All Amazon competitive tools use an algorithm that translates a product’s sales rank on Amazon into 30-day unit sales. They then multiply the unit sales by the current selling price to estimate the previous 30 day’s revenue.

Like any model, the algorithms are assumption-dependent. Does that mean that some are more accurate than others? Probably not. It just means that different models are more accurate for different products. You can test the accuracy in your category by comparing your actual sales on each tool.

The secret to getting the most benefit from the competitive tools Is to focus less on the absolute sales and more on the relationships between products. Since sales for Product A are calculated the same way as sales for Product B, then the relationship between the products (i.e. Product A sells 20% more units than Product B) is probably more accurate than the actual sales numbers for Product A and Product B. That’s why these tools are so valuable for determining market share.

As a rule, you’ll find the most accurate results for mature, stable products. The reason is simple: sales rank for those products don’t fluctuate as much. Newer products are less accurate. Coupons, lightning deals, Prime Day and Back Friday promotions create challenges for these tools. And depending how a product is set up, variations can be problematic.

We use a combination of tools. We find that crowdsourcing gives us more accurate results. If you only want to use one, we’ve been happy with these three …
• JungleScout
• Helium 10
• Viral Launch
Almost all of them have free trials of discounted introductory offers. If you click to the link, it’ll take you to a special offer page.

We’re happy to create a complimentary Amazon competitive analysis for your brand. Simply click on the button below and submit the competed form.