Warning to online retailers to keep up with competitors

With online purchases expected to hit their seasonal peak on Monday, retailers are in danger of losing vital sales by failing to keep up with their competitors’ pricing strategies, an online retail expert has warned.

The final Monday in November – dubbed ‘Cyber Monday’ – is believed to be the busiest online shopping day in the run-up to Christmas. Major online brands are preparing to slash their prices in an attempt to secure and extend their market share on 28 November and in the subsequent weeks before the festive period.

However, Andrew Senior, CEO of Skuuudle – a provider of competitive intelligence and price automation services – has warned that many online retailers may not be able to keep up with competitors due to the extent of expected price cutting.

He predicts that as a result of price cuts by retailers, an individual retailer’s pricing strategy on top products could have to change twice on Monday and up to 10 times before Christmas. He adds that pricing strategies on certain products and catalogues may change many more times before the end of the festive trading period.

He said: “The online retail market continues to grow at a rapid pace and retailers are facing increasing competition for a share of the market. Many organisations will have teams dedicated to monitoring online prices, but price changes in this marketplace often occur so quickly that reacting to these can be an impossible job.

“Retailers will struggle to keep in touch with their competitors, with thousands of prices on products likely to fluctuate on ‘Cyber Monday’ – and perhaps even more so in the weeks to come. This period is make-or-break for many companies, therefore, it’s vital that they’re able to get their pricing strategies right to enable them to reap the festive rewards.”

He added: “Automated pricing technology, which automatically adjusts prices within specified business rules when a competitor changes their prices on products, can be used by retailers to help them gain a bigger share of the market.”