Pricing

lululemon Hosts Rare Sale Event; Consumers Line Up
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…

The Positive Side to Price Discrimination
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…

Uber-Style Surge Pricing May Catch On With Retailers
October 5, 2015 at 11:29 am

For some, “surge pricing,” the use of algorithms to automate price increases on products and services in periods of high demand and limited supply, adheres to a basic principle of the free market economy. Others see it as a form of price gouging. Regardless of your point of view, the use of surge pricing appears…

Study Finds Amazon Pricing is Tough to Beat
October 1, 2015 at 11:15 am

Which top retailer has the lowest prices? Online sellers know how competitive the Amazon.com marketplace is, but they may be wondering how it compares to other sites on pricing and product assortment. A new report from Boomerang Commerce takes a look and finds that Amazon wins on scores in the consumer electronics category and, surprisingly, Wal-Mart…

Target Expands Price-Matching Policy to 29 Rivals
September 30, 2015 at 11:02 am

Matching online prices was once considered a risky proposition for brick-and-mortar retailers. Now it’s the norm. The newest evidence comes from Target, which is about to expand the number of online competitors it will match prices with to 29 from five. The updated policy, which goes into effect Thursday, includes giants like Macys.com and Staples.com as well…

USPS to Help Alibaba Get Goods to American Consumers
September 17, 2015 at 1:02 pm

The US Postal Service will help get Alibaba merchandise into the hands of US consumers more quickly. The agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alibaba's logistics firm Cainiao to work together to develop new international shipping solutions and enhance the logistics-service experience for sellers and buyers. Alibaba said the global B2C cross-border e-commerce market…

Jet.com CEO: We May Have the Lowest Prices, But Many Shoppers Can’t Figure That Out
September 1, 2015 at 10:23 am

Jet.com may have the lowest prices on the web, but a lot of people who visit the site still don’t realize it. That's something CEO Marc Lore acknowledged when asked about confusion among people who hear about Jet.com’s low prices but don’t see them displayed clearly when they visit a Jet.com product page. “Believe me, we have…

Christmas in August: Wal-Mart to Launch Layaway Plan
August 28, 2015 at 11:27 am

The calendar may still say summer, but retail giant Wal-Mart is encouraging consumers to get in the Christmas spirit now. With Labor Day more than a week away, the world's largest retailer is scheduled to launch its holiday season layaway plan four months before Dec. 25. Starting today, two weeks earlier than it did last season, Wal-Mart…