Christmas Lockdown: Get Your Pricing Sorted!

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In this episode, Philip and Rob detail how eCommerce businesses can adapt their pricing to survive lockdown. Plus they share the importance of supply chain visibility during these challenging times.

Hosts: Philip Huthwaite (CEO & Founder of BlackCurve) and Rob Horton (Product Director at BlackCurve).

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Full Episode

How to Approach Pricing in Lockdown

Fun Video

Podcast Summary

Spending Considerations during Lockdown

Rob and Philip discuss the dilemma of whether to spend money on a ski trip or invest in home improvements during a potential extended period of rolling lockdown. They mention the trend of individuals redirecting disposable income towards personal investments and exploring platforms like AJ Bell for personal investment opportunities.

Learning to Play the Piano

Rob shares his interest in learning to play the piano and mentions using an app for practice. He talks about his experience with an electric piano he received as a gift and his desire to progress beyond the beginner level and learn songs he knows and enjoys.

The Importance of Automating Pricing Decisions

Rob emphasizes the need for automation in pricing decisions, particularly when dealing with variable supply chains and rapidly changing stock prices. He highlights the benefits of automating cost price changes and the potential loss of opportunities if pricing adjustments are not made promptly.

Automating Competitive Pricing Strategies

Rob and Philip discuss the significance of automating competitive pricing strategies based on real-time market data. They highlight the potential risks of blindly matching competitors' prices and the importance of distinguishing between true competitors and non-representative data sources.

Challenges and Opportunities in a Lockdown

The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities faced by retailers during a lockdown. They discuss the possibility of a race to the top or a race to the bottom in pricing decisions, depending on supply and demand dynamics. They emphasize the need for retailers to focus on their own supply and demand data to inform pricing strategies.

Adjusting Pricing Decisions during Market Discontinuity

Rob explains the challenges of predicting market shifts during times of market discontinuity, such as a lockdown. He highlights the limitations of machine learning algorithms in handling such unpredictable situations and emphasizes the importance of human intervention in pricing decisions.

Investing in Automation and Data-Driven Pricing

The conversation stresses the importance of investing in automation and data-driven pricing strategies. They discuss how companies that performed well during the previous lockdown likely invested in automation and made pricing decisions based on supply and demand dynamics.

Leveraging Automation and Real-Time Data

They discuss the benefits of leveraging automation to streamline pricing decisions, improve business efficiency, and utilize real-time data. They also emphasize the role of data in determining marketing spend and making informed decisions about where to allocate resources based on sales and demand trends.