Headless browser

A headless browser is a web browser that runs without a visible window, controlled by code instead of a person clicking around. It matters in e-commerce data collection because many modern store pages load their content with JavaScript after the initial page load, which a simple page request won't capture; a headless browser renders the page the same way a shopper's browser would, so the data collected matches what a visitor actually sees. It costs more time and compute than a plain request, so it's typically used only for pages that need it, with lighter methods used elsewhere. It's a tool for getting accurate data, not a way around access restrictions.

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