Omnichannel Pricing & Promotions: 'It's A Mad, Mad, World!'

By Iain Watson, executive vice president of products, Predictix

Pricing in the omnichannel world has incredibly high stakes for retailers.

A recent report from Retail Systems Research (RSR) confirmed what retailers know all too well: when it comes to omnichannel pricing and promotions, it’s a “mad, mad world” indeed. According to RSR’s research, retailers are obsessed with consumer price sensitivity, and not surprisingly, are grappling with the challenges of channel proliferation and cross-channel price transparency. What’s surprising, though, is the sheer magnitude of retailers’ reactions and the resulting “race to the bottom.”

For example, 76% of retailers reported that they are increasing the number of price changes sent to stores and other channels. And even as retailers increase their focus on lower prices and promotions, they freely acknowledge that they don’t have the tools or processes to measure the impact of their pricing and promotional decisions across channels and touchpoints.