The commerce landscape shifts with the speed of a trend, and brands can get caught in a whirlwind of change, needing help to identify their footing amidst evolving consumer preferences and fierce competition. The best way to rise to the challenge?   A careful assessment that analyzes and capitalizes on these shifts. The Assess phase is how our relationship with every client begins, and the Category and Competitive Assessment is the cornerstone of that strategy. Its core purpose is to uncover critical insights for crafting a robust plan, making it foundational for the work that follows.  

Assess work begins with a comprehensive dive into your category and competitive landscape, designed to uncover the insights crucial for crafting a robust strategy. This process isn't about surface-level observations; it's about peeling back layers to understand the market's size, trends, and dynamics. By integrating cutting-edge technology and a range of analytics tools, we offer a panoramic view of:

• The market
• Key players
• Opportunity spaces
• Messaging that resonates 

These insights form recommendations and actions tailored to your brand and your category’s unique commerce landscape.  

To better understand your category and competitors, let’s examine what your brand should study.

Market Size and Trends

A complete knowledge of your market means knowing how much the category is worth in total revenue and if the market is growing or shrinking.  A close look at the total market and market forecasts will reveal expected growth in your category and help you plan for consumer demand.  It can also help you avoid unprofitable efforts to grow in categories or on platforms where consumer interest may be slowing.

Top Brands and Products

A deep dive into the best-selling competitors in your category should include a round-up of the top-performing products.  Be sure to pay attention to the brand presence across those top products.  For this part of the assessment, a full breakdown of offerings should include a look at specific factors like monthly revenue, price per unit, commonalities in descriptions, and more.  Your brand can use this information to be sure you’re building a portfolio that is priced right and offers the best pack size and product features to attract shoppers.  

Reviews Analysis

A study of the reviews and ratings in your category will surface consumer priorities and concerns and offer insights that can provide an opportunity for your brand to fill those gaps.  It’s as essential to look at the positive reviews as well as the negative.  Positive reviews will help you understand common perceptions and reactions to the features that customers most want.  Negative reviews will uncover common shortcomings and unmet needs among top products. They will help you create a content strategy to inform your shoppers and avoid confusion or disappointment.

Keyword Trends

A comprehensive look at how shoppers search your category informs how you organize your PDP to optimize for discovery and conversion.  Studying branded versus non-branded search trends will help you understand customer brand loyalty. Breaking down the key search and paid search terms by average sales revenue can inform ad spend strategy, longtail keyword strategy, and digital shelf optimization.

Content Analysis

The final and potentially most information-rich piece of your assessment is to examine the content of the best-performing PDPs in your category.  Great item content serves three roles:  winning the search, then the click, and finally the sale.  High-performing content will include SEO-optimized copy that is conversion rate optimized to reach the top of search results.  To win the click, brands should feature focused, intentional copy, hard-working images/video, and a clear pricing structure.  To win the sale, top PDPs will also likely incorporate promotions, coupons, positive and high-rated review volume, or other strategies to eliminate barriers to purchase.  Looking at listings in your category that are getting the sales will help you build a strategy to compete.

Insights Mean Nothing Without Action

A brand’s Commerce landscape can look very different from what they expect.   A deep assessment ensures a common understanding of both the category and its competitive set.  The strategic value of this work extends far beyond the reported data.  An investment in fully assessing your brand and category has to translate insights into action, guiding you through the complex digital commerce landscape with clarity and precision. 

The outcome is not reactive but proactive strategies, enabling you to seize opportunities and mitigate risks even before they arise. 

Get BOLD! 

We're not just about navigating the commerce landscape but about redefining it. Our approach combines deep insights, collaborative strategy development, and cutting-edge technology, delivered with our signature clarity and simplicity. Whether you're looking to better understand your category, outmaneuver the competition, or simply accelerate your growth, BOLD! is your partner in commerce success.