Where to check prices of electronics products? Amazon, Google Shopping and Idealo analysis
- 12 April 2021
Google Shopping, Amazon, and Idealo are the most popular e-commerce platforms in the UK that consumers usually use to compare the electronics products prices. More and more retailers consider promoting their offers in all of these channels to attract the biggest consumer base possible. Based on data concerning 1,192 products from the electronics market, we have compared prices and competition on Amazon, Google Shopping, and Idealo to answer the questions:
- On which platform can consumers find the lowest prices?
- Where is the competition the fiercest?
- Which platform covers the biggest amount of products?
The analysis was performed using data from the UK market from March 2021.
The article is designed for both – consumers that want to discover where to look for the best offers from the electronics market as well as for retailers that explore different sales and promotions channels. As we described in the article about choosing the proper sales and promotion channel for a specific product range, knowledge about competition and prices on different platforms is crucial before entering them.
Product availability on Google Shopping, Amazon and Idealo
How often can consumers find electronic products they are looking for on each of the platforms? Based on the list of 1,192 products of such brands as:
- Apple
- Asus
- Canon
- HP
- JBL
- LG
- Samsung
- Sony
- Xiaomi
- and more,
It turns out that only 553 products (46%) were available on all the websites (GS, Amazon, and Idealo). Which platform offered the biggest amount of the chosen products?
On Google Shopping, as many as 1,000 products (84%) could be found. 73% (873) were available on Idealo. The last place goes to Amazon with 797 products (67%) offered on this marketplace.
The cheapest offer – on Google Shopping, Amazon or Idealo?
Where can consumers get the best offer when it comes to electronics products in the UK?
We have analyzed how frequently the consumers were able to find the cheapest offer on each of the platforms. As it turns out, generally, the most attractive offer (based on 553 products available on all the platforms) was available on Google Shopping in 67% of cases (368 products).
As shown by the chart above, the second most common situation (for 14% of products) was that the best price was available not on a single website, but the same on any 2 of the platforms. Idealo offered the best price for 8% of products, in 7% of cases the lowest price was the same on all the mentioned websites. Amazon was the platform on which the electronic product could be bought for the cheapest price in only 5% of situations.
Should we be surprised? Amazon is a marketplace whilst Idealo and Google Shopping are price comparison websites, so they should naturally present the best offers (learn more about price comparison websites and marketplaces).
However, it highlights the fact that for customers, checking the offers on Google Shopping might bring them some savings. The retailers should be aware of that and consider promoting their offer there – especially if their price is attractive in the market. How much does it cost them? You can learn it from our article about fees on Google Shopping.
Average prices on Google Shopping vs Amazon vs Idealo
In the previous paragraph, we have analyzed the best offers on each of the platforms. But how about the average prices (calculated based on all the offers available for a single product on the platform)?
It turns out that the average price on Idealo was lower than the average price on the other platforms in 43% of cases. The second most attractive platform when it comes to average prices was Google Shopping (lowest average price for 41% of products). On Amazon, the lowest average price for electronics products could be observed only for 15% of items.
However, the difference in average product price on both price comparison platforms – Google Shopping and Idealo – is not high. The price level on Google Shopping is 1% higher on average than on Idealo. The difference between Amazon and price comparison websites is bigger – the price level of electronics products is higher by 12% on average on Amazon than on Idealo.
Competition among retailers on Google Shopping vs Amazon vs Idealo
The Dealavo analysts have also analysed how competitive the three platforms are. The purpose of this was to check how often UK online shops competed more fervently on Google Shopping vs Amazon vs Idealo. To check that, two measures were used:
- Average number of offers per product,
- Standard deviation from the average price on a particular platform. The variable shows how much the offered prices are clustered around the average (i.e., in simple terms, a low standard deviation means that the retailers offer their products at similar prices).
It was assumed that higher deviation (more varied prices) meant that the particular platform was less competitive. That is because the pricing strategy of the shops is not aimed at keeping their prices on a level similar to their competition (the shops tolerate higher discrepancies between their own offers and the offers of their competitors).
The average number of offers – Google Shopping vs Amazon vs Idealo
Based on an analysis of more than 18 thousand offers for 553 electronics products, the average number of offers per product on Google Shopping UK is 18.6, whilst on Amazon and Idealo – both 7.4. This means that consumers can compare proposals from a larger number of online shops on Google Shopping.
Another analysed aspect was the frequency with which a higher number of offers could be found on Google Shopping. As it turns out, this occurred for 82% of the products. A larger number of offers could be found on Amazon for 11% of the products, and on Idealo – for 7% of the SKUs.
Price variability – Google Shopping vs Amazon vs Idealo
What, however, is the price variability on the analyzed platforms?
This was measured by comparing the standard deviations on all the platforms. In the case of Google Shopping, the average standard deviation was 9.7% (i.e. the offering of an average online shop deviated by 9.7% on average from the average product price on Google Shopping), for Amazon – 7.8%, and for Idealo – 7.3%.
As shown, the prices on Amazon and Idealo are less variable, i.e. the price range is narrower. This may be indicative of stronger competition on these platforms. However, it is quite clear that the difference is not big and the price range is not very high. What’s more, the higher standard deviation on Google Shopping is a result of the bigger amount of offers.
Summary
The analysis indicates that all the mentioned platforms are quite relevant sources of information about electronics prices for customers and a valuable sales / promotion channel for retailers. Even though all the platforms are well-known among UK customers, some key differences could be seen based on the analyzed data:
- Google Shopping has the highest product coverage;
- For 67% of electronics products, customers could find the cheapest offer on Google Shopping;
- The average product price is lowest on Idealo in 43% of cases which surpasses the Google Shopping’s and Idealo’s results;
- The number of offers of a single product is usually higher on Google Shopping than on Idealo and Amazon;
- On Google Shopping, the prices of specific products are more variable than on Idealo and Amazon. The difference, however, is not significant.
Do you want to learn more about prices of consumer electronics and the most relevant e-commerce platforms? Check our articles:
- Price monitoring in the Consumer Electronics industry
- Which products to sell and promote on the most important e-commerce platforms?
- The older, the cheaper? Not necessarily. We will try to find out how long manufacturers keep the price of electronics high.
The report has been prepared by Dealavo. Dealavo is a provider of e-commerce analytics solutions for online shops and manufacturers. It specialises in price monitoring and automation solutions for e-shops and DPSM (Distribution, Pricing, Shelving, Merchandising) solutions for manufacturers. Dealavo offers its services in 32 markets, working with international companies as well as representatives of the local market.