Amazon and Sears are the most price-dynamic retailers, changing prices on 15% to 20% of their product assortment daily during normal shopping periods, according to research from 360pi. These figures can double during heavy shopping periods, particularly during the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.
On the other end of the spectrum, the least price-dynamic retailers included Apple and Staples. These retailers changed prices on nearly 0% of their products. The research indicates that price dynamism varies for the majority of retailers during normal shopping periods, falling between 0% to 5% and 15% to 20%. Walmart falls into this range, as it changes prices on 6% to 8% of its assortment on a daily basis.
Depending on the retailer, price changes are usually enforced differently throughout the week. Amazon disperses many of its price changes throughout the entire week, while Sears has the most changes on Tuesday and Thursday, according to 360pi. Costco and h.h. gregg make the majority of their price changes over the weekend, while Target changes prices most frequently on Tuesday and Saturday.
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Prices can be changed multiple times throughout the day, as well. For example, the price of a Linksys dual-band wireless-AC router on Amazon actually changed eight times on April 29, 2014, ranging from nearly $200 to under $185. Price changes tend to be applied to keep pace with competitors’ prices of the same product. Lowe’s, for instance, raised and lowered the price of a French Door Refrigerator within two hours of Home Depot’s initial price changes of the same product.
Click here to access the complete report from 360pi.
