Question for anyone who runs an Ecommerce store

3 replies
Hi,

I'm trying to do some product research in my niche.

If I sort my competitors' catalog by "bestselling" (which is an option on most that I've seen) then I seemingly have the information I want.

But is this reliable? Or can the store owner artificially change this ranking to favor his high profit items?

Thanks
#ecommerce #question #runs #store
  • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
    I would guess it would depend on the software.

    They might be able to create a sense of social proof for any item such as those they want to blow out, not just high profit items.

    If the software is tied into their inventory system they may just use the units feed to scrape the "bestselling" items.

    Also, "bestselling" items are an indication of what sold in the past, (assuming no hanky-panky) and may not be a reliable indicator of how you should structure your enterprise. You may encounter supply side shortages if the items are out of date (perhaps a newer model is out), or the fad has passed, or the item is seasonal, etc.

    HTH

    ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author TheHotChick
    Banned
    Pretty sure it depends what you've used to build your store. With all my previous e-commerce websites, the "bestselling" category was generated automatically based on what was actually bestselling. There were also options to create your own categories & add products to them, so you could create a "Popular" or "Recommended" category & add all your high profit stuff there if you wanted.
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  • Originally Posted by Delta223 View Post

    If I sort my competitors' catalog by "bestselling" (which is an option on most that I've seen) then I seemingly have the information I want.

    But is this reliable? Or can the store owner artificially change this ranking to favor his high profit items?
    It's not reliable.

    There are modules for various shopping carts and if you want that listing to accurately reflect bestselling status, it can.

    I wouldn't, though, and don't. It's too good a chance to promote what I'd most like to sell.

    Bestsellers are only a portion of the available social proof, though -- most merchants find user-generated reviews are much more effective.

    fLufF
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