It’s no secret that setting prices that end in “99” give the perception of a lower price. .99 or 99 cents is under a dollar. And $4.99 is under $5. Retailers will often “round” prices up or down to end in 9’s, 5’s or 0’s but this tactic has an undesired consequence. This tactic can be used to improve margin by a few basis points. The downside, however is that this facilitates consumer price recall. Read More...

This is an interesting question and topic that can stir a heated debate. Is it the retailer, the manufacturer or the consumer? Well, there are three legs to this stool and all of them keep the stool standing. Read More...

Do you have trouble “selling” a price increase to the trade? Are you afraid of losing share and volume if you increase your prices? If you raise your price, will the competition follow? Should I downsize a package instead of raising the price? Is there a “best time” to announce a price increase? These are the type of questions confronting CPG manufacturers every day. Read More...

May 11, 2011 - LOS ANGELES, CA
Pricing U or Pricing University launches today, a blog devoted to the topic of pricing for the CPG industry. Pricing in CPG has been a hot topic for over ten years now. Software companies have developed sophisticated tools to do pricing analytics, rules based pricing, and price optimization. Strategic pricing has matured and grown up from the early days around Y2K. Dozens of books have been written on pricing strategy and consulting firms offer pricing capabilities charging clients thousands of dollars for advice. Read More...