DIY Pricing. It’s complicated.
Matt Pavich, senior director of innovation and strategy at Revionics, an Aptos Company has an appreciation for the power of price optimization, and has seen it first hand at Home Depot Mexico and Tractor Supply, as well as Leroy Merlin.
It's a complicated science, especially in the home improvement arena, with its high volume of skus. Pavich shared some of his ideas in the following Q&A.
Why is pricing optimization particularly important for DIY retailers? How does this compare to other retail verticals?
For a DIY retailer just getting started on their pricing optimization journey, please offer three tips of what they should prioritize (and any pitfalls to avoid.)
Every retailer is in a different part of their pricing journey, so advice would vary based on where they currently are, but the first critical step is to make sure that their data is ready for the journey. As with any technology, pricing solutions will drive better results with better inputs, so it is critical to have accurate transactional data, a solid competitive intelligence process in place, accurate product information, etc. It’s also important to start thinking about strategy and how an investment in your pricing capabilities will enable your organization to do things differently than the current state. Infusing the best analytics into strategy design will lead to better results, but will require change management.
The biggest pitfall to avoid is inertia – it is important to move along on the journey and enhance capabilities one step at a time. The best AI pricing providers have deep industry expertise to guide retailers along on this journey and identify those first critical steps that can drive some quick wins while laying a foundation for long-term, sustainable value.
Revionics talks about ‘lifecycle price optimization’ – what should a DIY retailer keep in mind as it relates to integrated base, promo and markdown optimization?
Price perception lives across all areas of pricing – not just one area. A retailer with great base pricing practices and poor promotions will not attract new customers or maintain customer loyalty as effectively as a retailer that has better capabilities across both areas. Consumers want fair, transparent pricing on the goods they care the most about across all channels and will make decisions based on how a retailer holistically manages its price perception. From a DIY retailer perspective, there is enormous value in enhancing all three of these areas using the best AI pricing solutions on the market. Although a lot of pricing providers in the space claim to have leading AI, it is critical that retailers avoid solutions that can’t provide a holistic approach to pricing across the entire lifecycle of a product.
What do you see as the three main benefits a DIY retailer can achieve through pricing optimization?
The first benefit is the ability to surgically balance share growth and profit using optimization to find the exact right price on the right products for the right consumers across all stores and channels. The second major benefit is the ability to enhance vendor negotiations to find win-win-win solutions that optimize the cost and price structure in a way that drives units, profits and price perception across a portfolio of products. Finally, although I could easily list some major advantages to better markdown practices, I do believe that the ability to eliminate ineffective promotions and enhance/pursue more effective promotions can be a game changer for DIY retailers. A significant percentage of retail promotions are sub-optimal – the ability to pivot into a more effective promotional strategy can drive large profit and share gains while also better leveraging store labor.