Analysis · chapter 02 / 06
Marketplace competitor analysis
Daniel Pawłowski · Amazonway · 9 min read
On a marketplace, competition is more visible than in any other channel: type a search term and you see prices, reviews, ads and the number of sellers. The problem is that it is easy to misread. Lots of reviews do not always mean a closed market, and a competitor's low price does not always mean you have to beat it. This chapter shows what to look at and how to turn it into a strategy. It is about product competition on the marketplace, not company analysis.
For the main search term, check the first results page: how many sellers offer the same product, how many reviews the leaders have and what customers criticise, how many ads there are, how stable prices are and whether products show recent purchase counts. That gives you one of three market types: open, crowded or locked, and each needs a different entry strategy.
Sources checked: 19 October 2026. How ratings are calculated comes from Amazon's customer help pages.
What to check on the first results page
| Signal | What it tells you | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Number of sellers on the same page | whether you are fighting for the buy box, where price including delivery mostly decides | the other-offers section of the product page |
| Leaders' review count and rating | how long it takes to build trust to catch up | the product page |
| Content of negative reviews | what customers did not get, which is where you can stand out | 1 to 3-star reviews |
| Number of ads | how expensive traffic is in the category | listings marked as sponsored |
| Prices and their stability | whether someone keeps undercutting | search results, price-history tools |
| Purchase note | which products really sell | “bought in past month” on some listings |
Three market types and three strategies
The crowded market is the most common case and the most common trap, because it invites a price cut. How to get out of it is in our chapter on pricing without a price war. A locked market is not the end: next to the leader there is often a sub-niche it does not serve, such as another size, a bundle or a different use.
Competitors' reviews as your product brief
Amazon's star rating is not a simple average. Amazon calculates it with machine-learned models that take into account, among other things, how recent a review is and verified-purchase status, and ratings without that status are not counted unless the customer adds text, an image or a video (Amazon, how star ratings are calculated). So the star alone says less than the review text.
The most valuable reviews are the 1 to 3-star ones on category leaders. They show what customers expected and did not get: a cable too short, no instructions in the local language, packaging that comes open. Every recurring complaint is a ready-made argument for your product page or a change to the product itself.
When many sellers offer the same product
If you are considering a product that already has several sellers on one page, you are fighting for the buy box, where price including delivery, delivery speed and seller performance mostly decide; see our piece on the buy box. For a brand this is usually a signal to enter with its own page and offer rather than joining someone else's.
Price history: is someone undercutting
A one-off look at prices says little. What matters is whether category prices are stable, whether someone keeps cutting them, and whether cuts come back in particular months. Price-history tools such as Keepa show this. A category where prices fall month after month needs different arithmetic from one with stable prices.
How Amazonway handles it
We analyse competition on the client's products, separately for each market: market type, leaders, recurring customer complaints and the category's pricing behaviour. The result is an entry strategy for each product, not a report for the drawer. The scope is on our competitor analysis and strategy page.
FAQ: marketplace competitor analysis
How do I check competition on Amazon?
For the main search term, check the first results page: the number of sellers on the same page, the leaders' review count and content, the number of ads, price stability and recent purchase counts.
Do competitors with lots of reviews mean it is not worth entering?
Not always. Such a market is hard to win head-on, but there is often a sub-niche next to the leader that it does not serve. The leader's negative reviews show what customers want and did not get.
How does Amazon calculate star ratings?
With machine-learned models instead of a simple average. They take into account, among other things, how recent a review is and verified-purchase status, and ratings without that status are not counted unless the customer adds text, an image or a video.
What if competitors keep cutting prices?
Do not chase the price; change what the customer compares: your own product page, bundles, variants and value shown on the page. Details are in the chapter on pricing without a price war.
Sources
- Amazon, how star ratings are calculated