This Week in Pricing > 4/8/17
This Week in Pricing is a recap of the week’s best pricing focused news, strategy expert and technology leader’s thought leadership, industry news and events, and resources for pricing professionals.
This Edition is brought to you by:
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SPOSEA B.V. drives increased profitability for SAP users by SIMPLIFYING SAP’s Price Data Optimization, Management and Execution. We provide the SAP ecosystem with enterprise-wide Price Management that increases margins through optimized prices. Our family of products includes BrightPrice Optimizer, BrightPrice Manager, BrightPrice DealManager, and BrightPrice MarketDynamics. We provide out of the box solutions for effectively managing Pricing in SAP. SPOSEA is headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and has offices in San Francisco, California and Walldorf, Germany.
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Top Headlines
Reports of a McDonald’s price rise send customers in a spin: Has the fast food chain made a hash of its communication? | SmartCompany
McDonald’s customers have been left in a spin by reports overnight that the price of a humble hash brown has increased to $2.20 across the country, and while some potato lovers insist they’ve always paid more than $2 for the treat, the news has sparked anger from customers across the nation. According to The Daily […]
Why better understanding of price vital to drive profits – column | just-food
Food manufacturers operating across Europe, faced with differences in how sensitive different markets are to price, need to develop innovative pricing and promotional strategies to win, Dr Anthony Graham, IRI’s executive vice president of international solutions and innovations, argues. Pricing is the simplest and most effective lever to pull to optimise margins – but manufacturers […]
The PLUS-Pricing Assessment | Manufacturing Business Technology
The Challenge of Choosing a Pricing Strategy The rate of innovation in technology hardware has been accelerating over the past decades. However, a major challenge is defining an optimal launch pricing strategy to realize the new product’s full potential. If the launch price is set too high, the product will get rejected by the market; […]
Using machine learning for insurance pricing optimization | Google Cloud Platform
The TensorFlow machine-learning framework has been open source since just 2015, but in that relatively short time, its ecosystem has exploded in size, with more than 8,000 open source projects using its libraries to date. This increasing interest is also reflected by its growing role in all kinds of image-processing applications (with examples including skin […]
Top 8 factors affecting on pricing in the international market | Global Pricing Strategies
Selling product internationally requires understanding different factors that may have an impact on how the company set the price. The numerous factors that affect pricing decisions are briefly summarized as follows: Cost – is the main factor that affects pricing decision. A firm should take into consideration direct cost such as raw materials and indirect […]
ComfortDelGro opts not to introduce dynamic pricing | Singapore Business Review
It will instead adopt a flat fare structure. Authorities recently gave a go-ahead for taxi operators to introduce dynamic pricing for trips booked through mobile applications. ComfortDelGro has chosen not to introduce such scheme for now, and will instead adopt a flat fare structure for mobile bookings. According to a report from UOB KayHian, the […]

Will personalized pricing end retailers’ use of dynamic pricing? | RetailWire
While sometimes used interchangeably, dynamic and personalized pricing are not the same thing. In dynamic pricing, the price generally changes according to variables specifically not customer-related. Prices might be altered based on time of day, available supply, competitors’ prices, or maybe, just maybe, the volume of traffic to a product detail page. The price may […]
Discounting Can Cost Retailers Millions — By Not Selling | Forbes
Hemlines rise and fall fast, but when it comes to the shelf life of a discounted $500 skirt, the number of days can drag on — to 106, to be precise. That’s how long it can take an online luxury retailer to sell a piece of women’s wear, even when discounted, according to an analysis […]
Don’t stop taxi industry from adapting to competition: Ng Chee Meng | Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Amid stiff competition from Grab and Uber private-hire cars, the local taxi industry should not be stopped from adapting to new market conditions, such as by introducing dynamic pricing, said Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 4). Last month, local taxi companies were given the green light to […]
iPhone 8 may cost you over $1,000 | Deccan Chronicle
The base model of the iPhone 8 is however expected to start at $900 Apple is preparing to release its latest versions of the iPhone this year at its keynote to be held in September. As usual one may think, the pricing strategy for its iPhones would be higher than last year. On the contrary, the […]
Why Aren’t More Marketers Involved In Pricing Strategy? | CMO
“I need you to pay more.” When you’re trying to communicate that message to customers, you’ll encounter plenty of potential for things to veer in the wrong direction—and fast. As tricky and challenging as this conversation can be, its strategic importance is undeniable for companies with aggressive growth goals. And it’s a message responsibility that […]
Pricing Your Educational Products: Two Essential Factors | Tagoras
In my previous post in this series I discussed differentiation as a key factor in pricing educational products. The basic idea was that it is difficult to set and get the prices you want if your product is not perceived as substantially different from the other options available to your customers. In this post, I’ll […]

Virgin Australia surveys travellers on inflight Internet pricing | Australian Business Traveller
Virgin Australia appears to be moving closer to its promised launch of inflight Internet, with the airline now surveying travellers on pricing models – and how much influence these would have when choosing to fly with Virgin or Qantas. Virgin has flagged a two-tier service with Basic and High Speed options. In the survey the […]
India to announce iron-ore pricing mechanism next month | Mining Weekly
Mining Weekly Online reported earlier this month that while a definitive cap on the selling price of iron-ore was unlikely, options before the committee included setting a price band within which iron prices would be allowed to fluctuate or adopting a cost plus formula that all iron-ore miners would have to adopt in setting their […]
Should you include prices on your photography website | Tea Break Tog
Ok so there are still some people who have not managed to drag themselves out of 2005 and they are out there giving photography business owners like you OLD advice. Yes – advice from 2005 is OLD – I know that makes you feel old. It makes me feel old too. They’re telling you NOT […]
No end to home loan discounts as property prices keep rising: Deloitte | afr.com
Banks will continue to offer owner occupiers steep discounts on standard variable rates to protect their market share as investor lending is tightened, and property prices around the country will continue to climb, leaders of the mortgage industry say. Deloitte’s annual Australian mortgage report released on Thursday said in 2016 major banks had been offering […]
Poundland introduces new price points | IGD Retail Analysis
As the new £1 coin is introduced, discount retailer Poundland has unveiled its new pricing strategy, however focus will remain on the core price point. New price points: 50p, £2 and £5 Poundland has introduced three new price points – 50p, £2 and £5 – taking it from a single-price retailer to a multi-price retailer […]
Reliance Jio’s New Pricing Will Continue To Bleed Industry: COAI | The Wire
New Delhi: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said that Reliance Jio’s latest pricing strategy will continue to bleed the telecom industry and that there is risk of a cascading impact on banks and other institutions that have large exposure to the telecom sector. COAI said that while the move towards lower pricing […]
Connecting the dots | PMLiVE
In this post-Brexit, post-Trump, populist environment, the view is that everything is interrelated. The world is getting smaller. Things that happen ‘here’ impact what happens ‘there’. Six degrees of separation. A massive game of dominoes. The Arab Spring shows us that change starts from the bottom up which triggers, perhaps, a smouldering discontent in the […]
Analysis: Will Poundland’s multi-price punt pay off? | Retail Week
Poundland unveiled its plans to expand its price proposition and widen its in-store product offering. Will the move inspire or alienate its shoppers? The discount retailer has dabbled with multi-price products over the years, but this week the business planted its flag in the ground and introduced 50p, £2 and £5 price points. The move […]
EU Commissioner Warns Companies of Potentially Unlawful Use of Pricing Algorithms | The National Law Review
Commissioner Vestager’s speech comes amidst increased enforcement into online practices and mirrors the concerns and recent enforcement activity by national competition authorities. In August 2016, the UK Competition and Markets Authority issued an infringement decision against two online sellers of poster and frames for using automated re-pricing software to implement their price-fixing agreement. The German […]
Mindbody acquires Lymber Wellness, building on Google partnership | The Tribune
MindBody, the San Luis Obispo-based company that provides software for health and wellness businesses, reached a new level of success this week with the acquisition of a San Diego-based tech company and the launch of a partnership with Google. The local tech company acquired Lymber Wellness for its intellectual property: software that allows health and […]
Genetic Technologies Revamps Patient Pricing and Billing Program for BREVAGenplus(R) | Yahoo! Finance
“We are excited to implement this streamlined payment system as it dramatically simplifies the cost side of the equation for patients and makes it easy for physicians and their staff to answer questions regarding cost before sample collection. Additionally, transitioning to a direct patient self-pay program provides us with a defined marketing message for our […]
New John Lewis boss warns of further job cuts and price rises | The Guardian
The new boss of the John Lewis department store chain has warned of more job cuts this year and possible price rises as she said shoppers’ behaviour was changing “profoundly and fast”. Paula Nickolds, who took charge of middle England’s favourite store three months ago, said the department store needed to modernise and become more […]
Wrigley Field parking ‘surge pricing’ is on slippery slope to price gouging | Chicago Tribune
The urge to surge price is upon us, so get ready to pay up and up. One of the more glaring examples of local “surge pricing” emerges next Monday around Wrigley Field, just in time for the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs’ home opener. Taking advantage of anticipated sky-high demand for parking, the city […]
How a $37,000-a-year medicine sets a good model for drug pricing | STAT
He vowed to price the medicine “responsibly” and avoid the anger that high drug prices have stirred. “You’ll get to judge me and see how we do,” he told me. To his credit, Schleifer appears to have delivered. The drug, called Dupixent, has a list price of $37,000 a year. This isn’t cheap. But Regeneron […]
Iliad plans cutthroat pricing for Italy launch | Mobile World Live
Iliad is preparing to deploy the same aggressive pricing tactics and contract strategy which saw its Free brand shake up the French market when it launches in Italy, Reuters reported. The company is expected to launch its Italian brand later this year or early 2018, using assets sold to it as part of a deal to merge the […]
ComfortDelGro taxis to offer flat fares from next Monday | The Straits Times
The flat fare option computes fares and flashes this ahead of a trip, taking into account the distance to be travelled and all existing surcharges, including the booking fee. “Once a flat fare is chosen, there will be no additional surcharges unless the passenger changes the destination point or makes unplanned stops along the way,” […]
Strategies for Navigating a Cluttered App Marketplace | TG Daily
With a combined 4.2 million apps to choose from between the Apple and Android app stores, the marketplace for mobile applications has exponentially become more and more cluttered with competition. According to a study by Statista, mobile app revenues reached $41.1 billion worldwide in 2015 and profits are projected to exceed $101.1 billion by 2020. […]
Mortgage Loan Pricing Optimization for Building Societies | FICO
One of the hottest analytic technologies in mortgage lending is price optimization. This is the application of advanced analytics to pricing strategies, in order to determine the ideal price for every customer that maximizes profitability, given factors such as take-up, affordability, etc. That’s great for banks, but what about building societies and credit unions? If […]
Pricing Page Optimization: How to Order Pricing Plans [Original Research] | ConversionXL
How do you order your pricing page: Cheap-to-expensive? Expensive-to-cheap? Randomly? This study, conducted through ConversionXL Institute, is the first of a multi-part pricing page study providing data on how people consume pricing plans depending on the plan’s layout design. For this first study, we manipulated the pricing page for a survey tool, SurveyGizmo, to see if there are different patterns […]
Alectra Utilities recognized as ‘Thought Leader’ for pricing pilot | Market Wired
NASHVILLE, TN–(Marketwired – April 05, 2017) – Alectra Utilities was acknowledged for its innovative, industry-leading work at the Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA) conference held Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, receiving a Thought Leader award in recognition of the success of the company’s Advantage Power Pricing (APP) pilot. In partnership with Energate Inc., and funding from […]
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Rethinks Pricing Strategy for Its Next Flagship iPhone | Smart Stock News
Hence, the rumor mills have been vocal regarding Apple’s next flagship handset arriving with a $1,000 price tag, to make it the most expensive iPhone variant ever. However, a recent report from UBS has stated that Apple is set to revamp its 2017 iPhone pricing strategy following the arrival of Samsung’s latest Galaxy handset. Samsung, […]
An Introduction to Raising Your Self-Storage Rental Rates | Inside Self-Storage
What is revenue management? Simply put, it means thinking about how to maximize your self-storage facility’s rental rates while maintaining high occupancy levels. Follow the advice below to build a solid revenue-management plan to keep your rental rates in line with your specific market. Street Rates How do your prices stack up against your competitors? […]
MedPAC Recommends New Part B Pricing System | Medpage Today
WASHINGTON — The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted unanimously Thursday to recommend a competitive pricing program and make other changes to reimbursement for drugs under Part B of the Medicare program. “Medicare, as a large third-party payer, always needs to take steps to make sure it’s paying the right amount,” said commission member Paul […]
Major oil marketing companies mull daily fuel price change | Business Standard News
India’s state-run oil marketing companies, which control over 90 per cent of the retail fuel market in the country, are mulling a plan that would allow daily changes in the price of automotive fuels, Economic Times reported on Friday. State-owned and India’s biggest oil marketing company Indian Oil Corp Ltd and its two smaller peers […]
How your pricing policy affects your sales | Intelligence Node
Price optimization is one of the key factors in every business operation as it can raise prices whilst improving sales volumes at the same time. Savvy pricing managers will implement it and focus on building their business to cater to the most profitable customer. However, that sounds easier in theory than it is in practice […]
Pricing: Science Tells Us When, and How Often, Sales Reps Should Talk About It. | Gong
What analyzing 25,537 sales calls using AI tells us about pricing discussions during sales calls In Gong’s conversation science research series, we’re revealing what we’ve discovered from analyzing massive amounts of recorded B2B sales conversations using AI, speech-to-text, and machine learning technology. For more information on how we conduct this sales conversation data analysis, check […]
Saudi Aramco Cuts Oil Pricing for Europe Where Russia Dominates | Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s pricing in Europe caught Russia’s attention less than two years ago before the two nations started talks to curb crude output. State-run Rosneft PJSC, Russia’s biggest crude supplier, in 2015 said the Saudis were “dumping’’ in Europe to expand market share. There is a risk price wars may resume in Europe, raising the […]
WHO Advisory Group Report On Fair Pricing Forum Released | Intellectual Property Watch
The report from a meeting of a World Health Organization informal advisory group on challenges of medicines pricing and organising a Fair Pricing Forum this spring has been made public. The report shows the analysis and assertions of the diverse group, as well as questions and plans to take forward. The informal advisory group met […]