B2B companies are seeing that their ecommerce pricing strategies must be as differentiated and nuanced as they are in the traditional offline sales channel managed by salespeople. This a complicated process that must factor in ongoing changes in market supply and demand, but the right mix of technology can dynamically generate pricing that complements the efforts of sales reps while personalizing the buying experience for online customers, Pete Eppele of Zilliant writes.
Amazon beats out other retailers on price 15% of the time, according to a new study by Profitero. Many shoppers are more concerned about online availability and assortment, however, according to a survey from CommerceHub.
With a new web-based pricing management system, Terreal has been gaining market share without losing out on profits, the manufacturer says. And with data-gathering solar roofs gaining popularity, it sees new uses ahead for its pricing technology.
By focusing on reducing friction in the customer’s buying process, increasing transparency in pricing, and better anticipating customer needs, B2B sellers can enhance and expand customer relationships through ecommerce, writes Valerie Howard of PROS.
Amazon began issuing vague warnings about price policy violations in March that extended through April, threatening to kick merchants off the site. It’s unclear how many merchants yanked their products and how much doing so exacerbated shortages that were also fueled by supply-chain disruptions.
When Demdaco sold directly to Amazon, many other Amazon merchants sold Demdaco’s figurines and other gift items at low prices that violated the brand’s minimum advertised price rules—and Amazon followed suit. That irritated the many small gift shops that sold Demdaco products. Now, Demdaco only allows four merchants to sell its products on Amazon, and that’s brought MAP violations under control.
Optimizing a pricing strategy is crucial to winning and keeping customers, and the right set of ecommerce tools can make all the difference in accessing and managing the data manufacturers need to set the most effective pricing, Bob Zastrow of GenAlpha Technologies writes.
The price-comparison tool will be a feature on the flash-sale merchant’s website and mobile app, allowing shoppers to see which merchant has the lowest price. If a shopper finds that Amazon or Walmart has a lower price, Zulily will match it.
Zappos, Amazon and Uber are among the major companies that have fallen victim to online pricing blunders, and McDonald’s had a similar experience with a self-service ordering system. These errors can be avoided by putting rules in place that limit price increases and decreases, protect profit margins and track competitors’ pricing.
Jennifer Belissent | | Digital Commerce 360 | Retail
New inventory management and dynamic pricing solutions help grocery retailers better manage and use that data to drive better outcomes—less food waste and higher margins. Here are some examples of technology that retailers can use to throw away less food, and increase profits.