# CatalogPulse – Competitor Assortment Intelligence (`soruvalab/catalogpulse-apify`) Actor

Track Shopify competitors’ product catalogs, listed prices, and variant availability. Compare snapshots to spot price and availability changes, plus product additions or removals when catalogs are complete. Export product JSON, category breakdowns, and pricing insights for e-commerce teams.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/soruvalab/catalogpulse-apify.md
- **Developed by:** [SoruvaLab](https://apify.com/soruvalab) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $100.00 / 1,000 competitor catalog reports

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## CatalogPulse — Competitor Assortment Intelligence for Shopify

**Monitor competitor product assortments, pricing, and variant availability using publicly accessible Shopify catalog data.**

CatalogPulse helps e-commerce teams, brands, agencies, and market researchers analyze Shopify competitors and detect changes between catalog snapshots.

Move beyond a basic product list. Understand what competitors offer, how their catalogs are priced, and which product variants have become available or unavailable.

### What CatalogPulse Does

#### 1. Analyze competitor assortments

- Retrieve product information from public Shopify catalog endpoints.
- Examine product titles, vendors, categories, tags, prices, and variants.
- Analyze product-category and vendor distributions.
- Explore pricing ranges, averages, medians, and price bands.

#### 2. Detect catalog changes

When a compatible previous snapshot exists, CatalogPulse can identify:

- Products added between complete catalog snapshots.
- Products missing from a subsequent complete snapshot.
- Changes to product titles, vendors, and categories.
- Changes to minimum and maximum listed prices.
- Product variant additions and removals.
- Variant-level price changes.
- Variant availability changes, including unavailable-to-available and available-to-unavailable transitions.

Price comparisons are enabled only when currency verification succeeds and both snapshots use the same verified currency.

#### 3. Compare repeated runs

CatalogPulse saves snapshots for future comparisons.

Run it again with the same store and compatible settings to compare current catalog data with previously collected data.

When a catalog is only partially retrieved, CatalogPulse reports changes to products present in both snapshots and suppresses unconfirmed product additions and removals.

#### 4. Export detailed product data

Each successfully analyzed store produces one summary record in the default Apify Dataset.

Detailed product records are saved separately in the run's default Key-value store, in JSON files containing up to 250 products each.

Available data includes:

- Product IDs, names, URLs, vendors, and categories.
- Product tags and available timestamps.
- Minimum and maximum listed prices.
- Variant IDs, SKUs, options, and prices.
- Variant availability indicators.
- Snapshot coverage and currency information.

This structure supports downstream data analysis, dashboards, and AI-agent workflows.

### Quick Start

1. Open CatalogPulse in Apify Console.
2. Enter one or more publicly accessible Shopify store URLs.
3. Choose the maximum number of products to retrieve per store.
4. Enable catalog comparison, variant details, and insights as needed.
5. Start the Actor.
6. Open the Output tab to explore summaries and product details.

#### Example Input

```json
{
  "storeUrls": [
    "https://www.allbirds.com"
  ],
  "maxProductsPerStore": 250,
  "compareWithPrevious": true,
  "includeVariants": true,
  "includeInsights": true
}
```

Run the Actor again with the same settings to use the stored comparison history.

### Understanding the Results

#### Competitive Catalog Reports

The default Dataset contains one `CATALOG_SUMMARY` record for each successfully analyzed store.

Important fields include:

| Field | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `storeUrl` | Analyzed Shopify storefront |
| `productCount` | Number of retrieved products |
| `currency` | Verified currency, or null when unavailable |
| `medianListedPrice` | Median minimum listed product price |
| `changeCount` | Number of detected product-level change records |
| `changes` | Detailed change events |
| `previousSnapshotFound` | Whether a compatible history snapshot was found |
| `priceComparisonEnabled` | Whether verified currency permits price comparison |
| `snapshotComplete` | Whether catalog retrieval is complete |
| `snapshotTruncated` | Whether retrieval stopped at the configured limit |
| `comparisonReliable` | Whether both catalog snapshots were complete |
| `productsRecordKeys` | Keys for detailed product JSON files |
| `insights` | Assortment, category, tag, and pricing analysis |
| `warnings` | Coverage and comparison limitations |

#### Product Details (JSON)

Use **Output → Product details (JSON)** to access detailed product files.

Product data is divided into chunks of up to 250 products.

For example, a run retrieving 251 products creates:

- One JSON file containing 250 products.
- A second JSON file containing 1 product.

Each file includes the store URL, retrieval timestamp, currency, chunk number, and product records.

#### Example Change Event

The following simplified example illustrates a detected variant availability change:

```json
{
  "type": "PRODUCT_UPDATED",
  "title": "Women's Tree Breezer - Spice (Spice Sole)",
  "fields": [
    {
      "field": "variantAvailability",
      "variantId": "41376575291472",
      "before": true,
      "after": false
    }
  ]
}
```

This indicates that the Shopify storefront reported the variant as available in one snapshot and unavailable in the next.

It does not establish why the status changed or whether a sale occurred.

### Important Limitations

- CatalogPulse is designed for Shopify stores with publicly accessible product endpoints. Some stores may restrict or block access.
- Analysis covers retrieved products. Truncated results do not represent the full catalog.
- Product additions and removals are reported only when both compared snapshots are complete.
- Availability reflects the storefront's reported status, not warehouse stock quantities, sales volume, or revenue.
- Prices are storefront-listed values. They may depend on market, location, or other storefront conditions.
- Currency verification uses sampled product checks and is not a guarantee of every possible pricing context.
- Product types and tags depend on the source store's metadata. Some categories may be missing, and tags may contain operational identifiers.
- A product appearing in a later snapshot is not necessarily a newly launched product.
- Comparison history requires compatible settings and accessible stored snapshots.
- Run-specific output files are subject to Apify storage retention policies.
- CatalogPulse does not send automatic email or messaging alerts. Recurring execution can be configured separately using Apify scheduling.

Use this Actor responsibly and respect applicable website terms, access restrictions, and laws.

### Usage and Billing

CatalogPulse uses Apify's Pay-per-event pricing model.

- **Competitor Catalog Report:** $0.10 per successfully processed Shopify store.
- **Actor Start:** $0.00005 per run.
- **Platform usage:** Included, with no additional platform usage charges to users.

Each successfully analyzed store generates one `CATALOG_SUMMARY` record in the default Dataset.

Detailed product JSON files are stored separately in the run's Key-value store and do not create additional default Dataset item events.

For multiple stores, set a maximum run charge that accommodates the expected number of reports.

Pricing may change. Check the current Apify Store pricing before running large analyses.

### Built for Competitive Intelligence Workflows

CatalogPulse is suitable for:

- E-commerce competitor research.
- Assortment and category benchmarking.
- Listed-price monitoring.
- Variant availability monitoring.
- Catalog-change reporting.
- Structured data feeds for analytics and AI workflows.

**CatalogPulse — turn public Shopify catalog snapshots into actionable competitive intelligence.**

# Actor input Schema

## `storeUrls` (type: `array`):

Enter the Shopify stores you want to analyze.

## `maxProductsPerStore` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of products to retrieve from each store.

## `compareWithPrevious` (type: `boolean`):

Compare the current catalog with the previous successful snapshot.

## `includeVariants` (type: `boolean`):

Include SKU, variant price, and availability information.

## `includeInsights` (type: `boolean`):

Generate category, vendor, and pricing distribution summaries.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "storeUrls": [
    "https://www.allbirds.com"
  ],
  "maxProductsPerStore": 5,
  "compareWithPrevious": false,
  "includeVariants": true,
  "includeInsights": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Analysis results, assortment changes, pricing distributions, and quality warnings.

## `datasetUrl` (type: `string`):

No description

## `productDetails` (type: `string`):

Per-product catalog data saved in run-specific JSON records.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "storeUrls": [
        "https://www.allbirds.com"
    ],
    "maxProductsPerStore": 5,
    "compareWithPrevious": false,
    "includeVariants": true,
    "includeInsights": true
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("soruvalab/catalogpulse-apify").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "storeUrls": ["https://www.allbirds.com"],
    "maxProductsPerStore": 5,
    "compareWithPrevious": False,
    "includeVariants": True,
    "includeInsights": True,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("soruvalab/catalogpulse-apify").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "storeUrls": [
    "https://www.allbirds.com"
  ],
  "maxProductsPerStore": 5,
  "compareWithPrevious": false,
  "includeVariants": true,
  "includeInsights": true
}' |
apify call soruvalab/catalogpulse-apify --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,soruvalab/catalogpulse-apify"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ZmWwQWpTt3FvR3s8h/builds/YUaiqYy66VrkXG8Al/openapi.json