Eloquii CEO Mariah Chase challenges retailers at the WWD Digital Forum to think about what’s next, not just about what’s now.

When Eloquii CEO Mariah Chase is asked about what’s next in online retail, she sees the industry taking a cue from the airline and hotel industries.

“Digital has more than anything else put pressure on pricing,” the head of the apparel manufacturer and retailer told attendees during a session at the WWD Digital Forum in New York on Wednesday morning. “Do we have an opportunity to use the laws of supply and demand as has been done in the airline industry, the hotel industry (and) ticket sales and put it in to non-commodity, emotionally driven categories like fast fashion?”

Chase says Eloquii is exploring how using dynamic pricing could work for the retailer.  And Chase’s vision is fairly simple: As the amount of available inventory for a particular product goes down, the price per item goes up. Dynamic pricing involves a strategy of setting flexible prices for products or services based on market demands, competitors’ prices, targeted profit margins or other factors.

“Is she [the shopper] willing to pay a little bit more [as inventory decreases], and does she understand that when a product first comes out it’s the lowest price it’s going to be,” she says. “And most importantly, will the customer accept [the pricing changes]?”

But while an increased emphasis on dynamic pricing may be in the future, Chase says it’s not clear when that future will arrive. First, retailers would need to implement systems that give them and their shoppers greater real-time visibility into inventory levels. Also, customers would need to respond well enough to the concept that it would prove financially viable.

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“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” she says. “I think [Eloquii is] going to be testing it out really soon,” though she did not say when.

Eloquii, No. 604 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Second 500, has made a number of moves this year aimed at spurring growth. In April, the plus-size women’s apparel manufacturer and retailer raised $15 million that will go toward adding staff to its New York office. Earlier this month, Eloquii hired a pair of Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1 in the 2016 Top 500) veterans, Melissa Weiss and Michael Concannon, to be Eloquii’s chief marketing officer and chief technology officer, respectively.

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