Python Automation Project
Amazon Price Tracker
Built a Python automation script that monitors Amazon product prices and automatically sends email alerts when products fall below a desired price.
Why I Built This
After getting braces in 2026, my dentist recommended using a water flosser to maintain good dental hygiene.
The Waterpik model recommended was often out of stock or priced higher than my budget. I built a script that checks the product price daily, sends me an email with the link and saves the price history in a timestamped CSV file when the item drops below my threshold price.
This project was a way to solve a real problem I was facing while giving me the opportunity to learn about web scraping, automation and data handling. It also highlights how automation can save time and money.
How It Works
View Python ScriptScrape Product Page
The script sends a request to the selected Amazon product page and extracts pricing information using BeautifulSoup.
Extract & Clean Price
The raw HTML price is cleaned and converted into a numeric format so it can be compared against my target price.
Store Price History
Each price check is appended to a timestamped CSV file, allowing historical price trends to be analysed later.
Send Email Alert
If the product falls below my target threshold (£70), an email alert containing the current price and purchase link is automatically sent.
Key Features
Automated Monitoring
Checks product prices automatically without manual intervention.
Email Notifications
Sends alerts when the target price threshold is reached.
CSV Data Logging
Records timestamped price data for analysis and visualisation.
Windows Task Scheduler
Runs automatically in the background at scheduled intervals.
Visualisation
The collected pricing data was visualised in an Excel line chart to compare product price movements against my target purchase price of £70.
The price reached a low of £69.29, triggering the alert and highlighting the buying opportunity.
Results
£23.70 Saved
25.49% Below peak price
3 Months
Historical data collected
90+
Manual checks automated
What I Learned
This project improved my understanding of Python automation, web scraping and scheduled tasks.
It also provided me with several ideas where I can implement similar automation solutions in the future such as tracking stock prices, file name changes or automating data collection for research projects.
Future Improvements
To improve, I would implement tracking for multiple products from a single python file. Also look to store price history in a database and deploying the task automation to a cloud-based service to improve reliability and reduce the risk of data loss.
A lightweight dashboard could also be added to monitor long-term pricing trends and compare similar competitive products over time.