Product matching is the process of identifying which specific products or items in your catalog are equivalent to products sold by competitors, allowing for accurate “apples-to-apples” comparisons.
It can be done manually by analyzing product attributes like name, description, specifications, size etc. But at scale it is more efficient to use automated algorithms that match products based on identifiers like GTIN/UPC, images or structured product data.
Accurate product matching is essential for functions like:
- Competitor price monitoring
- Margin/profitability analysis
- Assortment/inventory checks
- Sales forecasts based on competitor performance
Challenges include mapping products across retailers with inconsistent naming/metadata. Product changes also require periodic matching updates.
The goal is to organize competitive intelligence for better-informed pricing, purchasing and marketing decisions through benchmarking “same” products.
PricingCraft offers both automated and manual product matching services to quickly connect equivalent items across retailers at scale or carefully link complex products through expert analysis. You can learn more about automated, manual and hybrid matching options on this page.