Learn2Vibe

How to Build an Intelligent Amazon Flash Sale and Price Drop Alert System

Create a powerful tool that monitors Amazon for flash sales and price drops, instantly notifying users of great deals. This project combines web scraping, real-time notifications, and user preference management to deliver a personalized shopping assistant that helps users save money on their favorite products.

Create your own plan

Learn2Vibe AI

Online

AI

What do you want to build?

Login or Sign Up Required

You need to be logged in to save this plan to your profile.

LoginSign Up

Simple Summary

A smart, automated system that notifies users of flash sales and price drops on Amazon, helping shoppers save money and catch the best deals effortlessly.

Product Requirements Document (PRD)

Goals:

  • Develop a system that monitors Amazon for flash sales and price drops
  • Provide real-time notifications to users about relevant deals
  • Allow users to set preferences and track specific products
  • Create a user-friendly interface for managing alerts and viewing deals

Target Audience:

  • Budget-conscious shoppers
  • Deal hunters
  • Frequent Amazon customers

Key Features:

  1. User registration and authentication
  2. Product search and tracking
  3. Customizable alert settings
  4. Real-time notifications (email, push, SMS)
  5. Price history tracking and visualization
  6. Deal sharing functionality
  7. User dashboard for managing tracked items and alerts

User Requirements:

  • Easy-to-use interface for adding and managing tracked products
  • Ability to set price thresholds for alerts
  • Customizable notification preferences
  • Quick access to current deals and price histories
  • Secure handling of user data and Amazon account information

User Flows

  1. Product Tracking:

    • User searches for a product on the app
    • User selects the product to track
    • User sets desired price or percentage drop
    • System confirms tracking and starts monitoring

  2. Receiving Alerts:

    • System detects price drop or flash sale
    • System checks user preferences
    • System sends notification via chosen method(s)
    • User views notification and clicks to view deal

  3. Managing Tracked Items:

    • User logs into dashboard
    • User views list of tracked items
    • User modifies alert settings or removes items
    • System updates tracking preferences

Technical Specifications

  • Frontend: React.js for a responsive web application
  • Backend: Node.js with Express.js for API development
  • Database: MongoDB for storing user data and product information
  • Web Scraping: Puppeteer or Cheerio for Amazon data extraction
  • Real-time Updates: Socket.io for instant notifications
  • Authentication: JWT for secure user authentication
  • Notification Services: SendGrid (email), Firebase Cloud Messaging (push), Twilio (SMS)
  • Hosting: AWS EC2 for application hosting, S3 for static assets
  • Caching: Redis for improved performance
  • Task Scheduling: Bull for managing background jobs and periodic scraping

API Endpoints

  • POST /api/auth/register - User registration
  • POST /api/auth/login - User login
  • GET /api/products/search - Search Amazon products
  • POST /api/products/track - Add product to tracking list
  • GET /api/products/tracked - Get user's tracked products
  • PUT /api/products/:id/alert - Update alert settings
  • DELETE /api/products/:id/track - Remove product from tracking
  • GET /api/deals - Get current deals for user
  • POST /api/notifications/settings - Update notification preferences

Database Schema

Users:

  • _id: ObjectId
  • email: String
  • password: String (hashed)
  • notificationPreferences: Object

TrackedProducts:

  • _id: ObjectId
  • userId: ObjectId
  • amazonProductId: String
  • currentPrice: Number
  • targetPrice: Number
  • createdAt: Date

PriceHistory:

  • _id: ObjectId
  • productId: String
  • price: Number
  • timestamp: Date

Deals:

  • _id: ObjectId
  • productId: String
  • salePrice: Number
  • regularPrice: Number
  • startTime: Date
  • endTime: Date

File Structure

/src /components Header.js Footer.js ProductCard.js AlertSettings.js NotificationPreferences.js /pages Home.js Login.js Register.js Dashboard.js ProductSearch.js DealsList.js /api auth.js products.js deals.js notifications.js /utils amazonScraper.js notificationSender.js priceCalculator.js /styles global.css components.css /public /assets logo.png icons/ /server /models User.js Product.js Deal.js /routes authRoutes.js productRoutes.js dealRoutes.js /services scrapingService.js notificationService.js server.js /scripts scheduledTasks.js README.md package.json .env

Implementation Plan

  1. Project Setup (1-2 days)

    • Initialize Git repository
    • Set up React frontend and Node.js backend
    • Configure MongoDB and basic server

  2. User Authentication (2-3 days)

    • Implement registration and login functionality
    • Set up JWT authentication

  3. Product Search and Tracking (3-4 days)

    • Develop Amazon product search functionality
    • Create product tracking system
    • Implement user dashboard for tracked products

  4. Web Scraping and Price Monitoring (4-5 days)

    • Develop web scraping functionality for Amazon
    • Implement price tracking and history recording
    • Set up scheduled tasks for regular price checks

  5. Notification System (3-4 days)

    • Implement email, push, and SMS notification services
    • Create notification preference settings for users

  6. Deal Detection and Alerts (3-4 days)

    • Develop algorithms for detecting significant price drops and flash sales
    • Implement real-time alert system

  7. Frontend Development (5-6 days)

    • Design and implement user interface components
    • Create responsive layouts for all pages
    • Implement data visualization for price history

  8. Testing and Refinement (3-4 days)

    • Conduct thorough testing of all features
    • Optimize performance and fix bugs
    • Refine user experience based on feedback

  9. Deployment and Launch (2-3 days)

    • Set up production environment on AWS
    • Configure CI/CD pipeline
    • Perform final tests and launch application

Deployment Strategy

  1. Set up AWS EC2 instance for hosting the Node.js backend
  2. Configure AWS S3 for storing static assets
  3. Set up MongoDB Atlas for database hosting
  4. Use AWS CloudFront as a CDN for improved global performance
  5. Implement AWS CloudWatch for monitoring and logging
  6. Set up CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions or AWS CodePipeline
  7. Use Docker for containerization to ensure consistent environments
  8. Implement blue-green deployment strategy for zero-downtime updates
  9. Set up automated backups for the database
  10. Use AWS Route 53 for domain management and DNS routing

Design Rationale

The technology stack (React, Node.js, MongoDB) was chosen for its scalability, performance, and strong ecosystem support. Web scraping tools like Puppeteer allow for reliable data extraction from Amazon. Real-time notifications ensure users never miss a deal, while the combination of email, push, and SMS notifications caters to various user preferences. The modular file structure promotes code organization and maintainability. AWS services provide a robust, scalable infrastructure for hosting and managing the application. The implementation plan prioritizes core functionality first, followed by advanced features and optimizations, ensuring a solid foundation for the product.