Pricing
November 19, 2015 at 9:38 am
According to a 2015 Bain & Company Insights report, “price optimization models are mathematical programs that calculate how demand varies at different price levels, then combine that data with information on costs and inventory levels to recommend prices that will improve profits.” However, the journey towards price optimization doesn’t begin with a mathematical program, it…
November 13, 2015 at 10:00 am
Fundamental data such as sales and category share is the lifeblood of today’s best-performing brands in the brick-and-mortar world. Their long-term strategies and everyday execution — for example, knowing which categories and retailers they should be under- or overinvesting in — are measured and closely managed by these critical indicators. However, despite the exponential growth…
November 12, 2015 at 11:44 am
Wal-Mart plans to offer most of its Black Friday discounts to online shoppers hours before they become available in stores, as the company attempts to hold off challenges by Amazon.com and other e-commerce rivals. The world’s biggest retailer, which said it still expects to draw record crowds even with the online push, will make the…
November 12, 2015 at 11:05 am
When Macy’s, a store closely associated with Christmas, says there's trouble brewing ahead of the holidays, it's enough to send the world of shopping into a tailspin. The retailer of “Miracle on 34th Street” warned Wednesday that its stores were awash with merchandise after a sluggish fall season and that slow business would force it to…
November 3, 2015 at 11:16 am
Technology has streamlined processes and opened up the world’s labor forces, thereby helping to cut the cost of doing business. However, this same technology has led to comparison shopping and price transparency. In other words, for all the good it’s done to make your business competitive on price, technology has leveled the playing field in…
November 2, 2015 at 11:01 am
Amazon.com on Sunday launched its Black Friday deals store as it begins to count down to what traditionally has been one of the biggest shopping days of the year. The Seattle retailer promises tens of thousands of deals on technology, toys and clothes between now and Dec. 22. TVs, digital cameras, projectors and connected products for…
November 2, 2015 at 10:55 am
Attention Kmart shoppers: the struggling discount chain is bringing back the "Bluelight Special" in the hopes the iconic marketing approach it pioneered decades ago will breathe life into its store and online sales. The retailer started sounding the blue sirens used to flag the surprise, 15-minute long deals to shoppers at its 942 stores on Friday,…
October 26, 2015 at 10:55 am
Looking to compete with the Nordstrom Racks and Saks Off 5ths of the world, Lord & Taylor is launching its first off-price store, Women's Wear Daily reports. The new "Find @ Lord & Taylor" shops will offer a selection of women's, men's, kid's, footwear and home products that have been marked down 70 percent. Lord…
October 16, 2015 at 11:17 am
lululemon, the popular luxury athletic wear brand, is holding a three-day warehouse sale at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston this weekend. The sale is a rare event for the company: lululemon sells 95 percent of its gear at full price, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The website does list cheaper items tagged under “We Made…
October 6, 2015 at 9:43 am
Price discrimination gets a bad rap. Google the phrase “price discrimination” and you’ll find articles on large health, entertainment, insurance and even mail companies being investigated for illegal price discrimination — i.e., the practice of charging different price points to different customers for the same product. The word discrimination itself is loaded. It's a term…
