HotUKDeals Scraper

Overview

The HotUKDeals Scraper is an Apify actor that extracts deal listings from HotUKDeals based on customizable search criteria. This tool uses Playwright for reliable web scraping and implements human-like behavior to avoid detection.

Key Features

• Flexible Scraping Options: Scrape from main pages, specific categories, or search results
• Customizable Max Items: Set the maximum number of deals to scrape
• Smart Throttling: Implements human-like behavior and adjustable delays between requests
• Expired Deal Filtering: Automatically filters out expired deals
• Deal Temperature Sorting: Results are sorted by deal temperature (hotness)
• Real URL Resolution: Follows redirect chains to get actual merchant URLs
• Comprehensive Deal Information: Extracts:
  • Image URL
  • Title
  • Description
  • Price
  • Company/Merchant
  • Deal Expiry
  • Temperature Rating
  • HotUKDeals URL
  • Get Deal URL
  • Real Merchant URL

Input Parameters

Required Fields:

• Scrape Type: Choose from:
  • "Main Pages": Scrape from homepage sections
  • "Category": Scrape specific product categories
  • "Search": Scrape based on search terms

Conditional Fields (based on Scrape Type):

• Main URL (for "Main Pages"):

  • Root: https://www.hotukdeals.com/
  • Hottest: https://www.hotukdeals.com/hottest
  • Hot: https://www.hotukdeals.com/hot
  • New: https://www.hotukdeals.com/new

• Category (for "Category"):

  1Examples:
  2- computers
  3- electronics
  4- gaming
  

• Search Query (for "Search"):

  1Examples:
  2- "gaming laptop"
  3- "iphone charger"
  4- "coffee machine"
  

Optional Settings:

• Max Items: Number of deals to scrape (default: 10)
• Throttle: Delay between requests in seconds (default: 2)

Output Format

The scraper returns a JSON array of deals. Example output:

1{
2  "image": "https://images.hotukdeals.com/example.jpg",
3  "title": "Samsung 65\" QN95C Neo QLED 4K TV",
4  "description": "Lowest ever price for this TV model...",
5  "price": "£1,799.00",
6  "company": "John Lewis",
7  "deal_expiry": "Ends in 2 days",
8  "temperature": "325",
9  "url": "https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/samsung-tv-deal-3254",
10  "get_deal_url": "https://www.hotukdeals.com/visit/thread/3254",
11  "real_url": "https://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-tv-65inch"
12}

Enhanced Use Cases

Price Tracking and Analysis

• Track price history of specific products
• Identify pricing patterns across different retailers
• Monitor flash sales and limited-time offers

Market Research

• Analyze which retailers offer the most competitive deals
• Track popular product categories
• Monitor competitor pricing strategies

Deal Alert Systems

• Build automated deal notification systems
• Create price drop alerts for specific products
• Monitor deals for specific retailers

Consumer Behavior Analysis

• Track deal temperature trends
• Analyze posting times and deal popularity
• Study seasonal deal patterns

Data Integration Examples

• E-commerce pricing optimization
• Competitor analysis dashboards
• Price comparison services
• Deal aggregation platforms

Technical Details

Dependencies

• Python 3.x
• Playwright for web automation
• BeautifulSoup4 for HTML parsing
• Apify SDK for actor integration

Error Handling

• Implements retry logic for failed requests
• Handles CloudFlare protection
• Manages rate limiting through throttling
• Graceful handling of missing data fields

Ethical Usage Guidelines

1. Implement appropriate request delays (recommended: 2-5 seconds)
2. Respect HotUKDeals' robots.txt
3. Use reasonable scraping volumes
4. Store and handle data in compliance with privacy regulations

Performance Considerations

• Implements smart throttling to avoid rate limiting
• Uses efficient selectors for fast data extraction
• Implements parallel processing where possible
• Handles pagination automatically

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