E-commerce Market Analyzer#

Automated workflow for scraping e-commerce websites, handling popups, extracting product data, and generating comprehensive market analysis reports.

Workflow Overview#

This skill follows a 4-step workflow:

1. Setup & Scraping - Run Playwright scraper to capture homepages
2. Visual Analysis - Analyze screenshots to identify product categories
3. Data Extraction - Parse HTML to extract specific products and prices
4. Report Generation - Create comprehensive market analysis report

text

User provides website list
         ↓
Step 1: Run scraper (handles popups automatically)
         ↓
Step 2: Analyze screenshots visually
         ↓
Step 3: Extract structured data from HTML
         ↓
Step 4: Generate final report

---

Step 1: Setup & Scraping#

Quick Start#

When user provides a list of e-commerce websites, immediately run the scraper:

bash

# Create output directory
mkdir -p screenshots_clean

# Run the scraper
uv run python scripts/scrape_websites.py

Customizing the Website List#

Edit scripts/scrape_websites.py and update the WEBSITES list:

python

WEBSITES = [
    "amazon.de",
    "ebay.de",
    "otto.de",
    # Add more websites...
]

Key Features#

The scraper automatically:

• Handles cookie consent popups (German, English, universal selectors)
• Handles region/language selection dialogs
• Captures full-page screenshots (1920x1080)
• Saves HTML source code
• Uses German locale settings (or customize for other markets)
• Waits for page stabilization

Important: The script uses popup patterns from references/popup_patterns.md. Consult this file if dealing with new popup types.

Expected Output#

After running, you'll have:

• screenshots_clean/*.png - Full-page screenshots
• screenshots_clean/*.html - HTML source files
• Console output with success/failure summary

Success rate target: 85-95%

Common failures:

• Anti-bot protection (requires manual intervention)
• HTTP/2 protocol errors (some sites block automation)
• Timeout on slow-loading sites

---

Step 2: Visual Analysis#

Read Screenshots#

After scraping, read the screenshot files to visually identify:

• Product categories
• Featured products
• Promotional items
• Visual design patterns

Example approach:

python

from pathlib import Path

screenshot_dir = Path("screenshots_clean")
screenshots = list(screenshot_dir.glob("*.png"))

# Read screenshots using the Read tool
for screenshot in screenshots[:5]:  # Start with 5 sites
    # Use Read tool to view image
    # Note product categories and featured items

What to Look For#

Product Categories:

• Clothing & Fashion (Bekleidung)
• Electronics (Elektronik)
• Home & Furniture (Möbel & Wohnen)
• Food & Groceries (Lebensmittel)
• Books & Media (Bücher)
• Beauty & Personal Care (Beauty & Pflege)
• Sports & Outdoor (Sport)
• Toys & Baby (Spielzeug & Baby)

Featured Products:

• Homepage banners
• Promotional sections
• "Deal of the day" items
• New arrivals

Take notes on recurring patterns across multiple sites - these indicate market trends.

---

Step 3: Data Extraction#

Strategy Selection#

Choose extraction strategy based on site structure. See references/html_parsing_patterns.md for complete patterns.

Quick decision tree:

1. Try JSON-LD schema extraction (best for structured data)
2. Fall back to data attribute extraction
3. Fall back to class-based extraction
4. Last resort: keyword matching

Example: Extract from REWE.de#

python

import re
from pathlib import Path

html_file = Path("screenshots_clean/rewe.de.html")
content = html_file.read_text(encoding='utf-8')

# REWE-specific patterns
title_pattern = r'data-offer-title="([^"]+)"'
price_pattern = r'<div class="cor-offer-price__tag-price">([^<]+)</div>'

titles = re.findall(title_pattern, content)
prices = re.findall(price_pattern, content)

for i, title in enumerate(titles[:10]):
    price = prices[i] if i < len(prices) else "N/A"
    print(f"{title}: {price}€")

Platform-Specific Parsing#

Each e-commerce platform has unique HTML structure. Consult references/html_parsing_patterns.md for:

• Amazon.de patterns
• eBay.de patterns
• Otto.de patterns
• Zalando/AboutYou patterns
• REWE/Lidl supermarket patterns
• And more...

Price Normalization#

Always normalize prices:

python

def normalize_price(price_str):
    """Convert German format (1.234,56€) to float"""
    price_str = price_str.replace('€', '').replace('EUR', '').strip()
    if ',' in price_str and '.' in price_str:
        price_str = price_str.replace('.', '').replace(',', '.')
    elif ',' in price_str:
        price_str = price_str.replace(',', '.')
    try:
        return float(price_str)
    except:
        return None

Handling Large Files#

For HTML files >25k tokens:

bash

# Use grep to search for specific patterns
grep -o 'data-product-name="[^"]*"' amazon.de.html | head -20

# Or extract specific sections
grep -A 5 'product-title' ebay.de.html

Extraction Best Practices#

1. Try multiple patterns - Start with JSON-LD, fall back as needed
2. Validate extractions - Check for reasonable length (10-100 chars)
3. Remove duplicates - Use sets to track seen products
4. Limit results - Cap at 10-20 products per site
5. Handle encoding - Always use encoding='utf-8'

---

Step 4: Report Generation#

Use the Report Template#

Copy and customize assets/report_template.md:

bash

cp assets/report_template.md final_report.md

Report Structure#

The template includes these sections:

1. Executive Summary - Key findings
2. Top Product Categories - Ranked list with percentages
3. Verified Product Prices - Extracted data with exact prices
4. Platform-Specific Analysis - Per-site breakdown
5. Market Trends - Growth trends and consumer behavior
6. Seasonal Characteristics - Current and predicted
7. Technical Implementation - Success metrics and limitations
8. Business Insights - Opportunities and recommendations
9. Data Sources - Success/failure breakdown
10. Conclusions - Actionable takeaways

Filling the Template#

Replace placeholder tokens:

• {MARKET} → German, UK, US, etc.
• {NUM_SITES} → 23, 25, etc.
• {DATE} → 2026-03-19
• {SUCCESS_RATE} → 92
• {CATEGORY_1} → Clothing & Fashion
• {PERCENTAGE_1} → 28
• And so on...

Data Quality Indicators#

Include these metrics:

• Success rate: % of successfully scraped sites
• Popup handling: # of sites with popups handled
• Price accuracy: % of verified prices
• Screenshot quality: Resolution and file size
• HTML completeness: Average file size

Writing Tips#

Be bilingual (for German market):

• Product names: German + Chinese/English translation
• Categories: "Bekleidung / Clothing"
• Maintain both languages throughout

Be specific:

• ❌ "Electronics are popular"
• ✅ "AirPods 4 (89,90€ on eBay), PlayStation 5, and Samsung smartphones are top electronics"

Include evidence:

• Reference screenshot file names
• Quote exact prices with sources
• Link specific platforms to products

---

Troubleshooting#

Issue: Popup Not Closed#

Solution: Check references/popup_patterns.md for the specific site. Add custom selector if needed:

python

# In scripts/scrape_websites.py, add to popup_selectors list:
popup_selectors = [
    # ... existing selectors ...
    'button:has-text("Neue Popup Text")',  # Add custom
]

Issue: HTML Parsing Returns Empty#

Diagnose:

1. Check if HTML file exists and has content
2. Verify the pattern with grep: grep -o "your-pattern" file.html
3. Try alternative patterns from references/html_parsing_patterns.md
4. Use keyword matching as fallback

Issue: Anti-Bot Detection#

Symptoms: CAPTCHA, "Verify you are human", IP blocking

Solutions:

1. Add delays between requests (already in script)
2. Customize user agent string
3. Use browser fingerprinting evasion
4. For production: consider proxy rotation (not included)

Issue: Timeout Errors#

Solution: Adjust timeout in script:

python

await page.goto(url, wait_until="domcontentloaded", timeout=120000)  # 2min

Or use more relaxed loading strategy:

python

await page.goto(url, wait_until="load", timeout=90000)

---

Market-Specific Configuration#

German Market (Default)#

python

context = await browser.new_context(
    locale="de-DE",
    timezone_id="Europe/Berlin",
    user_agent="Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)..."
)

Popup patterns: See references/popup_patterns.md → German Market section

UK Market#

python

context = await browser.new_context(
    locale="en-GB",
    timezone_id="Europe/London",
)

Popup patterns: Use English/International selectors

US Market#

python

context = await browser.new_context(
    locale="en-US",
    timezone_id="America/New_York",
)

Other Markets#

Adjust locale and timezone_id accordingly. Update popup selectors in script based on language.

---

Advanced Usage#

Parallel Scraping#

For large website lists, modify script to use concurrent scraping:

python

import asyncio

async def scrape_all(websites):
    async with async_playwright() as p:
        browser = await p.chromium.launch(headless=True)
        tasks = [capture_homepage(browser, url, output_dir) for url in websites]
        results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
        await browser.close()
    return results

Note: Be respectful of rate limits. Use delays.

Custom Analysis#

Beyond the standard workflow, you can:

• Compare prices across platforms
• Track price changes over time (run periodically)
• Identify pricing patterns (premium vs discount)
• Analyze promotional strategies
• Monitor competitor activity

Exporting Data#

Consider exporting to structured formats:

• CSV: For spreadsheet analysis
• JSON: For programmatic access
• Database: For long-term tracking

Example CSV export:

python

import csv

with open('products.csv', 'w', newline='', encoding='utf-8') as f:
    writer = csv.writer(f)
    writer.writerow(['Platform', 'Product', 'Price', 'Category'])
    for product in products:
        writer.writerow([product['platform'], product['name'],
                        product['price'], product['category']])

---

Best Practices#

Ethical Scraping#

1. Respect robots.txt - Check before scraping
2. Rate limiting - Don't overwhelm servers (script includes delays)
3. Terms of Service - Review site ToS
4. Personal use - This skill is for market research, not commercial resale

Data Quality#

1. Verify prices - Cross-check suspicious values
2. Update regularly - E-commerce changes fast
3. Document assumptions - Note any manual adjustments
4. Keep raw data - Save screenshots and HTML for reference

Report Quality#

1. Be objective - Base conclusions on data
2. Show your work - Reference sources
3. Contextualize - Explain market-specific factors
4. Actionable - Provide specific recommendations

---

Resources Reference#

scripts/scrape_websites.py#

Main scraper with automatic popup handling. Uses Playwright to capture homepages.

Usage: uv run python scripts/scrape_websites.py

references/popup_patterns.md#

Comprehensive collection of popup selectors for different markets and platforms.

When to read: When encountering new popup types or troubleshooting popup handling.

references/html_parsing_patterns.md#

Platform-specific HTML parsing patterns and extraction strategies.

When to read: When extracting product data from HTML files. Contains patterns for Amazon, eBay, REWE, Otto, Zalando, and generic strategies.

assets/report_template.md#

Structured template for the final market analysis report.

Usage: Copy and fill in with analysis results.