One of the most crucial choices you\’ll have to make in order
to create a successful company is how much to charge for your goods. Price
errors in either direction can easily drive you out of business, while a
successful pricing plan will result in a profit margin that can support and
expand your organization.
However, there are some circumstances in which \”too
low\” product prices might actually work to increase sales and overall
profits. This strategy is called a loss leader price. Continue reading to
discover loss leader pricing tactics and how to use them in your company.
What does a loss leader price mean?
Loss leader pricing is a marketing technique that lowers
product prices than what it costs to create them in order to draw in new
customers or encourage existing ones to buy more things. When businesses are
trying to expand their market share or enter new markets, they frequently adopt
loss leader pricing.
Retailers always anticipate that once customers enter the
store, they will also buy other things that are being sold at full retail
price. In most cases, the gains from those extra purchases outweigh the losses
from the first.
Examples of loss leader pricing
Various techniques can be utilized in a loss leader strategy
across a variety of industries to draw customers and increase market share.
Here are a few instances of typical loss leaders.
Holiday bargains
Consider all the outrageous discounts that shops provide on
Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving in the United States. Retailers
will advertise products being sold at a fraction of their market price as an
inducement for customers to shop there rather than with a competitor starting
at dawn (and even earlier at some places).
Groceries shops
Because milk is typically kept in refrigerated units at the
far rear of supermarkets, milk is frequently used as a loss leader in grocery
shops. Even if milk isn\’t sold at a loss, luring people into the store so
they\’ll buy milk is probably going to improve sales of other items through the
power of retail psychology as they make their way back through the aisles to
the cash registers.
Electronics
In a long-term price plan, even expensive things like
electronics might act as loss leaders. For instance, many inkjet printers are
marketed below cost or at a low profit margin so that the producers can recoup
their ink cartridge expenses. In a similar vein, video game consoles are
well-known \”loss leaders,\” designed to draw users into their ecosystem
of products so that console manufacturers may charge more for games,
controllers, and other ancillaries.
Fresh brands
A loss leader pricing strategy can help new businesses (or
established businesses launching a new product or service) stand out in a
crowded market? This strategy, also known as penetration pricing, is frequently
used over a protracted initial time before being reduced as a brand\’s client
base expands.
How do cherry pickers work?
Customers known as \”cherry pickers\” could cause problems
for retailers who use loss leader pricing. Cherry pickers are clients who only
purchase loss leaders in order to get the best deals and then leave
empty-handed.
Because they don\’t purchase additional full-priced things
while they are in the store, these customers are a problem for retailers. So
time those customers shop, the stores actually lose money. The number of sale
products that can be bought at once has been restricted by numerous businesses
as a result.
Tips for using loss leader pricing in
your company
Loss leader pricing can work well for an online store or
ecommerce firm, even though it is most frequently employed in retail
environments. These suggestions can help you implement a loss leader pricing
plan in your company.
Excess inventory: If you overestimated demand for a product,
you could want to use it as a loss leader by decreasing it to market cost or
less. This could potentially increase sales of other products while allowing
you to liquidate inventory that would otherwise collect dust in your warehouse.
Consider items like dusters and razors when thinking about
consumables and replacement parts: Because they can set a considerably greater
profit margin for subsequent sales of new blades and duster heads, companies
like Gillette and Swiffer are delighted to sell their products at a loss. If
the components of your items are reusable or replaceable, you might want to
think about including loss leader pricing in your marketing plan.
Recommendations for the product page or cart: Your loss
leader can be used to increase sales of other products in your store by making
timely recommendations to customers of complimentary or pertinent products,
just like the milk at the back of the grocery store.
Business analytics: Loss leader pricing can increase client
activity on your website and in response to your advertising campaigns,
providing you with crucial information about the effectiveness and reach of
your marketing initiatives. You can track a variety of client actions by
promoting a loss leader product through a sale or coupon, which will enable you
to use concrete data to support your marketing expenditures.