Retail Pricing Intelligence Solutions
Price intelligence is the capacity to track, monitor, and evaluate competition and market pricing data to make knowledgeable pricing decisions for your company’s products, services, and markets. Information is frequently obtained through data mining or other automated software methods.
Importance of Price Intelligence
Price intelligence is crucial in retail pricing, a fast-paced, competitive, and ever-evolving world in which the right price directly impacts sales and profitability. Consumers today are more price-conscious than ever before. Customers inspect things in stores or online and compare pricing to see if a better deal can be found elsewhere. Numerous smartphone apps are dedicated to price comparisons, and most stores have price-matching rules to stay competitive.
Furthermore, because of the pace and volume of eCommerce, prices on the internet fluctuate far faster than they can at brick-and-mortar stores. Many larger brands and stores have been reported to modify their prices every few minutes. Price adjustments frequently trigger a waterfall effect, in which the first brand or retailer to change a price prompts competitors to follow suit.
How to Use Competitive Pricing Intelligence
Data analysis and action are inextricably linked. Knowing your competitors’ prices can tell you a lot about your business and how to improve your pricing strategy.
This can take a variety of forms, such as:
Policy of Price Matching
You might want to create a price matching policy, in which you agree to match a lower price offered by a rival if certain criteria are met, such as the customer marking the lower price at the point of sale.
Automated repricing
Any automated repricing plan must include pricing intelligence as well. If you have many products and SKUs, operate in a competitive, fast-paced market, or need to modify prices on a large scale, repricing is suitable.
Manual Price Adjustments
You can also alter pricing manually based on the prices of your competitors. If you only have a few products or need to alter pricing on a small scale or for a short period, this may work. Perhaps you just had a few products with a fixed price in the past, but you now want to raise pricing to keep up with the competition.
Strategies for Marketing and Sales
Pricing intelligence will also assist you in developing and implementing marketing and sales strategies. If you want to run a successful promotion for a given product, you’ll need to know how a percentage off, a price reduction, or a BOGO will affect your margins and sales estimates. Look for areas where you are more or less expensive than your competition and offer specials to match.