regularly appearing on the comparison portal.

To increase sales and maximise the potential of price comparison tools in shops, it is also worth considering choosing one or more of the additional options they offer.

We are not only talking about the "Buy Now" service or participation in the customer protection programme. For an additional charge, comparison sites also allow higher ranking positions regardless of product price, the publication of display advertisements or the possibility of entering into a dialogue with customers in the form of a response to their posted opinions.

The use of price comparison sites can be a very beneficial solution for e-commerce representatives. Remember that other elements, such as a functional and clear design of your e-store, are also necessary to increase sales.