Ecommerce Intermediate 17 min

Competitor and price analysis — knowing when not to follow a price cut

The problem

A competitor drops from ₹799 to ₹699. You match within a day. They drop to ₹649.

The workflow
1Define the competitor set
2Capture the listing
3Compare systematically
4Detect the move
5Form a hypothesis
6Compute matched contribution
7Choose the response
Monitor

What you need

Competitor B went ₹799 → ₹649 on 4 March. My price ₹749, contribution margin 31%, landed cost ₹268.

The tool

SMEMinds Amazon Profitability AI or Quick Commerce Margin Model

The prompt

Subscribers. The full prompt is part of the SMEMinds AI Playbook. See plans.

What comes back

1. HYPOTHESES, ranked (a) Stock clearance — most likely.

Verify before you use it

Human review required. Check every line below before this leaves your screen.
  • Recompute the contribution arithmetic in the profitability tool with real fee tables. The 40% figure depends on the referral tier behaviour at both prices.
  • The September precedent is from memory. Check whether it is recorded anywhere — if not, it is a weaker basis than it feels.
  • The 66% volume requirement is the number to remember. It is what makes matching a much bigger decision than it appears.
  • Set the 1 April trigger as an actual calendar reminder. Decisions with triggers that nobody checks are just decisions to do nothing.