Tracking beauty and skincare competitors

Changes that matter in this category

• Gifts with purchase, and the spend needed to get them.
• Value sets and their stated value (a "$120 value" set is not the same as a price cut from $120).
• Sitewide and first-order codes.
• New launches, shades and limited editions.
• Free-shipping thresholds and samples.

A note on "value" prices

Sets are often shown with a stated value, what the items would cost separately. EcomWatchdog reports that as a stated value, never as an earlier price, so you don't mistake it for a discount.

How EcomWatchdog does it

EcomWatchdog reads each competitor's homepage, sale, new-arrivals and shipping pages, plus the product pages you choose, once a day around midnight US Central. It compares each page with the night before, and a short update is written for each meaningful change: what it was before, what it is now, and the exact wording from their page. Every update is checked against the page before it is saved.

What it can't see

• It reads public pages only: not prices behind a login, in a cart or at checkout, or offers sent only by email or text message.
• Some stores block automated visits. Their pages can't be read, and the app says so instead of reporting "no change".
• Prices are what a visitor in the US sees, for the product option in the link you add.
• Checks run once a day, so a change made and undone between two checks can be missed.
• History starts when you add a store; it can't show what changed before that.

Example update

Questions

Will it see a gift that needs a minimum order?

Yes, with the minimum: the condition is always kept with the offer.

Will it show offers only available in a store's app?

It reports what the website shows, including a label such as "app exclusive", which stays with the offer. It can't see prices that appear only inside an app.