London, the United Kingdom, June 7, 2022 - Competera, an AI-based pricing platform helping omnichannel retailers to set and maintain optimal price positions, today announced that Andreas Lorenz had been appointed as Sales Director EMEA.

Andreas Lorenz has more than 15 years of senior management experience, including almost a decade of bringing retailers and tech together. Andreas pioneered in developing the market for  price optimization software in Europe during the significant shift in the industry caused by COVID. 

As the pandemics initiated a major industry disruption and demonstrated the shifted customer behaviour, it also elucidated the incapacity of prior pricing approaches. The price became a vital part of the shopping experience, so the retailers of all verticals are now even more pressed to present their customers' prices, that are considered fair by them. At this point, the traditional pricing tactics prove inefficient, being too human-dependent and inflexible. 

The other recent shockwave that hit retail space is record-breaking inflation, making retailers face troubling signs: 

  • Shrinking consumer purchase power increases their price sensitivity

  • Competitive pressure increases

  • Margins are shrinking due to cost fluctuations

 

Being cornered by all these factors, businesses cannot increase prices and sustain bottom metrics while keeping customers satisfied with traditional pricing strategies. At this point, AI-fueled and data-driven approach to pricing makes these challenges manageable and allows execution of a pricing strategy that is perceived as fair and, therefore, optimal.

In a time of ever-growing competitiveness, the number of retailers constantly fighting for a shrinking consumer wallet is increasing. And as consumer expectations become much more sophisticated, so should the approach to pricing, meaning moving from an SKU-centric approach to a portfolio approach. This is the way to survive the 'battle of the quickest', especially for retailers selling consumer goods to end-users, such as grocery, DIY, consumer electronics, health, and beauty. They are the first to consider switching to AI-pricing, being prime candidates for facilitation. 

"Competera combines the latest AI, ML, and deep learning technology with a transparent and 'easy to use' user experience. What we offer retailers is a fully end-to-end unique and revolutionizing solution that allows retailers to shift from reactive, SKU-centric, and limited repricing to sustaining optimal prices throughout the entire pricing journey. Our customers take data-based decisions and experience market-leading speed to value, which is crucial in the current challenging and ever-changing retail environment," states Andreas Lorenz, Sales Director EMAE, Competera Pricing platform.

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