CINCINNATI – KSS Retail, from dunnhumby, today unveiled a major update to its industry-leading PriceStrat® price and promotion optimization solution for merchandising and category management teams. PriceStrat version 5.4 boasts new automation capabilities and advancements in efficiency and flexibility, enabling omnichannel retailers to conduct faster “what-if” planning, and more effectively use pricing and promotions as a competitive advantage in the race to win shopper loyalty.
Retailers of fast-moving consumer goods face challenges setting the right prices in a market where key variables are constantly changing. They need to stay price-competitive, particularly in the product categories where shoppers are most price-sensitive, or risk losing customers, according to industry analysts. Inaccurate or outdated data on supplier costs or competitor prices can have a major business impact, so responding quickly to market fluctuations is a strategic imperative.With the new Automated Pricing module available now in PriceStrat 5.4, merchants can seamlessly bring in updated costs or competitive data from third-party sources, and then according to predefined pricing policies, execute price changes dynamically. Retailers can also set up rules and alerts that identify when price changes require management review and consideration. This straight-through processing capability eliminates much of the manual work that slows down organizational responsiveness. Automated Pricing also signals managers when prices fall out of compliance with predefined targets. This enables organizations to move away from the traditional practice of re-optimizing categories based on a calendar system, and instead rely on their own data on shopper behavior to reveal when adjustments should be made to unlock market potential.
In addition, PriceStrat 5.4 continues to deliver on KSS Retail’s emphasis on productivity and ease of use for pricing teams, with enhancements that make day-to-day pricing and promotion optimization activities faster and more intuitive. By streamlining tasks and improving efficiency, merchants can focus on making strategic decisions based on data insights. With PriceStrat 5.4, retailers can now:
- Simulate the impact of baseline cost and retail changes more easily during “what-if” planning, and better incorporate actual customer expectations
- Gain clearer visibility into the decisions required to maintain profit and gross margin targets while delivering greater shopper value
- Improve Competitive Price Index scores by replacing legacy “one-size-fits-all” rules with precise, dynamic data sets and rules customized to each price zone or sales channel
- Increase sales of slow-moving items through more accurate forecasting capabilities
- Support a broader range of currency denominations to help global businesses extend into new markets
“As we face tough competition, we are looking forward to taking advantage of the new Automated Pricing functionality in PriceStrat 5.4 to help us respond quickly and deliver competitive pricing to our shoppers,” said Kent Butterfield, Director of Pricing with Associated Food Stores, a regional grocery retail and wholesale chain based in Salt Lake City. “PriceStrat 5.4 will help us not only make faster, more informed decisions about price and promotion across the organization, but will also help streamline the way we work, ultimately saving us significant time and effort,” Butterfield continued.
“In an increasingly transparent consumer marketplace, shoppers have more access to price information than ever. That’s why the new features in PriceStrat 5.4 are focused on helping retailers accelerate the pace at which they are able to adapt their pricing strategy in response to customer and competitor activity,” said Yael Cosset, CEO of KSS Retail. “With industry-leading science that’s already been proven and tested in some of the world’s top retail organizations, PriceStrat 5.4 takes predictive mining of shopper data to the next level – ultimately enabling organizations to quickly roll out prices and promotions that are highly relevant and tailored to each of their markets, whether online or offline, in any part of the world.”
About KSS Retail
KSS Retail, from dunnhumby, is the premier global provider of price optimization and shopper insight solutions for the grocery, convenience, chain drug, general and online retail industries. Retailers use KSS Retail software and professional services to better understand their shopper’s needs, and to deliver more effective pricing, promotions and merchandising decisions. KSS Retail clients consistently achieve improved market share, sales and profit growth, and enhanced competitive positioning. Current clients include Kroger, Tesco, 7-Eleven, O’Reilly Auto Parts, BI-LO, Spartan Stores, Sonae, Raley’s, United Supermarkets, ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, and many others. For more information, visit www.KSSRetail.com.
Source: KSS Retail
