[Beginner EC Manager Must-Know] What is "Amazon Price History"? Basics of Competitor Analysis Using Keepa

In selling on Amazon Marketplace, the "price" of a product is the biggest variable influencing sales. However, Amazon's price is not fixed. It fluctuates by the second due to automatic adjustment by algorithms and trends of competitors. The concept to visualize this fluctuation and incorporate it into strategy isgrasping "Amazon Price History". In this article, we explain the basics of analysis methods utilizing Keepa, which is an essential skill for EC managers.

Table of Contents (Click to Expand)

1. Why EC Managers Need to Track "Price History"
2. Basic Functions and Views of Industry Standard Tool "Keepa"
3. Competitor Inventory & Sales Strategy Decoded from Price History
4. Data Analysis of Buy Box Acquisition and Price Correlation

Why EC Managers Need to Track "Price History"

On Amazon, multiple sellers exist for the same ASIN (item identification number). What becomes important here is acquiring the "Buy Box". Amazon's system comprehensively judges price, delivery speed, inventory status, seller rating, etc., and displays the most excellent seller in the cart.

Especially price, Dynamic Pricing fluctuates frequently due to . By analyzing past price history, it becomes possible to hypothesize "when prices drop" and "when competitors are launching inventory clearance".

Basic Functions and Views of Industry Standard Tool "Keepa"

In investigating "Amazon Price History", the tool "Keepa" is unavoidable. Keepa tracks price history, ranking, and inventory status of almost all products on Amazon.

Amazon Direct Price: Orange graph. Price sold by Amazon itself.
New Price (Marketplace): Blue graph. Price of third-party sellers.
Sales Rank: Green graph. If the ranking goes up (number gets smaller), it suggests the product sold.

Competitor Inventory & Sales Strategy Decoded from Price History

By decoding the waveform of price history, the "intention" of competitors becomes visible. For example, if the ranking rises sharply in a phase where the price drops sharply, boost by time sale or promotion is highly likely being applied.

Conversely, if the price is constant but inventory count (checkable with Keepa paid version) is decreasing, it can be said to be a healthy product selling by organic demand. By organizing these data MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive), you can optimize your own price revision timing.

Fig: Correlation Image of Price Fluctuation and Sales Rank

Mechanism of Buy Box Acquisition and Price Correlation

The trap beginners easily fall into is the misunderstanding that "if set to the lowest price, it will surely sell". Amazon's algorithm places importance on usage of "Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)" besides price.

Looking at price history data, there are cases where a competitor with a slightly higher price than your company continues to maintain the cart. This is because that competitor's shipping performance and geographical inventory placement are favored. Based on data analysis, pinning down the "appropriate price" that maximizes profit while avoiding unreasonable price cutting competition is where the EC manager shows their skill.

FAQ

Q. Is sufficient analysis possible with the free version of Keepa?: A. In the free version, only price history is checkable, but to check trends of sales rank and inventory count, the paid version (monthly approx. 19 Euro~) is essential. If conducting competitor analysis in earnest, introduction of the paid version is strongly recommended.
Q. How should price history during sale periods be handled?: A. During large sales like Prime Day, extremely low prices are attached temporarily. Do not make this the year-round standard, but grasp it as "bottom price during sale" and utilize it as a benchmark to raise your own inventory turnover rate.