If we think about what drives shoppers into the stores, the answer is not the website or store, it is the price! It is the ability to make a price matching comparison, find the lowest prices, and get the best deals what keep them coming. In a nutshell, prices are always on the mind of the customers. Furthermore, many consumers mention that the reason for buying online is the ability to compare prices.

Now, for a retail business, this means that they are constantly looking for the best pricing strategy in order to appeal to the target audience. One such helpful strategy is price matching. For price matching, it is important to be aware of the prices charged by  competitors with the help of competitor price tracking.

In today’s article, we will acknowledge the fact that there are many aspects to price matching. And WebDataGuru provides one of the best platforms for price matching irrespective of the business or industry.

Let us dive right in.

What Is Price Matching?

First, the concept needs to be cleared.

Price matching is a retailer lowering the prices of its products for matching to another competitor in the same market. It enables the retailer in making the sale there and then. Most retailers have pre-decided rules about when they will practice price match. Whenever they decide to match the price, they can make use of the competitor price monitoring software.

To begin with, many offline retailers won’t match the price with online retailers. But businesses are now getting ahead and trying to find new ways to convert inquiries into sales.

Here are different ways a business can implement the price matching strategy. Let us have a look:

1. Standard Price Matching

It is a strategy where the seller sets the same price as the competitor. Now, competitive pricing is not new. But there are ways where a seller tries to match the offer price. Basically, many times it is by providing the same price and sometimes they try to match the price by increasing their service offers or enhanced product features. Everybody wants to convert leads into sales. And standard price matching is the oldest trick in the book. Competitor price monitoring helps derive the data on which the seller can compete with facts instead of going blindfolded.

2. Retroactive Price Matching

As per this type of strategy, the price matching is done for the products which have already been purchased by the consumers and then refunding them the price difference. Yes. This is done by many retailers. Here, the seller gets to have a good sales turnover and also provides the needed discount to the customer. Competitor price tracking helps in doing that. The software or tool helps you identify the key aspects that your customer goes for. Now, the cashbacks, purchase points or any other sort of reward can help in gaining the trust of the customer and retaining them for a longer time. It is all about understanding the reasons a customer can stay with your brand or product for a longer duration. And how does a retailer know about such things? With the help of effective tools like competitor price tracking and pricing intelligence. Competitor price monitoring paves the foundation for good competitive pricing and you can go for the price matching tool after that.

3. Price Beating

In this strategy, the business uses competitor price tracking and then sets a lower the price than the competitors before a customer approaches.

One of the main benefits of price matching strategy is that it offers the best price to the buyers and improved customer loyalty. It can lead to more purchases in the coming years. Price matching implemented via competitor price monitoring is a great idea in the present day and time.

Effective Strategies for Price Matching

1. Be Price Competitive

Being price competitive means, you don’t need to set the lowest price. It is essential to match the price for the product category which consumers are likely to buy online for better prices. Many customers are not looking for a lower price but for a fair price. If a retailer offers a fair price to buyers who are casually looking for a bargain, you are likely to win the sale every single time.

It is also suggested to not carry brands which are likely to be price-shopped easily online. The retailer must take into consideration the online pricing and the price from manufacturers before bringing in a new line or product in the store. There should be scope to be competitive. It is not recommended to invest in a line where you be undercut.

Having a good understanding of the pricing strategy is beneficial as it can help in increasing the margins.

2. Great Sales Team

The online price pressure can be eliminated with the help of a trained and experienced sales personnel. When the sales team knows the product well and understands how to engage with the customers, they can offer a great experience along with good price. Competitor price tracking can be utilized by your sales team in order to have efficient results without any hassles. WebDataGuru offers tools which is easier to access and use. So, empower your sales team with the best competitor price monitoring tool available in the market.

It goes a long way in tackling any kind of price objection. This is something which can be achieved with the help of training and revisiting your price goals at every stage of the product life cycle.

3. Loyalty Program

If someone talks about the price, you can explain to them that they can benefit from the same or the lower prices by joining the loyalty programs. And for that, you need to have a good loyalty program in place. For instance, Amazon Prime started off as a loyalty program but today it serves as a big sub-brand of the big eCommerce conglomerate. Loyalty programs can help brands build customer trust and also can turn them into new customers for a different segment. Now, that is smart business.

4. Price-matching Guarantee

Many stores in the retail industry use this strategy successfully. Again, it is not a guarantee for lowest price but for a price match! It means that if the customers find a lower price elsewhere, you will match the price. There might only be a few takers of the offer but will be able to eliminate all the price objections successfully.

These strategies can make the online price shopping a lesser trouble. Using these strategies can help in avoiding any pricing issues altogether.

Benefits of Price Matching

There are some of the biggest retailers in the market which use price matching with the help of different strategies. Here’s a look at the benefits of price matching:

1. Competitive Prices

One of the main questions bothering retailers is if their prices are competitive. The answer to it can be tricky. It takes a lot of effort and works to make sure that the prices are competitive. However, the efforts can be simplified a bit with competitor price tracking software. Though you keep an eye on the prices charged by the retailer, the responsibility is also passed on to the shoppers as they will spot the difference and bring it to your door. Then, the price match policy will offer a competitive price.

2. Boost Consumer Confidence

It is important to win the trust of the customers that you have their best interest in mind. Consumers are tech savvy and make decisions considering if the seller is reputable, fair, and honest. Price matching can help in boosting customer confidence in you. It is a good-faith initiative. You selling a product at a higher price but losing out on a few bucks to offer the best deal to the shoppers is a great way of winning the trust of buyers.

3. Improved Sales Figures

One of the biggest aims of retailers is to sell the products and price matching can positively impact the goals. Think from the buyer’s perspective. They are planning to buy a product from a retailer but find it online at a lower price. And they come to you to match that price. You can gain or lose sales based on your price matching policy. And everybody wants to have a positive impact on their lead conversions. It is always smarter to go for a strategy that helps your brand sell more.

If you wish to practice price matching, competitor price tracking plays a crucial role in the same. There are several competitor price monitoring tools present in the market and you can choose the one based on the features and budget.

Match Price to Become Unmatched

WebDataGuru can help you become unmatched in the cut-throat world of eCommerce. It is easier said than done but we can prove you by just providing results. Price matching is a need and competitor price tracking or competitor price monitoring can help you achieve that need in an efficient and noteworthy manner. Businesses need to step up to make a difference. As customers have numerous, smarter, easier and better choices today. So, to match their choices can be a task on hand that needs your attention, and for the rest, you can leave it to the experts! Book A Demo.