Products: Outdoor Gear
Location: Provo, Utah
Industry: E-Commerce
"In 2019, a friend advised me that web scraping can help us collect the required data. We did some research and found Actowiz Solutions and made some agents. We ran a few bots, got the information we required, and got sold."
- Henry Parker, Founder, and CEO
The Problem
Collecting detailed product profiles.
The Solution
We have used Actowiz Solutions to show and merchandise thousands of SKUs compared to more prominent e-commerce retailers.
Summary
Henry Parker started his e-commerce store in 2005 as he couldn't get any devoted skimboard shops. As he has a background in computer science, he handled the majority of technical challenges he faced while making his website. Clever merchandising and drop shipping helped him survive the early phase, and then he started increasing the business verticals like snowboarding and skating. In the meantime, his e-commerce store has become the leading board sports retailer and a new entrant in balancing outdoor categories like camping and climbing.
They have used Actowiz Solutions to:
- Automating their group of supplier details
- Gather new products data
- Maintaining precise product profiles
- Tracking competitors' pricing
Know Where Your Customers Are
According to Parker, online retailing—irrespective of product categories —has become much more competitive since he started.
Each skate shop having Internet access is a possible competitor. Other categories are equally intense. Despite the particular product, three main things have assisted them in leading the market; they have always followed relationships with leading big brands, including O'Neill, Quicksilver, and Hurley, besides working with many up-and-comers. After that, they deliberately made an extensive product selection in their verticals, far more significant than nearly all their competitors. In conclusion, they have tried to be everywhere, whenever their customers are. They promote and sell on Amazon, social media, shopping engines, marketplaces, paid searches, and events.
Precise and Complete Product Profiles
Providing complete, accurate, and sensible product data, including accessible inventory data, is vital for existing and new product categories as it helps in SEO, site search, on-site merchandising, and product filtering. Preferably, distributors and manufacturers would make the entire product list a steady feed or give an API. Regrettably, according to Parker, only a few of them do that. Without manageable or ready-to-download data, they use Actowiz Solutions to collect it straight from the websites.
They are adding products constantly, so gathering new product data and updated inventory numbers is a weekly job for them. It's enormously laborious and time-consuming, and they used to do that internally or utilizing offshore sources. In 2019, a friend recommended that web scraping services would help them collect the needed data. They did some research and found Actowiz Solutions and made some agents. They ran some bots, got the information they required, and got sold.
Competition Against Big E-commerce Players
Since then, Actowiz Solutions has become an essential source for Parker and his team as they have grown, recently crossing 50,000 products. The ability to showcase and merchandise thousands of SKUs has helped Parker to strive against much bigger e-commerce retailers and lend credibility while doing new distribution deals with well-established brands.
"We have used Actowiz Solutions every week, creating new product profiles and gathering inventory data, which we upload in our Channel Advisor for updating all the points of sale. We have scraped many sites, which are regularly updated. When we get a technical query, support from Actowiz Solutions' coaching staff and customer support has been excellent. Whether we send emails or make phone calls, their staff is super responsive and cooperative."
We Have Saved Thousands Using Web Scraping
"In search of providing everything outdoor enthusiasts and boarders could ever want, automating this vital product retailing activity has saved us thousands of dollars in outsourcing fees." It's a benefit that Parker believes any e-commerce retailer might not want to overlook.
"If you have an e-commerce website, irrespective of category, Actowiz Solutions is a must-have. You have to utilize this, and I can't suggest it adequately. This has made our lives much easier, assisting us in running a lean operation, reaching customers across the globe, and flourishing against bigger competitors."