Competitive Intelligence for Retailers
Catch every competing chain's offers, markdowns and new stores, from Aldi and Lidl to Primark and Action, before your shoppers do. Then set the prices, ranges and store plans that keep them. The complete guide for marketing, pricing and merchandising teams at retail chains.
14-day free trial · 30-second setup · or read the guide
- 19.3%
- of British grocery sales went to Aldi and Lidl in summer 2026 (our sum) Worldpanel by Numerator, 2026
Definition
What is competitive intelligence for retailers?
For a retail chain, competitive intelligence follows what competing chains and online sellers do with prices, promotions, ranges, locations and loyalty schemes. Much of it is public: weekly offers, sale dates, price promises, planning decisions and results statements. It tells you which promotions and markdowns to answer, which ranges to launch, and where to open, refit or close stores.
Each kind of chain fears a different competitor. Supermarkets watch the discounters: in Britain, Aldi and Lidl took 19.3% of grocery sales in the four weeks to 6 September 2026. Tesco now matches Aldi's prices on more than 600 products, a list that has "become really relied upon by customers," its chief executive, Ken Murphy, said in April 2026.
Fashion chains lose shoppers to Shein online and to second-hand: sales on Vinted grew 47% in 2025, to €10.8 billion. Their stores are changing too. Zara's owner, Inditex, runs 6% fewer stores than three years ago, while its sales grew 22%: fewer, bigger shops.
Home and general merchandise chains face Amazon online and Action on the high street. The Dutch discounter opened 384 stores in 2025, and its sales reached €16 billion.
Electronics chains compete with Amazon and with the brands' own shops, and now with China's JD.com. In 2025, it secured 59.8% of Ceconomy, owner of MediaMarkt and Saturn and their 1,000-plus stores in 11 countries.
Use cases
How retail chains use competitive intelligence
Nobody compares whole chains. Shoppers compare the price of milk, a school uniform or a kettle, and the shop closest to home. Competitive intelligence shows you those comparisons before your sales do.
Answering promotions
Competing chains publish their weekly offers in leaflets, apps and emails. Read them weekly, note which items they cut and how deep, then choose the few you will answer.
Holding your price position
Shoppers judge a chain on a few items: milk, a school jumper, the best-selling TV. Compare those through competitor pricing pages and price promises, not across the whole range.
Choosing where to open
A new competitor nearby can take a share of a branch's shoppers. Planning decisions, site wish lists and job postings for store staff show where it will open, often months ahead.
Comparing loyalty schemes
Member prices, points and birthday offers sway purchases from groceries to make-up. Note what each competitor's scheme gives members, and what others pay.
Building own brands
Own brands, the products a chain sells under its own name, earn more margin and bring shoppers back. Follow competitors' new collections, own-brand lines and premium tiers.
Timing markdowns
Clothes and electronics lose value each season. Note when competitors start their sales, how deep they cut and on which lines, then set your own markdown dates.
In practice
Competitive intelligence examples for retail chains
Each move below shows up in a planning notice, a leaflet, a terms page or a results statement. Plan your answer before the till data shows the damage.
Illustrative examples · CompetitorX is a fictional competitor
The competitor move
CompetitorX wins planning approval for a store on the same road as one of your busiest branches.
Your move
Work out which of that branch's shoppers live closer to the new site, and what they buy. Refresh its prices on key items and its range before opening day, not after sales drop.
Before the opening day.
The competitor move
CompetitorX starts its summer sale a week before yours, at up to 50% off.
Your move
Check what it marked down: last season's leftovers or this season's best sellers. Answer only on the lines that compete with yours, and hold full price where yours still sell.
Within days.
The competitor move
CompetitorX moves its best offers to member-only prices in its app.
Your move
Compare member and non-member prices on your key items. Then decide whether your own scheme needs member prices, or whether one low price for everyone becomes your message.
Before your next loyalty review.
The competitor move
CompetitorX launches a premium own-brand range in your best-selling category.
Your move
Buy the range and compare quality, pack sizes and prices with yours. Brief your buyers before supplier talks: the branded products on that shelf will feel the pressure too.
Within the month.
The competitor move
CompetitorX announces it will close 40 stores.
Your move
Check which of them sit near your branches, and plan local offers to win their regular shoppers. Some of its staff and sites may become available too.
Before the doors close.
The competitor move
CompetitorX promises to match any online retailer's price on TVs and laptops.
Your move
Read its terms: most promises cover the same model in stock, not marketplace sellers. Then decide whether to match, or to win on delivery, installation and advice.
Before the next big sale.
What to know
What to know about each competing chain
A day with its website, app and results covers most of these. Its local impact takes longer: collect it branch by branch.
Locations
- Where are its stores, and where does it plan new ones?
- Which sites did it close, move or refit this year?
- How far is it from each of your branches?
Prices and promotions
- How do its prices compare with yours on the items shoppers compare most?
- When does it start its sales, how deep does it cut, and on what?
- Whose prices does it promise to match?
Range and own brands
- Which collections or own-brand lines did it launch or drop?
- Which categories is it giving more space to?
- Which brands does it sell that you don't?
Loyalty, online and media
- What does its loyalty scheme give members, and what changed?
- How fast does it deliver online orders, and at what cost?
- What does it offer brands that advertise with it?
Sources
Where retailers find competitive intelligence
Retail is the rare market where you can walk into a competitor's shop and read its shelf labels. Add what chains publish about their plans, and what your own teams hear.
What you already hear
- Store managers
- They see a new competitor's opening, its queues and its offers first. Ask each branch for a short monthly note on local competitors, and walk their shop floors yourself.
- Loyalty data
- Your loyalty card shows which households stop coming, and from when. A drop around one branch that starts the week a competitor opens tells you who took them.
- Shopper surveys
- Ask shoppers which other chains they used this month, and for what. Read the answers by branch and by competitor, once a quarter.
- Supplier meetings
- Their sales teams know what sells in your categories. Never ask them for a competitor's prices or promotion plans: chains have been fined for swapping exactly that through a supplier.
What competitors publish
- Weekly offers
- Retailers publish their offers in printed leaflets, apps and emails, and leaflet apps gather many of them in one place. In the US and Canada, Flipp shows the weekly ads of more than 2,000 stores.
- Price promises
- A price promise shows whom a chain fears. Sainsbury's checks Aldi's prices twice a week for its match list, while Currys matches other UK retailers on the same model, but not marketplace sellers.
- Site wish lists
- Discounters publish where they want to open. Aldi lists more than 200 British towns it wants sites in, and pays a finder's fee to whoever brings it one.
- Planning decisions
- Local planning decisions show new shops and extensions months before they open. In France, any shop over 1,000 m² needs a commercial permit, and prefectures publish each decision.
- Results statements
- Listed retailers report how many sites they run, like-for-like sales and price plans. Their earnings calls add what management says about its competitors, in answer to analysts.
- Market share data
- Panel firms record what households buy. In Britain, Worldpanel by Numerator publishes each grocer's market share every four weeks. For clothing or electronics, statistics offices publish monthly sales by type of store.
- Store locators
- A retailer's store finder lists its branches, opening hours and services. Save a copy quarterly, and use web archives for older versions to count openings and closures.
- Loyalty terms
- Each scheme's terms page sets out points, member prices and rules. Save a dated copy, since chains change the details with little notice.
- Local reviews
- Google rates each branch separately. Read review sites and map reviews for competitors' branches near yours: queues, empty shelves and staff come up first.
- Regulators' reports
- Competition authorities study retail in depth. In 2024, the UK's checked about 50,000 loyalty prices at five supermarkets, and found 92% of member deals were genuine savings.
Stay on the right side of the line
Never share prices, margins or promotion plans with a competing chain, directly or through a supplier. In 2021, Portugal fined three supermarket chains and their bakery supplier €24.6 million for aligning prices that way. Visit competitors' stores as a shopper, and respect their rules on photos.
Signal vs noise
Which moves by competing chains deserve an answer
A big chain runs hundreds of offers a week, and most change nothing for you. Act on what moves your shoppers' weekly basket, or the shop nearest to them.
Track
Act within a week
- A competitor opening near one of your branches
- An early sale or a deep cut on lines you also sell
- A change to a competitor's loyalty scheme
- A new collection or own-brand line in your categories
- Store closures in your towns
Skim
Monthly roll-up
- Refits and new formats
- Seasonal TV campaigns
- Sponsorships and charity deals
- App redesigns
- Executive interviews
Ignore
Unless it repeats
- Price drops on a single product
- Openings with no site or date
- Price surveys on tiny baskets
- Likes on a competitor's posts
- Chains your shoppers never visit
Opening targets mislead most. A discounter may promise hundreds of openings over several years, so count only the sites with planning approval or a signed lease.
Catch retail competitors' new offers and prices
Get new promotions, price matches and loyalty offers from competing chains as soon as they appear.
14-day free trial · 30-second setup
Distribution
Who hears about competing chains, and who acts on it
Branch teams see competitors first, and buyers hear about them from suppliers. Pricing, marketing and property teams act on it, often in the same week.
What comes in
Store managers
Competitors moving in nearby, their queues and offers.
Buyers
Range and own-brand moves they see in the market.
Loyalty team
Households that stop shopping, by branch and area.
Online team
Competitors' delivery fees, slots and online offers.
What goes out
PricingPrice check
Gaps on key items, and who matches whom.
MarketingPromotion plan
Competitors' offers to answer, week by week.
BuyingCategory review
Own-brand launches and shelf space, by category.
PropertySite plan
Openings, closures and wish lists near your branches.
LeadershipTrading meeting
The moves that call for a decision this week.
Most chains review trading every week. Bring competitors' new offers and openings to that meeting, with a proposed answer and an owner.
Marketing teams usually run the weekly offer review, while executives decide where to open and how much to invest in lower prices.
The deliverable
The competing chain profile behind each trading decision
Before a price review, an opening or a loyalty change, see each competing chain on the same lines, all dated. Keep a local version for any branch that faces a new competitor.
01Locations
Store count, formats, openings and closures, with dates.
02Price position
Gap on your key items, and whose prices it matches.
03Promotions and sales
Dates, depth and the lines on offer.
04Ranges
Collections, own brands and price tiers.
05Loyalty
Member prices, points and app offers.
06Online
Delivery fees, speed and store pick-up.
07Trading results
Like-for-like sales, market share and stated plans.
08How you win
Where you beat it, and how shoppers hear it.
To follow competitors' shares of your market over time, use a market share analysis template.
To score chains side by side on price, range, service and convenience, a competitive benchmarking template keeps all criteria on one scale.
The retail calendar
Trading peaks and reporting dates across the retail year
Chains fight hardest in the same few weeks every year, and they report to investors on a fixed rhythm. Last year's dates tell you when this year's moves will come.
- 1
Sales and Christmas results
January- Winter sales open the year, starting on 6 January 2027 in France, and many British chains report their Christmas trading.
- Read the statements for sales, price investment and opening plans.
- 2
Year-ends and supplier deals
February to March- Many US retailers close their financial year at the end of January, then set out their opening and price plans.
- In France, yearly agreements between suppliers and chains must be signed by 1 March.
- 3
Spring ranges
March to April- Spring and summer collections land, and Easter falls on 28 March in 2027.
- Record which chains cut prices on garden, outdoor and Easter ranges, and when.
- 4
Summer sales
June to July- Fashion and home chains clear their summer stock. In France, the four-week summer sales start in late June on dates set by law.
- Note who starts early with "mid-season" offers, and how deep the first cuts go.
- 5
Back to school
July to September- Uniforms, stationery and lunchbox items compete for the same family budget.
- Note who discounts uniforms first, and by how much.
- 6
Christmas campaigns and Black Friday
November- Chains launch their Christmas advertising in early November, and Black Friday falls on 27 November in 2026.
- Compare competitors' gift ranges, early discounts and Black Friday prices on TVs and laptops.
- 7
Christmas trading
December- The busiest weeks of the year decide many chains' annual results.
- Check competitors' opening hours, delivery slots and last order dates.
Routine
When to check competing chains, from weekly offers to openings
Offers change weekly, prices every few weeks and opening plans once a year. Give each its own check, plus one more when a competitor opens nearby.
Weekly
30 minutes- Read competitors' latest offers, leaflets and emails.
- Check price promises and new-in pages.
- Log what store managers report.
Monthly
2 hours- Compare key-item prices with your main competitors'.
- Check planning decisions and site wish lists.
- Read changed loyalty terms and online fees.
Each quarter
4 hours- Go through listed competitors' results and calls.
- Update each competing chain profile.
- Brief leadership on share and site moves.
Before a nearby opening
1 day- Map which shoppers live closer to the new site.
- Review that branch's range and key-item pricing.
- Plan local offers for the opening week.
When a competitor changes many prices at once, a pricing change detection prompt compares the versions you saved and lists what moved.
Freshness
When each fact about a competing chain goes out of date
A weekly offer expires in days, while an opening plan holds for years. Date every line when you check it, and recheck it once its trigger shows up.
| What you track | Goes stale in | Update it when |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly offers | Days | A leaflet or an app offer |
| Prices on key items | Weeks | A price cut or a price-match change |
| Sale dates and depth | A season | A competitor's sale announcement |
| Loyalty terms | Months | A terms change or a member perk added |
| Ranges and collections | A season | A collection launch or an own-brand relaunch |
| Online fees and delivery | Months | A fee, slot or delivery partner change |
| Store count | A quarter | Results or a locator change |
| Opening plans | A year | A planning decision or a wish list update |
| Market share | Four weeks | The next panel release |
| Retail media offer | A year | Suppliers' yearly budget round |
Competitors change offers and opening hours as Christmas gets closer, so check them every few days in December.
Metrics
Three numbers that show where you stand against competing chains
Chains already watch sales, like-for-like growth and margin. Three more numbers show how you stand against the chains your shoppers also use.
Market share
your revenue ÷ total market revenue, same period and same market definition
In grocery, use the panel shares published for your country. Elsewhere, compare your sales with official retail totals for your category and country.
Relative market share
your market share ÷ the largest competitor's market share
Against the market leader, it shows whether you are closing the gap. Read it by region, since a national leader can trail in your strongest towns.
Competitive pricing index
your price ÷ median competitor price for a matched configuration × 100
Price a fixed basket of the items your shoppers compare most, matched by pack size, model or fabric. Track it weekly against your main competitors.
Add one local number: the share of a branch's regular shoppers who stopped coming after a competitor opened nearby.
Pitfalls
Six ways chains misread a competitor
Most mistakes come from comparing the wrong things: one product, one branch or one chain's announcements.
Matching every sale
Following each competitor's discount teaches shoppers to wait. Cut only the lines that stopped selling.
Comparing unlike baskets
An own-brand item against a branded one proves nothing. Match pack sizes and quality tiers first.
Watching only chains like yours
Clothes shoppers also buy second-hand on Vinted, and home shoppers at Action. Put them on the list.
Thinking nationally
A national average hides the town where a new discounter took your shoppers. Track competitors branch by branch.
Counting announced openings
Expansion targets change with the economy. Count sites with planning approval or a lease, not promises.
Reading members as loyal
Most households carry several loyalty cards. Measure what members spend with you, not how many joined.
Automation
How to automate competitive intelligence for retailers
Competing chains change their websites every day: a new offer, a price-match list, a loyalty perk, a store page. With hundreds of branches to run, few teams check them all weekly, so branch managers often bring the news first.
A competitive intelligence platform can carry that daily watch for you. Flares reads competing chains' websites, offers, price and product pages, ads, reviews, social media and job ads, then flags what touches your categories and towns. Printed leaflets, planning decisions and panel market shares are beyond what it reads, so put them in your monthly checks.
Automated competitor monitoring
Competing chains' offers, prices and loyalty pages, checked daily without anyone opening them.
Competitor alerts
A new price match, store page or member offer, flagged to the teams it affects.
Weekly competitive digest
On Monday mornings, the past week's changes at competing chains, sorted by category.
Answer retail competitors before your shoppers switch
With Flares, your weekly trading meeting starts from what competing chains changed: offers, prices and openings.
14-day free trial · 30-second setup
FAQ
Retail competitive intelligence FAQ
How do retailers use competitive intelligence?
Retailers use competitive intelligence to choose which promotions to answer, hold their price position on everyday items, plan store openings and closures, and shape their loyalty schemes and own brands. Pricing and marketing teams read competitors' offers weekly. Property teams and leadership follow store plans and results.
How do you do a competitor analysis for a retail chain?
List the chains your shoppers also use, branch by branch, including discounters and online sellers. For each, record its locations, prices on your key items, promotions, own brands, loyalty scheme and online service, all dated. Then choose two or three gaps you can close before your next trading review. A competitive analysis template keeps the chains on the same lines.
How can supermarkets compete with Aldi and Lidl?
Not on price across the whole range: discounters sell fewer products, mostly own brands, at a lower cost. Match them on the everyday items shoppers use to judge prices, as Tesco and Sainsbury's do with their Aldi price-match lists. Then win on range, fresh food, loyalty rewards, online delivery and convenience.
How do retailers find out where a competitor will open stores?
Start with what competitors publish: Aldi lists the British towns where it wants sites, and listed retailers give opening targets in their results. Then check planning applications near your branches, which name the applicant and the floor space. Job ads for a new store's manager and staff confirm that an opening is close.
What is a price-match scheme?
A price-match scheme is a chain's promise to charge the same as a competitor. Supermarkets such as Tesco match Aldi on a list of several hundred items. Electronics chains such as Currys match other retailers on the same model instead. Either way, the terms show which competitor the chain fears and which products it thinks shoppers compare.
What is an own brand, and why does it matter to competitors?
An own brand, or private label, is a product a chain sells under its own name. In 17 European countries, own brands took 38.8% of supermarket sales in 2025. They give a chain margin and a reason to shop there that no competitor can copy, which makes them its main source of differentiation on the shelf.
What is retail media?
Retail media is advertising that a chain sells to brands on its website, app, emails and in-store screens, often aimed with loyalty-card data. Walmart's ad business grew 46% to nearly $6.4 billion in its last financial year. In the EU, sponsored ads on the largest marketplaces also appear in public ad libraries.
When should retailers start their markdowns?
Start them when a line stops selling at full price, not on the day a competitor starts its sale. Compare each line's weekly sales with its plan, and check whether the competitor cut the same products or only old stock. Treat it as a competitive response: answer where shoppers compare you, and keep full price elsewhere.
How do fashion retailers track competitors' ranges?
Follow three things over a season: how many new pieces each competitor adds every week, at which prices, and how fast they sell out or get marked down. Visit flagship stores at each collection launch, and buy a few pieces to check fabric and fit. A product comparison template keeps each piece on the same lines.
What are like-for-like sales?
Like-for-like sales compare the same stores across two periods, so new openings don't flatter growth. Action's like-for-like sales grew 4.9% in 2025, against 10.3% a year earlier, while its total sales rose 16%: openings drove most of its growth. An earnings call analysis prompt extracts both figures from a competitor's results.
How do loyalty programmes change competition between retailers?
They put the best prices behind a login, so the shelf price no longer tells you what members pay. Tesco says Clubcard is used by more than 24 million households, and the data shows what each one buys. That knowledge is a competitive moat: a competitor can copy a price, not years of shopping history.
Is online shopping a threat to store chains?
It takes a share, but most retailers now sell both ways. Online sales made up 17.1% of US retail sales between April and June 2026. The sharper threat is often a competitor that uses its shops for fast delivery and pick-up, so watch competitors' delivery fees, speed and collection options.
How do you track competitors' promotions?
Sign up to each competitor's emails and app with your real name, then read its weekly leaflet or online offers page. Log the offers with the item, discount, dates and channel, then compare the timing with the same week last year. A competitor tracking spreadsheet keeps the log in one place.
Can you visit a competitor's store to check prices?
Yes. Walking a competitor's store as a shopper and noting shelf prices is ordinary practice. Follow its rules: some retailers don't allow photos, and staff can ask you to stop. Never pose as a supplier, an inspector or a journalist to get information.
Is competitive intelligence legal for retailers?
Yes. Reading what competitors publish, shopping in their stores and surveying your own shoppers are all fair. Never agree on prices, promotions or sites with another chain, and never swap them through a shared supplier. In 2021, Portugal's competition authority fined three supermarket chains and a supplier €24.6 million for aligning prices that way.
What tools do retailers use for competitive intelligence?
Much of it costs nothing: leaflets and offer apps, price-match lists, planning portals, results statements and published market shares. Paid panels add measured sales by category. Competitive intelligence software checks competitors' websites daily for new offers, prices, loyalty terms and store pages.
Ready? Your competitors won't wait for you.
Get your first competitive digest next Monday.
14-day free trial · 30-second setup