{"id":9667,"date":"2019-03-05T12:23:52","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T17:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retailsystem.com\/cz\/?p=9667"},"modified":"2019-07-03T14:52:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T19:52:06","slug":"to-price-or-not-to-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retailsystem.com\/cz\/blog\/to-price-or-not-to-price\/","title":{"rendered":"To price or not to price"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTo price or not to price, that is the question<\/em>\u201d. It sounds like a modern version of Hamlet<\/em>, but this time spoken by a traditional retailer. And it is time for retailers to face change rather than run away from the consumer. We see it all the time, traditional brick and mortar furniture and mattress retailers not pricing products they carry on their websites. Their reasons are \u201cobvious\u201d (tongue in cheek) \u2013 but they are misguided.<\/p>\n

\"\"During a presentation I was making at the Casual Conference in Chicago, I was discussing the steps retailers must take in their ongoing omnichannel journey. When I started to discuss having prices on the website \u2013 I noticed a growing murmur in the audience. Rather than continue \u2013 I asked quite openly; \u201cI noticed that my last comment caused some side conversations; I would love to open that topic up for discussion\u201d. A quick note – this was not my first rodeo on this topic \u2013 I wanted the latest and greatest from this group. The next 15 minutes was a pretty defining as it became clear to all the gap between a retailer\u2019s mindset and the expectations of a consumer.<\/p>\n

Before we dive in further – let\u2019s hit pause and set the stage a bit by discussing a few basics of the customer journey. This level setting will allow this topic to hopefully inspire thought-provoking openness. Not guard up, gloves up let\u2019s rumble retailer pride induced close-mindedness. Be a consumer. Consumer hat. Think about your last purchase (besides milk or gas). It is indisputable that most consumers (I would love to say all) begin their next purchase in some fashion online. Whether it is to browse, research, gain insight, validate range and wants and options; a mix of all and more. Consumers are information loaded more than they ever were. Its bold, its profound, and it is a reality. Certain channels and industries more than others \u2013 but it\u2019s an undeniable fact. Let\u2019s keep the consumer hat on \u2013 and focus on today\u2019s topic. Price. If you are a consumer \u2013 doing your thing online; and come to a product on a website that you carefully navigated, and it doesn\u2019t have a price \u2013 what do you do BOUNCE. And you bounced WAY quicker than I could type the word BOUNCE! If you don\u2019t know what bounce is, in web terms it is to leave a page insanely fast due to its lack of delivering on its desired purpose (your purpose). A tidbit of extra uh oh – visitors usually bounce to another website.<\/p>\n

Back to my audience in Chicago – Why don\u2019t these traditional retailers show price on their websites. Using buckets \u2013 I broke down the audience commentary:<\/p>\n