5 Ways Data Extraction Can Give You an Advantage In ECommerce

Updated on :October 13, 2023
By :Efrat Vulfsons

The fuel that powers ecommerce is data. A business needs fresh, relevant data for marketing, product development, and customer service. The internet produces a plethora of data constantly, and retrieval through manual methods is time-consuming and tedious. 

Automated data extraction retrieves information from specific sources on an ongoing basis. Steps involve identifying specific data types, setting an automated extraction tool, such as proxy services for scraping, retrieving data, storing it on a database, and analyzing it. Mastering this process provides sharply focused information that can be used for competitor research or consumer insights. 

What Is Data Extraction?

Data extraction is done with automated tools, such as web scrapers, that lift the HTML code from web pages. Once the data is retrieved, it is analyzed or stored. Before storing it, labeling it with information such as a timestamp or a location can be done automatically. 

Structured data can be extracted all at once or incrementally. If the process is incremental, certain features mark where the extraction was stopped during the previous session and begin again. 

Unstructured data requires some preparation before retrieval. Some data may also need “cleaning” before extraction by removing symbols and other markers from the text to be retrieved easily. There are several methods for extraction, including batch processing, open-source, and cloud-based tools. 

Data extraction will contribute to your ecommerce strategy in the following ways:

Optimize Product Listings

Successful product marketing involves understanding the type of product, the general market, and customers. Extracting data that provides information on all of these things is instrumental in upgrading products and predicting future trends. 

Financial publications feature informative forecasts of the market in general or identify a trend that has quantifiable success. Researching a specific product, including features, pricing, and listings, provides guidance on how to present listings that will impress prospective customers. SEO research gives clues on how to attract shoppers after they type in a search term. 

Product listings are an important draw on the internet. With competition in every aspect of ecommerce, there is the possibility that a shopper may scroll on past a product that might otherwise be a good fit. Research gives insight into what kind of listings will make consumers stop, read, and click. Extracting data from successful product pages to examine listings, placement of visuals, and descriptions can increase conversions. 

Track Competitive Pricing and Promotions 

Pricing and promotions are two things that can attract or repel customers. It is essential to understand pricing dynamics and fluctuations within an industry. In the old days, one had only to look at newspaper or television advertisements to keep track of how competitors were pricing items or what kind of sales they were offering.

The internet has a virtual sea of products and sellers. Keeping track of price fluctuations manually is impossible. Automated extraction of pricing and promotion data is essential because changes could go unnoticed. Even the best marketing strategy may not prevail against one dramatic price cut or promotion initiated by a rival. Ensuring pricing data is available and updated constantly is essential for staying a step ahead. 

Dynamic algorithms change prices based on extracted data. Effective tools can alter the price automatically based on data gleaned from the web. Receiving alerts and updates about rivals’ promotions will prevent them from attracting customers and will enable users to offer a counter promotion or a better deal than competitors. 

Track Customer Behavior and Reaction

It is a well-known saying that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Retrieving data tracking customer behavior provides clues on what they will do next. There are many places businesses interact with customers--on their company websites, social media, ecommerce platforms, email subscriptions, and customer service chat.

These sources provide a wealth of information about site visitors, how they feel about products, where they like to shop, and which products they prefer. Data analytics is the core of ecommerce marketing strategies. Analyzing which pages were clicked, where customers spent the most or least time on a website, what items they abandoned in their cart, and the questions they asked customer service provides data that will convert them from visitors into customers. 

Find Out What Customers Love (and Criticize)

The old t-shirt that said, “Everyone is entitled to my opinion,” was never more true than on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok are places where people live, or at least, where they discuss, shop, compare, emote, make friends, and air their views. The magnitude of User Generated Data (USG) produced on social media is astounding, and its value for marketing is immeasurable. 

Marketers often zero in to see what people on social media are saying about their brands and products. However, this isn’t the only instructive topic. Searching for the buzz about competitors and the product in general or similar products provides useful research data. 

Also, simply getting to know prospective customers, what they do with their spare time, what they like to eat, what movies they watch, or where they hang out is an essential step in marketing. Using popular phrases from favorite television shows or movies that your customer persona may enjoy or referring to a hangout spot popular with local millennials when they are the target audience can make a promotion successful. 

Getting a clear picture of target consumers, what they love and what their pet peeves are may not seem directly related to the product or the brand but adds a personal touch to advertising that stands out from the typical, heavily promotional fare. 

Gather Data from Customer Reviews

Reviews have a significant impact on consumer decisions. People will hold off on buying a product on popular ecommerce platforms if there are insufficient reviews or negative ones. 

Glowing reviews attract new customers and encourage satisfied customers to leave more positive reviews. The adage, “Nothing succeeds like success,” is certainly the best case scenario with online reviews. Not only does every business aim for positive feedback, but reviews about their own products and those of rival companies guide product development and marketing strategies. 

Extracting reviews and using automated consumer insight tools to analyze sentiment gives a full picture of how customers feel about products and brands. Rather than reading through every review, consumer insight tools analyze texts for emotions and attitudes and provide feedback. This information is an invaluable means to keep a finger on the pulse of customer sentiment. 

Data Extraction Fuels Brand Success

The right data can make or break a brand. A business needs a multi-faceted and automated approach to extracting data from a variety of sources. Information from reviews, social media, and online tracking of customer behavior gives clues on revamping product offerings, setting the right prices, and customer service. 

Finding the right data extraction method, which includes web proxies, data scrapers, open-source and cloud tools, ensures successfully automated processes that search, extract, analyze, and store data efficiently. Automation will make extracting data simpler and will make more time available for product research and refining customer service. The contribution updated data provides for a brand, product, and marketing strategies result in increased sales and improved customer engagement. 

To do it right, you can seek help from the top data analytics service providers!

Efrat Vulfsons
Efrat Vulfsons

Efrat Vulfsons is the Co-Founder of PR Soprano and a data-driven marketing enthusiast, parallel to her soprano opera singing career. Efrat holds a B.F.A from the Jerusalem Music Academy in Opera Performance.

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