Pricing

Gap's namesake chain just introduced its "resolution denim," which it plugs as its best stretch line, but they're already 30 percent off full price (provided you try them on first). At Abercrombie & Fitch Co., a new denim ankle legging is half off. While consumers have long known to wait for the sale, it's becoming increasingly difficult for specialty retailers to get consumers to pay full price for anything, says Credit Suisse analyst Christian Buss, who has tracked promotions the past 18 months.

Dynamic pricing is a topic that's been getting a lot of attention lately. It's come a long way since it publicly debuted in the airline industry in the 1980s. Now we're used to seeing it across many different industries. From Uber to Amazon.com, many businesses are putting their own spin on dynamic pricing. But what is it exactly? To put it simply, it's a flexible pricing strategy in which businesses alter their pricing based on a number of factors, both internal and external.

U.S. retail sales perked up in November, as cheaper gas and an improving job market fueled a promising start to the holiday shopping season. Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent, the most in eight months, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Excluding gas stations, sales climbed a healthy 0.9 percent. Spending on motor vehicles accelerated 1.7 percent, while purchases at clothiers, online retailers, electronics stores and department stores all expanded. Nonstore retailers, which include online and mail order outlets, rose 1 percent.

Black Friday is exactly two weeks away and the holiday season is just around the corner, which is causing the competition between retailers to intensify. Now Wal-Mart executives are telling managers at its stores across the U.S. to price match Amazon.com and other online retailers. Greg Foran, president and CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., said that the price-matching plan simply formalized what many of the stores were already doing. "About half of the stores were doing it anyway," said Foran during an earnings call. The policy is known internally as "Online Price Match," which is part of the "Ad Match" program.

Thanksgiving could turn into a full shopping day this year, industry consultants say, as retailers debate moving up their openings and doorbuster events. While retailers aren't expected to announce any special Thanksgiving hours until the second half of October or into November, "it's inevitable to see them open all day or even earlier than last year," said Joel Bines, managing director and co-leader of consulting firm AlixPartners’ retail practice, in an interview.

As retailers gear up for the holiday selling season, industry watchers ask the same inevitable questions. How promotional will they get? Will discounts make a difference to their sales? And at what cost to profit? They should listen closely to Pier 1 Imports CEO Alex Smith's sobering remarks. The home furnishings retailer's stock slumped as much as 18 percent in its biggest daily percentage drop in almost five years on Thursday after its second-quarter profit and sales missed Wall Street expectations. While profit was partly hurt by increased online spending, increased storewide promotions were the big culprit that hurt margins. 

Customers are angry at Hudson's Bay after the company cancelled some of their online orders, purchased at a deep discount by combining multiple rebate codes. Over the weekend, customers were sharing the discount codes on popular consumer forums such as Redflagdeals.com. Customers said they were able to purchase items at a major discount. In one post on RedFlagDeals.com, a user said he was able to purchase a Vitamix blender that regularly sells for $530 for 45 percent off. 

Amazon.com is taking on Walt Disney Co. and its superheroes in a quest to gain more control over pricing online. Amazon blocked pre-orders of Disney's summer hit movie "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and other titles in disk form, repeating a tactic used in recent disputes with book publisher Hachette and film studio Warner Bros. The move signals that Amazon, the world's largest web retailer, is increasingly willing to keep certain items from consumers to put pressure on its vendors.

Retailers have been changing product prices depending on supply and demand, weather, and many other variables for years. So why is dynamic pricing becoming such a hot topic now? What are the implications for individual brands as retailers raise the bar on their dynamic pricing capabilities? Who's doing a good job, and who's not? Check out this feature to get these answers and more. 

Staples is sweetening its price-matching offer for back-to-school shoppers. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company, which like several other key rivals already matches prices of retailers including Amazon.com, plans to give customers 10 percent off the difference between its price and the competitor's price for an identical product. The offer starts on June 29 and will end the first week of September. Staples will also feature weekly deals and everyday low prices on 30 back-to-school essentials such as 17 cent single-subject notebooks. The moves will build on its new brand tagline, "Make More Happen."