--- title: "How to track competitor prices for Google Shopping | Product Metrics" description: "Track competitor prices when nobody sells your product: match own-brand products by dimensions, compare list prices, then read price position next to POAS." canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/how-to-track-competitor-prices-google-shopping" pageType: article language: en publisher: "Product Metrics" author: "Berend Vrakking" datePublished: 2026-10-07 dateModified: 2026-10-08 image: "https://www.productmetrics.io/og/blog/how-to-track-competitor-prices-google-shopping.png" --- > Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt # How to track competitor prices for Google Shopping ## Key takeaways - Track competitor prices by comparing like with like. For own-brand products that means matching on dimensions such as use, cushioning and weight, because no competitor sells your GTIN. - In the example below, a €139.99 trainer sits €10.01 above the €129.98 median of four comparable own-brand trainers. - A single snapshot hides movement. In the example, Competitor 2 slid from €150.00 to €138.99 over six weeks and ended up under a €139.99 price you never changed. - Compare prices without shipping, start with a weekly check, and read price position next to margin and POAS before you change anything. If you sell your own brand, you cannot look up a competitor's price for the same product: nobody else carries it, so there is no barcode to match. You can still track competitor prices for Google Shopping. Compare your products with the alternatives shoppers weigh against them, then read where your price sits next to ad performance. The method comes from [Competitor Prices](https://www.productmetrics.io/competitor-prices), the Product Metrics feature that matches own-brand products on dimensions instead of barcodes. For a small range, the same steps work in a spreadsheet. ## Decide what "the same product" means Competitor price tracking only works if you compare like with like. For branded products that is easy: the same GTIN is the same product. Google's own price benchmarks in Merchant Center work this way, comparing against other retailers that sell the same GTIN. For own-brand products the barcode is yours alone, so GTIN matching returns nothing. Instead, compare on the dimensions your customers compare on. For a running trainer, that is use, cushioning, drop, plate, weight and colour. A Nike Pegasus 42 and an adidas Supernova Rise 3 share no barcode, yet a shopper weighs them against each other. **Track competitor prices in five steps** 1. **Name the products you compare.** Start with the products that take most of your ad spend. A short list you act on beats a long list you ignore. 2. **Define what makes two products comparable.** Pick the dimensions shoppers weigh in your category, such as use, cushioning, drop, plate, weight and colour. 3. **Find competitors' own-brand alternatives.** Pick three to five competitors per category and shortlist their products that match on most dimensions. 4. **Compare list prices without shipping.** Use the same basis for every product, so the gap reflects price alone. 5. **Check again on a schedule.** Prices move. Weekly is a sensible start, daily for fast categories, monthly for slow ones. ![The Competitor Prices matching pipeline: a Nike Pegasus 42 is matched on six approved dimensions against adidas.nl and eu.puma.com/nl, giving four comparable trainers and a price position of 4 of 5.](https://www.productmetrics.io/images/blog/how-to-track-competitor-prices-google-shopping/matching-pipeline.png) _The same method as a pipeline: product, match key, scan, match, then price position. Four of six trainers match, so the Pegasus 42 ranks 4th of 5._ ## Compare on the dimensions shoppers use Pick them from how shoppers talk about the category rather than from the fields in your product data. Running shoes are judged on drop and cushioning, sofas on seat depth, coffee on roast and origin. Keep the list short, five to seven dimensions, and decide how many must match before two products count as comparable. Competitor Prices uses 75% of your approved dimensions, so one near-miss does not discard an otherwise good comparison. > **Sidenote:** In Competitor Prices, AI suggests the dimensions and you approve them before any matching happens. You can do the same with a colleague and a whiteboard. ## Use one price basis The basis has to be the same for every product. We compare list prices without shipping costs, so every product in a category is compared on its price alone. Note the date you checked: a price tracked last month is history. > **Sidenote:** Use publicly visible prices only. Observing a competitor's public price is different from discussing or agreeing prices with them, which competition rules restrict in most markets. This is not legal advice: check the rules where you sell. **Figure: List price of the Nike Pegasus 42 and six rival daily trainers (€).** Each bar is a trainer's list price. The Nike Pegasus 42 at €139.99 sits mid-range of the seven, yet €10.01 above the €129.98 median of the four trainers that match at least 75% of the approved dimensions. | Trainer | List price | | --- | --- | | PUMA Electrify NITRO 4 | €99.95 | | PUMA Velocity NITRO 5 | €129.95 | | adidas Adizero SL2 | €130.00 | | Nike Pegasus 42 (yours) | €139.99 | | adidas Supernova Rise 3 | €150.00 | | adidas Adizero Evo SL | €150.00 | | PUMA Deviate NITRO 4 | €169.95 | _Source: List prices from nike.com/nl and eu.puma.com/nl, checked 30 September 2026. adidas prices marked as launch prices where adidas.nl could not be checked automatically. Product Metrics is not affiliated with Nike, adidas or PUMA._ Here four of the six alternatives match at least 75% of the approved dimensions. Their median is €129.98, so the €139.99 Pegasus 42 sits €10.01 above it. On its own that gap is no reason to cut the price; it is a question to put to the product's margin and POAS. ![Six own-brand trainers from adidas and PUMA compared with the Nike Pegasus 42 on six dimensions, each marked comparable or near-miss, with a price strip showing the €129.98 matched median.](https://www.productmetrics.io/images/blog/how-to-track-competitor-prices-google-shopping/price-position-lineup.png) _Each alternative shows why it is comparable and where it differs. Near-misses stay visible so you can judge them yourself._ ## A series shows what a snapshot can't A snapshot tells you where you stand today; a series shows where prices are heading. Keep one row per competitor product and one column per check, and plot them against your own price. **Figure: Three competitors' prices against your €139.99 over eight weeks (€).** Each line is one competitor product's price, checked weekly. The dashed line is your €139.99, which never moved. Competitor 1 went under it in week 3 and Competitor 2 in week 6, so you slid from cheapest to third of four. | Week | Competitor 1 price | Competitor 2 price | Competitor 3 price | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Wk 1 | €142.00 | €150.00 | €169.95 | | Wk 2 | €141.00 | €150.00 | €169.95 | | Wk 3 | €136.00 | €150.00 | €159.95 | | Wk 4 | €136.00 | €145.00 | €159.95 | | Wk 5 | €124.95 | €145.00 | €159.95 | | Wk 6 | €124.95 | €138.99 | €149.95 | | Wk 7 | €124.95 | €138.99 | €149.95 | | Wk 8 | €129.95 | €138.99 | €149.95 | Reference line: Your price (unchanged) (€139.99). _Source: Illustrative data_ Eight weeks of checks show what any single one would miss. Competitor 1 went under you in week 3, then dropped another 8% (€136.00 to €124.95) in week 5 and partly recovered. Competitor 2 slid about 7% (€150.00 to €138.99) and now sits €1.00 under you. Competitor 3 stays above you throughout. Your price never moved, and you still went from cheapest to third of four. ## Read price position next to POAS Put a €10 gap next to margin, stock and ad results before you do anything with it. If the product gets clicks but misses its POAS target, a price above the median is one plausible reason. If it hits its target, the gap may be fine. Our guide to [POAS vs ROAS](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/poas-vs-roas) explains why profit per product is the number to read the gap against, and [what price intelligence is](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/what-is-price-intelligence) covers the difference between monitoring, intelligence and repricing. For the Pegasus 42, Competitor Prices shows that €10.01 gap as a price position, a price ratio and a price difference, next to Product Score and the Merchant Center labels your campaigns can use. It shows where you stand, and your team decides what happens to the price. ## Check on a schedule Prices go stale quickly, so repeat the comparison regularly. Daily is 30 checks per product per month, weekly is 4 and monthly is 1. With the [Price Monitoring add-on](https://www.productmetrics.io/pricing), one check of one product costs €0.004 excluding VAT. | Schedule | Checks per product per month | Cost for 500 products, excl. VAT | |---|---:|---:| | Daily | 30 | €60.00 | | Weekly | 4 | €8.00 | | Monthly | 1 | €2.00 | ## When a spreadsheet stops scaling A spreadsheet works for a handful of products: our free [competitor price analysis template](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/competitor-price-analysis-template) has the formulas. Past a few dozen products, look for software, and check it against this list. | Look for | Why it matters | |---|---| | Matching beyond GTIN | Own-brand products share no barcode with competitors | | Price history, not only today's price | Movement is the signal (see the eight-week chart above) | | A schedule you control | Daily, weekly or monthly, by product | | One stated price basis | List price, with or without shipping, the same for every product | | A link to ad performance | A gap only matters next to margin and POAS | | A predictable cost per check | The bill stays clear as your range grows | [Competitor Prices](https://www.productmetrics.io/competitor-prices) was built to that list. For a side-by-side of the options, see [price monitoring software compared](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/price-monitoring-software-compared), and for the terms behind it, read [what price intelligence is](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/what-is-price-intelligence). ## Start with ten products by hand For real examples of how companies price against competitors, see [competitive pricing examples](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/competitive-pricing-examples). If the gaps on your own products turn out to matter, [Competitor Prices](https://www.productmetrics.io/competitor-prices) tracks them for you, and the [break-even ROAS calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/break-even-roas-calculator) sets the targets to read them against. To begin, list your ten highest-spend products, write down five dimensions per category and compare them once by hand. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I compare my prices with competitors'? Compare like with like. Match comparable products, use one price basis (list prices without shipping) and repeat the check on a schedule. For own-brand products, match on dimensions such as use, weight and colour, not GTIN, then read the gap next to margin and POAS. ### What does competitor price tracking look like in practice? You sell a trainer at €139.99 and track three competitor products weekly. Competitor 1 goes under you in week 3 (€136.00) and Competitor 2 in week 6 (€138.99). Your price never moved, yet you slid from cheapest to third cheapest of four. The numbers are illustrative. ### How often should I track competitor prices? Match the schedule to how fast your category moves. Weekly is a sensible start. Check daily where competitors change prices often, and monthly where they rarely do. Product Metrics Price Monitoring runs daily, weekly or monthly for the products you choose. ### Should I match my competitors' prices? Not automatically. A product that sits above the median can still be profitable if its margin and POAS hold, so read the gap next to margin, stock and POAS before you decide. --- Written by Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Last updated 2026-10-08. HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/how-to-track-competitor-prices-google-shopping