Sunday, April 4, 2010

Price Competition

Price competition deals with emphasizing price and matching or beating competitor's prices. In todays economy many people are struggling to make ends meet. With this being case many companies have become more aware of their prices and have adjusted them so they themselves can stay in business. Despite the economy weighing heavily on retail stores these stores need to also keep in mind the online markets as well. In today's society the internet makes almost any item you would ever need available to you in numerous ways and in each of these ways at a different price. Many people can even buy items they are looking for from web sites like Craig's List and Ebay rather than going to the suppliers themselves. Although these items may be slightly used they are still sold for significantly less. With this being the case it makes it extremely difficult for suppliers to compete.
A technique used by stores to stay competitive includes price matching. However, even some stores cannot keep up with online prices. I know, for example, the store I work at will not price match with online prices. This is because often times the online store's prices do not account for shipping and things like that that ultimately need to be factored into the price we charge in the store. The store I work at does price match prices from fliers of other stores and I have also been in numerous stores that say they will price match.
With the Internet being such a prominent force in the way we purchase our goods how can companies that are not online compete with these low prices? What are some other pricing techniques a company could use besides price matching?



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