Introduction

In a digital economy where consumers expect both speed and value, Prices.vn emerges as a next-generation platform that merges three core services into one unified experience: price comparison, cashback rewards, and a coupon hub. Built for the Vietnamese market with global scalability in mind, the platform addresses a fundamental user need - smarter, more rewarding online shopping.

Dotbase, a full-stack digital consultancy, played a central role in bringing Prices.vn to life, offering consulting, creative design, UI/UX optimization, and robust feature programming across a complex technology stack that includes Laravel, Elasticsearch, Redis, RabbitMQ, Python, Typescript, Google Cloud Storage, and more.

This case study outlines the architecture, design thinking, and implementation approach that Dotbase used to help Prices.vn launch and grow in a competitive digital marketplace.

About Prices.vn

Prices.vn is a Vietnamese shopping platform designed to help users find the best deals across thousands of products. Its 3-in-1 model:

1. Price Comparison Engine: Aggregates data from various e-commerce websites and marketplaces.
2. Cashback Program: Offers users cashback rewards for purchases through affiliate links.
3. Coupon and Promo Hub: Provides updated discount codes and promotional offers from hundreds of retailers.

This powerful value proposition required not only technical sophistication but also flawless performance at scale, especially in data ingestion, search, and user personalization.

Dotbase’s Role

Dotbase provided end-to-end support on the following fronts:

• Technical Architecture & Backend Infrastructure
• UI/UX Design & Creative Direction
• Frontend Development in HTML/CSS
• Search Optimization with Elasticsearch
• Data Queue Processing with Redis and RabbitMQ
• Web Crawling & Integration Layer with Python Microservices
• Cloud Storage Strategy via Google Cloud

System Architecture Highlights

Prices.vn is powered by a hybrid architecture designed for speed, extensibility, and fault-tolerant processing:

• Laravel serves as the core backend framework, orchestrating business logic and user interactions.
• Elasticsearch handles full-text search, filterable product listings, and fuzzy matching.
• Redis powers caching for real-time pricing updates and session management.
• RabbitMQ coordinates crawling, syncing, and affiliate click tracking at scale.
• Python-based microservices handle data ingestion, web scraping, and partner API integration.
• HTML/CSS drive the dynamic, responsive, mobile-first frontend.
• Google Cloud Storage hosts static assets, product images, and raw crawled data.

UI/UX Strategy

Dotbase delivered a conversion-focused UI/UX design with special emphasis on usability, speed, and clarity.

Key initiatives:

• Visual Identity & Brand Design: A vibrant, tech-forward look and feel with modern typography and a bold color palette.
• Mobile-First Navigation: Ensuring seamless access to cashback, coupons, and product search on any device.
• Smart Search Experience: Autocomplete, synonym matching, and category-specific filters enhance product discovery.
• Cashback Tracking Dashboard: A transparent interface for users to view pending, confirmed, and paid cashback amounts.
• Promo Hub Curation: Handpicked and algorithmically ranked coupon codes based on real-time popularity and expiry status.

Data Infrastructure & Scaling

Dotbase designed Prices.vn’s infrastructure to scale effortlessly:

• Distributed Crawling System for fetching product data across hundreds of retailers.
• Affiliate Link Management System to automatically tag and track merchant referrals.
• High-Speed Search Indexing to reflect price updates and new deals instantly.
• Modular Cashback Rules Engine to support complex commission tiers, tracking delays, and loyalty boosts.

Challenges & Solutions

• Data Freshness: With prices and deals changing rapidly, Dotbase implemented real-time syncing queues using RabbitMQ + Redis for faster ingestion.
• Partner Integration: Dozens of affiliate networks required custom wrappers and fault-tolerant API calls, solved via microservice architecture in Python.
• SEO & Page Speed: Custom SSR caching combined with code-splitting in the frontend improved Time to First Byte (TTFB) and Core Web Vitals.

Outcomes

While still in the growth phase, Prices.vn has already achieved:

• Successful launch across all three verticals (comparison, cashback, coupons)
• Organic traffic growth through content-driven SEO and optimized metadata
• Positive user feedback on interface speed and ease-of-use
• Operational readiness for peak shopping seasons like 11.11 and Tet

Next Milestones

Upcoming developments include:

• Mobile App for iOS/Android
• Referral Program & Tiered Cashback Loyalty
• AI-Powered Deal Recommendations
• Gamified Shopping Challenges
• Merchant Analytics Portal

Conclusion

Dotbase’s partnership with Prices.vn represents what’s possible when visionary product strategy meets technical excellence. With a complex system architecture and user-centric design, Prices.vn is now poised to become a household name in Vietnamese e-commerce.

For startups and digital platforms looking to build smart, scalable, multi-functional ecosystems - Dotbase offers the expertise to bring your vision to reality.

Interested in launching a powerful digital commerce engine?

Let’s connect: www.dotbasesoft.com