[White Paper] Pricing Scenarios:
Five Proven Profit Increasing Rules for Retailers

Pricing Scenario

In this white paper, we show how online stores can increase its revenue with specific pricing rules examples. Use your data with the rules below, set your inventory prices more effectively, and increase the economic efficiency of your business!

We show no specific numbers to avoid any harm for your business: With no data on your business goals and market data they can not only be useless but cause an opposite result to the expected. Use your numbers!

Below all the gross margin scenarios, you’ll find a list of the data you need to consider for efficient rules creation, and a list of useful materials you can read to learn more about pricing, pricing strategies, and algorithms.

Stock Management Scenario

Description:

This scenario goal is to track the moment when specific items are disappearing from the competitor’s stock. It allows the retailer to set a higher price and earn more.

if
a competitor’s items
are in stock
then
we set a competitive price
within market thresholds and
launch a promotion
else
increase item’s
prices by X%
Benefits:

This scenario is the most obvious way to increase a retailer’s profits.

Disadvantages:

It is not always possible to predict out-of-stock for competitors’ products: They may have already planned the next delivery from a supplier. It’s especially important if competitors using sales predictive solutions.

In the formula, the retailer also needs to consider the warehouse turnover objectives to avoid price raising for unclaimed goods.

Minimum Margin Scenario

Description:

This scenario goal is to follow the lowest possible market price (follow the key competitor with the lowest price), yet keep the minimum allowable margin.

item’s price is equal
to competitor’s minimum price
if
final item’s price is equal
or higher than minimum allowable margin
else
set final item’s price
equal to minimum allowable margin
Benefits:

In a vacuum market, the retailer will always make a profit.

Disadvantages:

In real life, customers who are looking for a minimum cost, will find it. If a retailer’s price is higher than a competitor’s, this category of shoppers is more likely to make a purchase in a competitor’s shop.

Turnover Goal Scenario

Description:

This scenario needs to be applied only when turnover goals are achieved and help store to earn more. It’s important to apply other scenarios we’ll describe in the next whitepaper.

if
turnover goals
are achieved
then
raise the prices
by X%
while
sales quantity is growing
or remaining at the same level
Benefits:

Allows you to consistently achieve several business goals: Turnover, and therefore, gross margins.

Disadvantages:

Consecutive achievement of the goals is as risky as buying the simplest New Year’s garland: If the first light bulb is burnt out, the others will not glow either.

Bestseller Scenario

Description:

This scenario works with the most popular and seasonal products, it uses psychological pricing and customer loyalty.

if
it’s the most popular
or seasonal item
then
add psychologically
reasonable price increase 5%
Benefits:

A psychologically reasonable price increase is a price growth that allows the retailer to earn more while keeping sales quantity on the same level. Often, retailers increase prices within 5% but the actual allowance depends on the specific target audience portrait. If the target audience is determined correctly, the product with a psychologically acceptable markup will be perceived by the buyer as more valuable, and the retailer as more reliable.

Disadvantages:

The retailer needs to know its target audience clearly to understand exactly how shoppers will perceive the price.

KVIs Scenario

Description:

The retailer needs to know its target audience clearly to understand exactly how shoppers will perceive the price.

if
it’s a KVI position
then
set the price equal
to the minimum key competitor’s price
while
use psychologically reasonable
price increase for other item’s prices
Benefits:

The minimum prices for the KVI-items will form the buyer’s trust. Other retailer’s prices will be accepted as valuable even if their prices are slightly higher than the market.

Disadvantages:

KVI positions determination can be quite resourced and expensive: Elasticity research, marketing polls, sales dynamic comparison for different commodity groups, etc.

As you can see now:

Each of the scenarios above requires micro-level adjustments from the retailer. That’s why we did gave no specific numbers. For example, the very first of the scenarios, “Stock Management Scenario”, needs the retailer to know its key competitors.

Necessary Data

For effective scripts usage, the retailer needs a high-quality, actual and correct data. It needs to be collected without errors on marketplaces and the competitor’s websites at the time pricing need to be done.

The retailer needs to have the following information to work effectively with pricing scripts:

  • Product data: stock availability, price, cost, KVI-positions.

    Item
    Stock attribute
    KVI tag
    Cost, $
    Multicooker Redmond RMC-M92S
    in stock
    YES
    95
    LCD TV Samsung UE43KU6000
    in stock
    NO
    700
    Notebook Apple MacBook Air 13'
    low in stock
    YES
    925

  • Business goals data: minimum markup, planned markup, turnover and margin plan, etc...

    Item
    Stock attribute
    KVI tag
    Cost, $
    Minimal
    mark-up, %
    Planned
    mark-up, %
    Planned
    turnover, units
    Planned
    margin, $
    Final
    price, $
    Multicooker Redmond RMC-M92S
    in stock
    YES
    95
    12
    18
    150
    3000
    115
    LCD TV Samsung UE43KU6000
    in stock
    NO
    700
    3
    6
    75
    3375
    745
    Notebook Apple MacBook Air 13'
    low in stock
    YES
    925
    5
    8
    120
    9000
    999

  • Competitor’s data: prices, stocks, promotions.

    Item
    Stock attribute
    KVI tag
    Cost, $
    Minimal
    mark-up, %
    Planned
    mark-up, %
    Planned
    turnover, units
    Planned
    margin, $
    Final
    price, $
    Competitor 1 price
    Competitor 2 price
    Competitor 3 price
    Promo attribute
    Stock attribute
    Multicooker Redmond RMCM92S
    in stock
    YES
    95
    12
    18
    150
    3000
    115
    120
    111
    115
    markdown
    in stock
    LCD TV Samsung UE43KU6000
    in stock
    NO
    700
    3
    6
    75
    3375
    745
    750
    735
    720
    gift
    low in stock
    Notebook Apple MacBook Air 13'
    low in stock
    YES
    925
    5
    8
    120
    9000
    999
    995
    1019
    999
    no promo
    out of stock

By integrating this data into the scenario and analyzing a performance of the latest, the retailer can understand how the product’s price affects its sales, what is the influence of the key competitors on sales; create a Price Index report to track the effectiveness of retailer’s pricing and the impact of its competitors more effectively.

Pricing Scenarios Tools

The simplest pricing scenarios tool is an Excel spreadsheet. But, since this tool has more flaws than advantages, it is much more effective to use special pricing services.

The Price Management product, a part of the Competera Pricing Platform:

  • Integrates all the collected internal and external data and visualizes it.
  • Sets product prices according to the preset script rules.
  • Detects anomalies and opportunities to optimize pricing—for most scenarios the retailer needs to use threshold scenarios to keep the correctness of pricing.

To calculate the ROI of such tool for your business, do not hesitate to contact our pricing experts.

Useful resources

  • Article and free online course on Pricing Strategies
  • How to collect data: build or buy pricing solution
  • What is Agile PricingTM?
  • How to explain pricing strategies in a way even child will understand

If you want to know which of the above pricing rules will be effective for your online store, chat with our pricing experts—they will answer all your questions.


In this white paper, we talked about pricing scenarios that help retailers earn more. In the next white papers, we will talk about scenarios that help to increase turnover (sell more products), get a share of the competitor’s market and more favorable supplier’s conditions!

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