How to compare prices for matching products with different measure units?

In this article (~5 min read):

1. What is a coefficient?
2. How to set a coefficient for a matching product price?

If you notice a significant difference between your price and the competitor’s price, one of the most likely causes is a mismatch in measure units, for example, different weight or package options. Alternatively, you may want to convert prices to take measure units into account or make some corrections while working with like-to-like matches. In any of the cases mentioned above, the easiest way to proceed is adjusting prices with a coefficient.

What is a coefficient?

A coefficient in Competera is a number by which the competitor’s price is multiplied. The default coefficient value for every price we collect equals 1.

It is possible to specify a coefficient only if your product has matches. We also implemented a new feature in the latest release: now you can make standard arithmetic calculations and use round brackets right in the interface to set a coefficient.

💡 Hint: To divide the competitor's price by a number n you need to multiply it by 1/n, as the resulting price is always multiplied by the coefficient value. For example, in order to divide by 5, you need to enter 1/5 or 0.2 in the coefficient field.

The resulting coefficient value is rounded to the nearest 0.0001 while the price is always rounded to cents.

How to set a coefficient for a matching product price?

If you need to adjust prices by setting a coefficient, there are several ways to proceed:

In the Products report

1. Go to Analytics — Products and double-click on the product. After the product card appears on the right, navigate to the Coefficients tab.
2. In the Coefficients tab click on the value you want to edit and enter the number in the input field. Press ‘Enter’ or click on the check mark () to save changes.

On the Product page

1. While on the product page, click on Product details and navigate to the Coefficients tab.
2. Press on the current coefficient value and edit this value in the input field. When you finish making changes, press ‘Enter’ or click on the green check mark to apply and save them.

In the Matches list

1. Navigate to Data delivery — Matches and scroll right until you see the Coefficients column. If the product has not been matched yet or if the match was not found, you will see the dash (—) symbol.
2. Scroll further to the right side of the page and press on the Details button (three dots) next to the name of a store to open a drop-down list, then select ‘Edit coefficient’. You will see the initial price, the input field, and the resulting price in the new window that opens.
3. Click on ‘Apply’ to save the changes. You will see a notification at the bottom left corner of the screen.

Using file import

Finally, it is also possible to import several coefficient values into your dashboard at once. You will simply need to prepare an Excel file containing matching links (URLs) with respective coefficients in the format below and reach our team.

While you can make calculations in the user interface, this feature is unavailable for import.

After setting a coefficient you should be able to see the updated price within several minutes. The updated price value will also change in CSV/XLS reports within an hour.

If you want to delete a coefficient, you will need to change it back to the default value (1).