Competitor Price Monitoring

Introduction

The Competitor Price Monitoring project aims to automate the process of tracking competitor pricing changes, providing businesses with real-time alerts and comprehensive insights. This tool is designed to save businesses time and improve pricing strategies by offering detailed price comparisons and historical data analysis.

System Overview

Competitor Price Monitoring is a Micro SaaS solution that automates the monitoring of competitor websites for price changes. It provides real-time alerts and detailed analytics to help businesses make informed pricing decisions. The system is designed to be user-friendly and integrates seamlessly with existing communication tools.

Functional Requirements as Story Points

• As a Business Owner, I want to automatically track competitor prices so that I can stay informed about market changes.
• As a Business Owner, I want to receive real-time alerts via email, Slack, or WhatsApp when a competitor changes their pricing or packaging.
• As a Business Owner, I want to view price history and trend charts to analyze pricing patterns over time.
• As a Business Owner, I want to see before-and-after change summaries to understand the impact of competitor pricing changes.
• As a Business Owner, I want a dashboard that compares my prices with competitors to identify competitive advantages or disadvantages.
• As a Business Owner, I want to export data in CSV format or access it via API for reporting purposes.
• As a Business Owner, I want AI-powered change detection to filter out irrelevant page changes and focus on significant pricing updates.

User Personas

• Business Owner: The primary user who needs to monitor competitor pricing to make strategic business decisions.
• Marketing Manager: Uses the tool to adjust marketing strategies based on competitor pricing.
• Data Analyst: Analyzes the exported data to provide insights and recommendations to the business team.

Core User Flows

1. Price Monitoring Setup:

   • User logs into the system.
   • User inputs competitor website URLs.
   • System begins automatic price tracking.

2. Real-Time Alert Notification:

   • System detects a price change on a competitor's website.
   • User receives an alert via chosen communication channel (email, Slack, WhatsApp).

3. Dashboard Analysis:

   • User accesses the dashboard.
   • User views price comparisons and trend charts.
   • User downloads reports or exports data via API.

Visuals Colors and Theme

• primary: #1E90FF (Dodger Blue)
• primary_light: #63B8FF (Light Dodger Blue)
• secondary: #FFD700 (Gold)
• accent: #FF4500 (Orange Red)
• highlight: #32CD32 (Lime Green)
• bg: #F8F8FF (Ghost White)
• surface: #FFFFFF (White)
• text: #000000 (Black)
• text_muted: #696969 (Dim Gray)
• border: #D3D3D3 (Light Gray)

Signature Design Concept

Interactive Price Change Timeline

The homepage features an interactive timeline that visually represents competitor price changes over time. Users can hover over specific dates to see detailed change summaries and trend charts. The timeline is animated using motion/react to smoothly transition between different time periods, providing an engaging and informative experience.

Landing Hero Motion Brief

The landing page showcases a dynamic animation where competitor prices are represented as floating tags that adjust in real-time. As users scroll, the tags animate to show price increases or decreases, highlighting significant changes. This animation is built using motion/react and provides a clear visual representation of market dynamics.

Interaction Model & Motion Direction

• Interaction Model: Animated
• The landing page features moderate scroll-triggered reveals and hover transitions, providing a polished and interactive user experience.

Non-Functional Requirements

• The system must handle a large volume of competitor data efficiently.
• Alerts must be delivered within seconds of detecting a price change.
• The dashboard must load within 2 seconds for optimal user experience.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React for Web
• Backend: Python, FastAPI
• Database: MySQL or MariaDB
• AI Models: GPT 5.4 for user-friendly response
• AI Tools: Litellm for LLM Routing
• Local Orchestration: Docker, docker-compose
• Server-side Orchestration: Kubernetes

Assumptions and Constraints

• The system assumes that competitor websites are accessible and do not have anti-scraping measures in place.
• The tool is designed for small to medium-sized businesses and may not scale to enterprise-level data volumes without additional infrastructure.

Glossary

• MRR: Monthly Recurring Revenue
• API: Application Programming Interface
• CSV: Comma-Separated Values
• AI: Artificial Intelligence

This document outlines the requirements and design concepts for the Competitor Price Monitoring project, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the system's capabilities and user interactions.