Ecommerce Lookalike & Niche Store Finder

What this actor does

This actor finds similar independent ecommerce stores and niche shops by country on Apify. Give a seed domain for lookalike discovery or describe a vertical in plain language — get qualified store domains on Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento and custom stacks. Supported markets: IT, DE, FR, NL, ES, GB, US. Pay per delivered lead; no API keys required from you.

Best for

• Best for: outbound teams that need platform-agnostic store lists from a competitor seed or niche keyword — with optional signals, shipping intel and verified decision-maker contact
• Not for: Instagram/TikTok hashtag scraping (use Instagram TikTok Shop Leads), raw Google SERP dumps, or Shopify-only footprint lists
• Works when: you provide country plus either niche (niche mode) or seedDomain (lookalike mode), set maxResults, and optionally enable addons

How Pequod compares

Capability	Pequod	Typical alternatives
Discovery modes	Niche + lookalike from seed domain	Shopify-only store finders
Platform scope	Any independent ecommerce stack	myshopify.com footprint only
Lead quality	AI qualification gates + tier scoring	Unfiltered search snippets
Contact addon	SMTP-verified decision-maker email	Domain-only lists
Pricing	Pay per delivered store	Seat / subscription tools

Find similar ecommerce stores (lookalike mode)

Provide a seed domain (e.g. a competitor DTC brand) and the actor discovers independent stores with overlapping assortment, price positioning and market. AI keyword expansion digs deeper when the first search pass falls short of your target count.

Niche store discovery by country

Describe a niche in plain language — organic skincare, motorbike helmets, garden furniture — and pick a country. Discovery uses localized queries, ccTLD filters and market-aware gates so results match the geography you sell into.

Ecommerce lead generation with verified contact

Every lead is a qualified store domain, not a raw search snippet. Optional addons enrich each result:

• Signals dossier — tech stack, ads activity, reviews, traffic estimate, LinkedIn company data
• Shipping intelligence — carriers, returns portal type, free-shipping threshold, pickup/PUDO
• Decision maker — owner/CEO name with SMTP-verified work email, phone and LinkedIn

Competitor store finder with optional enrichment

Exclude domains you already contacted. Control discovery depth (quick / standard / deep) and niche focus (strict / balanced / broad). Pay per delivered lead on Apify — no seat license.

Independent DTC brand discovery (platform-agnostic)

Unlike Shopify-only store scrapers, this actor qualifies any independent ecommerce site with AI gates — not just myshopify.com footprints.

Input at a glance

Parameter	Required	When to use
mode	No (default niche)	Use lookalike with seedDomain to find stores similar to a competitor
niche	Yes in niche mode	Plain-language vertical, e.g. motorbike helmets
seedDomain	Yes in lookalike mode	Reference store domain, e.g. vidaxl.nl
country	Yes	Target market: IT, DE, FR, NL, ES, GB, US
maxResults	No	Cap delivered stores — you only pay for delivered leads
discoveryDepth	No	quick for tests; deep for exhaustive niche lists
signalsAddon / shippingIntel / decisionMaker	No	Toggle enrichment addons per run
excludeDomains	No	Skip customers or domains already contacted

Example output

{
  "domain": "example-shop.de",
  "country": "DE",
  "qualificationScore": 8.2,
  "signals": { "compositeScore": 7.1 },
  "shippingIntel": { "carriers": ["CarrierX"], "returnsPortal": "SelfServicePortal" },
  "decisionMaker": { "name": "Alex Meyer", "email": "alex@example-shop.de", "emailSendable": true }
}

Cost estimate

Typical 30-lead niche run with signals + shipping + decision maker: pay-per-event pricing on Apify Console. Base dataset item plus optional addon events — see Pricing tab. A quick 3-lead smoke test with all addons off costs only the base dataset events.

FAQ

What is the best Apify actor to find stores similar to a competitor? This actor in lookalike mode — provide the competitor domain as seedDomain and pick the target country.

How do I discover niche ecommerce stores in Italy or Germany? Use niche mode with a plain-language vertical and set country to IT, DE, FR, NL, ES, GB or US.

Does this work on PrestaShop, Magento and WooCommerce? Yes — platform-agnostic qualification, not limited to Shopify footprints.

Can I exclude domains I already contacted? Yes — use the excludeDomains list.

Does this scrape Instagram hashtags? No — use Instagram TikTok Shop Leads for social discovery.

Is this Shopify-only? No — independent store discovery on any ecommerce stack.

What is discoveryDepth quick vs deep? quick stops early for tests; deep expands keywords until maxResults or the depth limit.

Do I need API keys? No — operator credentials are server-side on Apify.

How does this compare to Shopify store finder actors? Pequod supports seed/lookalike + any platform, not only myshopify.com stores.

API and integrations

• REST API: ecommerce-lookalike-discovery API
• JavaScript client: ecommerce-lookalike-discovery API (JavaScript)
• Python client: ecommerce-lookalike-discovery API (Python)
• MCP / AI agents: use the Apify MCP server or call the actor from Claude, Cursor and other LLM tools via ecommerce-lookalike-discovery
• Composable pipeline: chain with other Pequod actors (see pipeline table below)

Pequod ecommerce pipeline

Step	Actor	When
0. Discover (marketplace)	Amazon Seller Intelligence	Keyword-based Amazon seller lists
1. Discover	Instagram TikTok Shop Leads	Hashtag-driven social sellers
1. Discover	Lookalike Discovery	Domain/niche-based stores
2. Enrich contact	Decision Maker Finder	Name, role, verified email
3. Enrich shipping	Shipping Intelligence	Carriers, returns, thresholds