• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 24, 2019

About three-quarters of marketers and executives who determine prices for their company’s products are concerned more about Amazon undercutting their prices than their closest competitors, according to data released Wednesday.  

Specifically, 41% are very concerned about being outpriced by Amazon, and 31% are somewhat concerned. Some 49% are concerned about being outpriced by other brick-and-mortar retailers, and 42% of retailers have concerns about being outpriced by direct to consumer brands.

ActiveViam’s Pricing Strategy Survey of more than 500 senior pricing decision makers and executives at retailers with 100 or more employees from May 21 through June 2, 2019 shows respondents also are concerned about data quality and accuracy.

The findings suggest 55% of respondents are concerned about the accuracy and quality of their own pricing data, and 61% are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about not being able to optimize price quickly enough to stay competitive.

About 33% said they have no price optimization tools. When it comes to quickly optimizing pricing, 44% are not very concerned and 14% are not concerned at all.

Retailers also are concerned with the pricing data quality that their organization receives -- either inaccurate or incomplete -- while only 19% are very concerned, 31% are somewhat concerned. About 35% are not very concerned, and 16% are not concerned at all.

When asked to name their biggest challenge when it comes to managing their pricing strategy, 40% of respondents cited aligning pricing strategies between channels. This is followed by lack of insight into competitor pricing at 23%, a lack of proper tools to easily adjust pricing quickly at 20%, and geo-based pricing at 13%.

Remaining competitive on price requires more than just an understanding of facts and figures and marketing skills. It requires setting -- and staying true to -- the brand’s “price-image,” consistent prices that portray the overall brand image, according to the study.

Still, 52% of respondents have concerns about their company’s ability to maintain the proper price-image. About 48% are either not very concerned or not concerned at all.