2. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Executive Summary
The Boomerang Commerce Retail Analytics Report kicks off 2016 by returning to the
consumer electronics category, but this time our analysis covers a much larger market basket
– over 4,400 products – than the 1,200 SKUs studied in the September 2015 Report. This
report compares price and assortment data from Amazon, Walmart, Target, Jet, Newegg,
and Best Buy. For the Report methodology, please see page 14.
2
Key Findings
Pricing of all the retailers is within a fairly tight range of 15%. Amazon is the most
price-competitive; Jet is just 2% higher-priced. Newegg’s PPI of $115 is the highest.
Amazon discounts the most widely and deeply. Its price advantage is most pronounced in
popular, head products. On tail products, though, Amazon has the highest prices.
In key categories of Cameras and Computers, Jet is the most price-competitive.
Following holiday discounting, retailers returned to their September pricing levels.
Sony is the brand found most widely and in the highest frequency among these retailers.
PLACE HOLDER IMAGE
3. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Amazon achieves a significant pricing advantage in consumer
electronics, relative to most of its competitors in the study. Jet is
the second most price-competitive, at less than 2% more costly
than Amazon.
Across all products studied, the six retailers price in a fairly tight
range, with Newegg, the highest-priced of the bunch, not quite
15% above Amazon. The variances in pricing are larger when the
sample of 4,417 products is broken into categories. In the key
aspect of assortment, Newegg has the broadest match (PAI of
49%) with Amazon, while Walmart is close behind at 43%.
ALL Products
$101.78
$106.41
$106.94
$107.69
$114.49
26.46%
9.42%
33.11%
43.06%
48.54%
*Based on the 4417 products
researched by Boomerang
Commerce. Walmart has 1460
matching products, Target has 220,
Jet has 943, Best Buy has 990 and
Newegg has 1823.
Jet is only 2% higher-priced
than Amazon across their
shared assortment included in
this report. In contrast, at the
high end, Newegg shows a PPI
of $114.5.
$100.00 100%
3
PRICE PERCEPTION
INDEX
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
INDEXRETAILER
Amazon
$115
$100
$105
$100
BUBBLE SIZE REPRESENTS PRODUCT ASSORTMENT INDEX
PRICE PERCEPTION INDEX
4. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Amazon
PRICE PERCEPTION
INDEX
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
INDEXRETAILER
HEAD Products
Amazon’s pricing advantage in
consumer electronics is most
pronounced in head items. Jet
comes next, with a PPI of $104.
64% of Jet’s head products in
the study are priced below, or
equal to Amazon’s pricing.
After Jet, the closest competi-
tor in terms of pricing – Best
Buy – is still 9% above Amazon
on head products.
Newegg has the broadest
selection of head items with a
PAI of 55%, but also has the
highest pricing of the group,
with its PPI at nearly $117.
69% of Walmart’s selection of
head products are priced
higher than Amazon.
$104.17
$109.21
$112.19
$113.42
$116.89
31.26%
41.73%
51.47%
12.88%
55.07%
$120
$110
$100
$90
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Price of Head Items Compared to Amazon
Jet prices the closest to
Amazon on head items, with a
price disadvantage of slightly
over 4%.
*Based on the 1529 products researched
by Boomerang Commerce. Walmart has
787 matching products, Target has 197, Jet
has 478, Best Buy has 638 and Newegg
has 842.
173
56
117
24
68
129
16
541
157
514
$100.00 100%
BUBBLE SIZE REPRESENTS PRODUCT ASSORTMENT INDEX
4
PRICE PERCEPTION INDEX
SAME
LOWER-PRICED
HIGHER-PRICED
128
43124 143 575
177
5. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
PRICE PERCEPTION
INDEX
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
INDEXRETAILER
CORE Products
On core, medium-popularity
products, Amazon faces broad
assortment competition only
from Newegg (PAI of 30%) and
Walmart, (PAI of 21%). Walmart
is priced below Amazon on core
products, with a PPI of $98 and
41% of its inventory in the study
priced below Amazon. Jet’s
pricing is slightly below
Walmart’s, and 71% of its core
product overlap with Amazon is
priced the same as, or less then,
Amazon.
The specialty retailers are priced
higher in the group; Best Buy is
4% and Newegg is 12% more
expensive than Amazon.
Newegg’s PAI of 31% is by far the
highest in this segment.
$97.83
$98.24
$100.00
$104.23
$112.03
12.80%
20.74%
100%
10.95%
30.46%
Price of Core Items Compared to Amazon On core items, the mass
merchants all price slightly
below Amazon, while the
specialty retailers are more
expensive. Newegg has the
largest core assortment in
the research basket, after
Amazon.
*Based on the 1461 Core products researched
by Boomerang Commerce. Walmart has 303
matching products, Target has 11, Jet has 187,
Best Buy has 160 and Newegg has 445.
$96.01 0.75%
5
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
5
77
124
49
55
39
22
140
89
55
SAME
LOWER-PRICED
HIGHER-PRICED
4
16139 45 261
2
Amazon
$120
$110
$100
$90
BUBBLE SIZE REPRESENTS PRODUCT ASSORTMENT INDEX
PRICE PERCEPTION INDEX
6. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
TAIL Products
On tail electronics products,
Amazon has the highest prices.
Jet and Walmart are the most
competitive when both price and
assortment are taken into
account, with PPIs around 10%
below Amazon. Walmart has a
substantial assortment with a
PAI of 26%. Jet's PAI is 20%
Newegg has a larger assortment,
showing a PPI of 38%, but is
higher priced than the rest, at
just 2% below Amazon.
76% of Jet’s tail products and
71% of Walmart’s are priced
below Amazon. Target, which
focuses on head products, has
few tail products in common
with Amazon.
$67.47
$89.71
$92.42
$97.93
$100.00
0.84%
19.48%
13.45%
37.56%
100%
Price of Tail Items Compared to Amazon
PRICE PERCEPTION
INDEX
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
INDEXRETAILER
*Based on the 1427 Tail products
researched by Boomerang Commerce.
Walmart has 370 matching products,
Target has 12, Jet has 278, Best Buy
has 192, and Newegg has 536.
In tail items, Amazon is the
most expensive of the group.
In tail items, Amazon is the
most expensive of the group.
Newegg has the largest
selection in the research
basket, after Amazon.
$91.08 25.93%
6
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
263 20 87
SAME
LOWER-PRICED
HIGHER-PRICED
12
16
37212 29
55132 5
156296 84
Amazon
$105
$90
$75
$60
BUBBLE SIZE REPRESENTS PRODUCT ASSORTMENT INDEX
PRICE PERCEPTION INDEX
7. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Pricing Trends
Between the September and January analyses that we
conducted, there were substantial movements in
discounts and pricing, especially leading up to Black
Friday and Cyber Monday. Yet after the holidays, these
major retailers regrouped and returned to their previous
pricing relative to Amazon, in consumer electronics. Best
Buy’s relative pricing went up by less than one percent,
from a PPI of 106.1 to 106.9 as it pulled back on both the
frequency and depth of its discounting.
On head products, every retailer ended up less
competitive in January, based on pricing versus Amazon
with the biggest increases observed for Walmart and
Target. Jet was relatively stable compared to the rest of
the group.
There was major repositioning in core products, as
Walmart gained significant competitiveness, lowering its
PPI markedly from 108 to 98. Target showed improved
price competitiveness that was nearly as marked, going
from 104 to 96 PPI. Jet improved slightly, while Best Buy
slipped slightly in price competitiveness with its PPI
rising to $104.
In tail products, Best Buy made a large jump in price
competitiveness, from a PPI of nearly 105, all the way
down to just over $92. Walmart improved a few points to
a PPI of $91, while Jet went the other direction, going
from PPI nearly $82 in September to almost $90 in
January.
7
The retailers studied in both the
September and this report on consumer
electronics returned to their pre-holiday
pricing relative to Amazon. Within core
and tail product segments, major pricing
shifts were put into play.
99
SEP’15 JAN'16
100
109
PPI Trends - All Products
95
100
115
PPI Trends - Head Products
95
100
PPI Trends - Core Products
Amazon
Amazon
Amazon
Amazon
80
100
PPI Trends - Tail Products
*Newegg was not in Sep'15 report hence
excluded from the trend analysis
109
105
WALMART
+0.3
BEST BUY
+0.8
TARGET
-0.4
JET
+0.4
WALMART
+3.9
BEST BUY
+2.0
TARGET
+5.8
JET
+0.5
WALMART
-10.5
BEST BUY
+1.3
TARGET
-8.1
JET
-2.6
WALMART
-3.1
BEST BUY
-12.4
JET
+8.1
SEP’15 JAN'16
SEP’15 JAN'16
SEP’15 JAN'16
8. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Discount Analysis
Amazon discounts more than half (54%) of its inventory in the
research basket, with a median discount of 39% off list price.
Newegg follows Amazon, discounting 42% of its items studied, at a
median discount of 26%.
Jet does not discount any of its CE products, and Target discounts
only 11% of its inventory. In terms of discount depth, however,
Target’s median discount of 35%, trails only Amazon.
Discounting saw two distinct shifts between the September 2015
study and this report: Amazon cut back discounting, from 66% of
its SKUs researched to 54%, while Target’s median discount depth
increased radically from just 15%, to 35% off list price in January.
8
*Newegg was not in Sep'15 report hence excluded from the trend analysis
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Discount Frequency
43
42.4%
53.5%
20.7%
32.5%
10.9%
0%
PRODUCTS IN INVENTORY WITH A DISCOUNT
Median Discount
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
38.5%
34.5%
26.2%
22.7% 20.6%
N/A
FROM THE ORIGINAL LIST PRICE
AMAZON
WALMART
TARGET
BEST BUY
JET
0
SEP’15 JAN'16
35
70
Discount Frequency Trend
AMAZON
WALMART
TARGET
BEST BUY
10
25
40
Median Discount Trend
SEP’15 JAN'16
Amazon, the most aggressive
discounter, discounts 54% of its
inventory researched for this
report, at a median discount
level of 38%.
9. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Brand Overview
Of the 1,455 consumer electronics brands represented in
the Report, Sony has the highest coverage (presence in
inventories) across this group of retailers, followed by
Dell and Samsung.
Newegg carries 41% of the Sony products found at
Amazon, along with 57% of the Samsung items – and
Asus, at 73% of Amazon’s inventory. Walmart comes
closest to matching Amazon’s assortment on Samsung, at
69%, and at 42% for Dell.
Best Buy, the largest of the group in dollar sales of
consumer electronics if its in-store sales are counted,
favors Sony, Samsung, and Asus brands.
Sony
Dell
Samsung
Asus
1
2
3
4
81
54
37
30
Brands with
Highest Assortment
Rank
Selection
CountBrand
9
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
TARGET
BEST BUY
NEWEGG
JET
OVERLAP COMPARED TO AMAZON *
WALMART
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
TARGET
BEST BUY
NEWEGG
JET
OVERLAP COMPARED TO AMAZON *
WALMART
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
TARGET
BEST BUY
NEWEGG
JET
OVERLAP COMPARED TO AMAZON *
WALMART
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
TARGET
BEST BUY
NEWEGG
JET
OVERLAP COMPARED TO AMAZON *
WALMART
Sony is the most widely carried
brand in the study, with
Samsung, Dell, and Asus also
prominent.
10. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Computers & Accessories
In the high-ticket subcategory
of Computers & Accessories,
Jet is the most competitive
with a PPI of less than $95.
With a large assortment – its
PAI is 30% – as well as its low
pricing, Jet becomes very
attractive to shoppers.
Walmart and Best Buy inhabit
the ‘slightly more costly than
Amazon’ price range with
PPIs of $101 and $102
respectively, and broad
assortments.
Newegg fields the largest
number of SKUs against
Amazon, carrying just over
half of Amazon's inventory,
but its prices are 7% higher
with a PPI of $107.
$100.oo
$101.11
$102.03
$107.05
$136.54
100%
46.21%
29.89%
50.41%
2.68%
PRICE PERCEPTION
INDEX
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
INDEXRETAILER
Jet may be the retailer to chase
in this key category, with a
sizable assortment and the
lowest pricing by a differential
of 5%. Amazon, Walmart, and
Best Buy bunch together
price-wise.
$94.98 29.89%
10
Amazon
$150
$135
$120
$105
$90
BUBBLE SIZE REPRESENTS PRODUCT ASSORTMENT INDEX
PRICE PERCEPTION INDEX
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Price of Computers & Accessories Compared to Amazon
*Based on the 1569 products researched by
Boomerang Commerce. Walmart has 725
matching products, Target has 42, Jet has
469, Best Buy has 469 and Newegg has 791.
133
246 55 424
7 2 33
SAME
LOWER-PRICED
HIGHER-PRICED
220 116
117 44 308
43280 76 435
11. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Cameras & Accessories
Jet is very price-competitive in
Camera & Accessories with
78% of its products priced
below, or at the same level as
Amazon. In this key
subcategory, Jet has a PPI of
$94.
Specialty Stores, Newegg –
with a PAI of 32%, highest in
the group – and Best Buy at a
PAI of 22% have broader
assortments than Jet, and
come close to matching
Amazon’s prices.
Walmart features a large
assortment with a PAI of 25%,
and is just slightly more
expensive, with a PPI of $103.
PRICE PERCEPTION
INDEX
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
INDEXRETAILER
Amazon’s toughest price
competitor in Cameras &
Accessories is Jet, which has a
PPI of $94.30 in the category.
11
Amazon
$105
$100
$95
$90
BUBBLE SIZE REPRESENTS PRODUCT ASSORTMENT INDEX
PRICE PERCEPTION INDEX
$100.oo
$100.13
$101.38
$103.22
$104.44
100%
31.74%
21.99%
25.35%
8.69%
$94.30 13.65%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Price of Cameras & Accessories Compared to Amazon
*Based on the 564 products researched by
Boomerang Commerce. Walmart has 143
matching products, Target has 49, Jet has 77,
Best Buy has 124 and Newegg has 179.
17
31 37 75
8 1 40
SAME
LOWER-PRICED
HIGHER-PRICED
31 29
16 15 93
4329 54 96
12. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Example Products
To illustrate contrasting tactics on head and tail products, we chose a Canon PowerShot ELPH 170 IS
(Blue) digital camera as the head product, versus another, slower-selling Canon digital camera – the Eos
Rebel Sl1 18-megapixel SLR with touchscreen, as the tail product.
On the head product, Jet was the only retailer to match Amazon, at $109. Target and Newegg were next
at $120 and $119 respectively. Walmart was not price-competitive, with a much higher price of $150.
It was a different story on the tail product, where Amazon was the most expensive, and far above the
price leaders for this camera. Amazon’s price on the Eos Rebel was $650, well above Walmart at $583,
and 62% above Newegg and Jet at the $400 level.
We consistently see Amazon offer some of the lowest prices in head items, and some of the highest prices
in tail items. This indicates an opportunity for the other retailers to drop their prices on head items to
better compete with Amazon. Tail products where Amazon barely discounts offer opportunity for other
retailers to increase prices without adversely impacting shopper sentiment or unit sales.
12
$109
$150
$120
$109
$120
$119
4.2
4.5
N/A
N/A
4.3
N/A
109
N/A
N/A
N/A
129
N/A
$650
$583
N/A
$399
$400
$399
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
4.9
5.0
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
35
N/A
RATING
(OUT OF 5)
RATING
(OUT OF 5)
# OF REVIEWSRETAILER PRICE PRICE # OF REVIEWS
TAIL
Eos Rebel SL1
By Canon
PowerShot ELPH 170 IS
By Canon
HEAD
13. Retail Analytics
February, 2016
Electronics
Data Research by Boomerang Commerce
Report Terminology
To account for variance in products offerings
at each retailer, we use Amazon as the base-
line due to its position as the largest online
retailer. Our indices are based on Amazon
Best Seller items as well as a selected assort-
ment of medium- and low-popularity prod-
ucts. This creates a broadly representative
basket of items for measuring each retailer’s
product prices, weighted basket price and
product availability. For each retail category
(toys, electronics, kitchenware, etc.), we
assume that the top 20% of products are head
items, the middle 50% are core items, and the
remaining 30% are tail items. Based on this
assumption, on January 4th 2016, we select
1,480 items from each popularity tier for our
analysis, for a total of 4,417 items offered by
Amazon. We then seek and match (with more
than 95% accuracy) the identical products at
the other retailers to gauge assortment simi-
larities and compare prices.
Methodology
We used the following proprietary measure-
ments and indexes developed to track price and
assortment of a large basket of items sold
online.
Price Perception Index – A proprietary
index tracking gross price differences across
the six retailers chosen for this report, covering
a basket of 4,417 products (SKUs). The Price
Perception Index is normalized to Amazon to
establish a relative baseline. It is weighted to
accurately reflect the pricing of “head”, “core”,
and “tail” items across the same six retailers
covering 4,417 products.
Product Assortment Index – A proprietary
index reflecting the overlap of products
between two retailers. Product Assortment
Index is normalized to Amazon to establish a
relative baseline. It is weighted to accurately
reflect the pricing of head, core, and tail items
across the same six retailers covering 4,417
products.
Head – This term describes frequently
purchased, popular products that are listed
among the Amazon Best Sellers. Head products
most strongly influence customer perception of
whether a product is expensive or inexpensive.
Core – This describes products of medium
popularity that are regularly purchased but are
not among Best Sellers and are not as popular
as head products.
Tail – This term refers to infrequently
purchased products having the least impact on
customer perception of a retailer as expensive
or inexpensive.
13
