How to Instantly Get Competitive SKU Data

Last year's sales data isn't the only factor you should consider when making inventory decisions. In fact, intelligent FBA merchants utilize a number of criteria.

One of the most overlooked pieces of information involves competitive forces. Unfortunately, accessing this data can be very labor-intensive - that is, unless you're using RestockPro.

In this article, we'll explain why competitive intelligence about SKU data is vital for profitable FBA selling. We'll also show how RestockPro makes you a more strategic merchant.

What You Can Learn from Competitors

When a product's popularity increases, competitors begin to notice. As much as you'd love to own an item's Buy Box forever, it's only a matter of time before someone comes along and undercuts you. Of course, you can take proactive steps (such as using FeedbackFive to maintain a positive seller reputation and SellerPulse to track Buy Box changes) to reduce competitive threats. However, all things being equal, price is still a major influencer.

Some sellers become frustrated when they start to see their share of the Buy Box fading. While it's certainly frustrating, smart merchants look for opportunities to improve.

For example, let's imagine you stock a certain pumpkin carving tool (Halloween is just around the corner). Last year's sales were awesome, and you made a nice profit. This year, strangely, the product seems to be less profitable. Although the item's rank is strong, you're not sure what caused the change. You're even less sure if you'll restock the item for next year.

In this situation, it's easy to simply stop stocking the product. On the other hand, you could be leaving profit on the table. Instead, you decide to do some digging and discover the culprit. In early October, another FBA merchant had dropped his price dangerously close to your cost. By mid-October, the competitor had liquidated his inventory, causing the market price to go back up (along with your sales velocity). Unfortunately, your repricing software had gone into full combat mode, winning unprofitable orders.

You decide that the product was not to blame, but rather your business processes - in particular, how you monitor competitor data. When next year's Halloween season rolls around, you'll be ready.

How to Expedite the Research Process

Without the right tools, gathering this type of competitive SKU-level data is incredibly time-consuming. Even with the right staff in place to help you, information can quickly become outdated. Because prices and rank are constantly changing on the Amazon marketplace, you need a better way to collect and digest the info. After all, you have hundreds of other SKUs that require your attention.

To expedite the research process, many FBA sellers trust our RestockPro tool (get your free 21-day trial). In addition to automatically prioritizing your restocking tasks, RestockPro presents the most up-to-date market intelligence - including SKU-level competitive benchmarks, such as:

Number of FBA sellers
Number of non-FBA sellers
Lowest FBA price
Lowest non-FBA price
Current Buy Box price
Whether Amazon is a seller
And more!

RestockPro also tracks an item's popularity by monitoring ranking, twelve-month sales history, and sales velocity. You can also view supplier costs as well as estimated fulfillment and shipping fees, offering a 360-degree view of each item you stock.

Now, instead of manually checking Amazon listings and multiple spreadsheets, you can gain instant access to everything you need to outflank the competition.

Integrate Competitive SKU Data into Your Inventory Decision Making

With RestockPro, you can make faster, smarter inventory decisions. Know exactly what and when to restock, decide when it's time to drop a product, and even enhance your pricing strategy. Monitor the SKU data that is most important to your business, without wasting hours of time doing manual research.