The 15th Dynamic Pricing Community event featured Danilo Zatta, PhD, MBA, author of ‘The 10 Rules of Highly Effective Pricing’, and Florian Serr, Head of Pricing at MediaMarktSaturn, who discussed one of the most pressing challenges in modern pricing—avoiding destructive price wars. With case studies, expert presentations, and an interactive Q&A session, we explored how companies can sustain profitability without engaging in unsustainable price battles.
Community growth & upcoming initiatives
Our community continues to thrive, with 25 hand-selected members joining in the past month. A big welcome to our newest pricing professionals!
Looking ahead, we’re currently preparing for for:
🔹 A wide-ranging industry report on fashion discounts (to be released in March)
🔹 E-commerce Berlin Expo, where we’ll celebrate three years of the Dynamic Pricing Community 🎉 with champagne, cake, and surprises!
Key takeaways from DPC vol. 15
Price wars are everywhere—but should you engage?
Danilo Zatta, pricing expert & author, kicked off the event with insights on the rising number of price wars in automotive, cloud services, fast food, and retail. He dissected how companies like Tesla, Lidl, and IKEA have engaged in competitive pricing battles—and why price wars tend to only drive down industry margins.
Key lesson: Instead of reacting impulsively, companies should focus on value-based differentiation.
Preventing price wars before they start
Danilo shared practical preemptive strategies to avoid price wars:
- Foster a culture of value—position products around quality rather than price (e.g., 3M rewards sales teams for pricing discipline).
- Communicate pricing intentions clearly—leaders in an industry can set the tone for stable pricing (e.g., Maersk’s strategy in shipping).
- Highlight the risks of low prices—customers may sacrifice reliability, service, or quality when choosing the cheapest option (e.g., UPS promotes its reliability over low-cost competitors).
- Reward margin over volume—align sales incentives with profitability, not just revenue.
Competitive pricing strategies
Florian Serr (MediaMarktSaturn) presented a real-time competitive pricing strategy that moves beyond traditional daily price updates.
- Real-time tracking: Competitor pricing isn’t just monitored daily, but several times per hour to understand trends.
- Active pricing: Prices are strategically changed in small increments to test whether competitors follow.
- AI-powered predictions: Using AI models, they determine the best timing for price adjustments, boosting success rates from 10% to 30%.
Adapting to competitor price moves
If a single competitor reacts to a price change but others don’t, should you follow? It depends on the market, elasticity, and competitive positioning.
Manufacturers play a role in fueling price wars through volume-based rebates to retailers—adjusting trade terms can help stabilize pricing.
Some businesses target discounts only to specific customers rather than lowering public prices, protecting brand value (e.g., Nespresso’s customer reactivation offers).
Final thoughts & what's next
Price wars don’t have to be inevitable. Companies that leverage data, AI, and strategic price positioning can maintain profitability without slashing margins.
Want to join our next webinar? Sign up for the Dynamic Pricing Community before March 7th, where we’ll discuss fashion discounting trends based on new data analysis.
