Deal Score Methodology
What does the score mean?
Deal Score is a relative ranking signal that helps you compare deals currently listed on DealzScan. A higher score means the current scoring formula ranks that deal more strongly than a deal with a lower score.
Deal Score is designed to help with sorting and filtering. It is not an independent certification of product quality, a guarantee that a price is the lowest available, or a prediction that a particular product is right for you.
What factors affect it today?
This section describes what the current DealzScan implementation actually calculates — not future scoring features.
Deal Score currently combines five factors:
- Discount percentage — how much the current price is reduced relative to the reference/original price provided by the retailer or source.
- Dollar savings — the difference between the reference price and current price. The contribution from dollar savings is capped so that extremely large dollar discounts do not dominate the score indefinitely.
- Retailer trust — a fixed source-level weighting assigned to supported retailers. This provides a consistent retailer/source factor within the current scoring model.
- Popularity — based on product rating and review count when that information is available. If rating/review information is unavailable, this component does not contribute to the score.
- Brand recognition — a brand-level signal used by the current scoring model. Brand recognition currently carries significant weight, which is one reason Deal Score should be treated as a ranking aid rather than a pure measurement of discount size.
Price-related factors are therefore only part of Deal Score. A large advertised percentage discount alone does not automatically guarantee the highest score.
What isn't included yet?
DealzScan intends to improve its scoring as better data becomes available.
Historical price range is not currently part of Deal Score. As DealzScan accumulates sufficient observed price history, historical pricing may eventually provide additional context about whether a current price is unusually low.
Broader cross-retailer competitiveness and confidence signals are also not currently part of the score.
Because those capabilities are not yet part of the production scoring model, DealzScan does not use Deal Score to claim that a product is at its "historical low" or that it is definitively the lowest price available across all retailers.
See How DealzScan Works for more information.
What does not affect Deal Score?
Affiliate commission rates do not influence DealzScan's Deal Score.
The scoring formula is applied independently of the commission DealzScan may receive from a qualifying purchase. A merchant paying a higher affiliate commission does not receive additional Deal Score points because of that commission.
See our Affiliate Disclosure for more information about how affiliate relationships work.
Stock and inventory availability are also not currently Deal Score inputs. DealzScan does not have consistent real-time inventory information across every supported source, so the score does not attempt to represent real-time availability.
How often can Deal Score change?
Deal Score is recalculated whenever DealzScan's deal-processing pipeline refreshes the underlying data.
Changes to price, discount or other scoring inputs can therefore change a deal's score and ranking. A Deal Score is not permanently attached to a listing; it reflects the most recent data available to DealzScan when that deal was processed.
Is the "Hot" badge part of Deal Score?
No. The Hot badge and Deal Score are separate signals.
The Hot badge currently identifies deals that meet DealzScan's configured percentage-discount threshold. It is not awarded simply because a deal has one of the highest Deal Scores.
Deal Score combines multiple factors, while the Hot badge is based on the applicable percentage-discount threshold.
Is Deal Score a guarantee?
No.
Deal Score is a relative comparison tool based on the information available to DealzScan when the deal is processed. It does not guarantee:
- the lowest possible price;
- that a retailer's reference price represents the product's typical historical selling price;
- that the deal will still be available when you visit the retailer;
- that another retailer cannot offer a better price; or
- that the product is the best choice for your individual needs.
Always confirm the current price, product configuration, seller and availability on the retailer's website before purchasing.