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In the US , 35 percent of small businesses have yet to introduce price increases even amid significant inflationary pressures .
many businesses , particularly grocers , introduce price “ freezes ” or “ locks ”, to offset price rises , appeal to cautious consumers and retain brand loyalty .
Then there is a notable portion of businesses which are not implementing price changes at all . In the UK , 45 percent of businesses are not planning price rises , despite 74 percent reporting concern about inflation and 38 percent of retail firms experiencing a decrease in sales over the past three months . In the US , 35 percent of small businesses have yet to introduce price increases even amid significant inflationary pressures .
One of the key reasons that pricing isn ’ t being leveraged to its full potential is that pricing professionals often lack the tools they need . Relying on manual pricing processes – often built around a matrix of spreadsheets – is time-consuming and can require days ’ worth of work laboring over even the most straightforward adjustments . The delay in implementing price changes prevents businesses from reaching their full margin potential , reacting too slowly to cost changes and market trends .
This time-consuming manual approach to pricing also represents a challenge for retailers that are active in multiple markets or channels as the lag often creates a window in which some customers are paying less than others , resulting in even greater revenue loss .
Surgical precision with a digital solution
Effective price changes require precision and agility . Pricing teams need the ability to execute nuanced pricing based on robust data and margin visibility across all categories , customers , regions and SKUs to determine which products need to be ring-fenced and which can afford to be raised to deliver gains . Without this , retail and consumer goods businesses can often revert to introducing blanket changes , running the risk of alienating customers , and damaging brand loyalty and reputation .
Throughout the last two decades of digital transformation in business , pricing has been largely overlooked but current market challenges are catalyzing change . By automating price execution , businesses can roll-out complex changes with an infinite number of rules simply and quickly , and also have the capacity to focus on strategic pricing projects .
Intelligent pricing
Profitability and pricing go hand in hand , with price as the number one factor influencing purchasing decisions . As retailers face unprecedented pressures and grapple with soaring costs and inflation , it ’ s more important than ever that they ’ re making informed decisions , executing changes fast and implementing promotions with precision .
Intelligent , automated pricing empowers retail and consumer goods companies to execute their pricing strategy with ease and confidence by delivering real-time margin visibility and complete traceability across all aspects of pricing . With the Flintfox Intelligent Pricing Platform , businesses can update pricing in a
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