What are pricing professionals struggling with most in 2026?
To find out, we asked members of the Dynamic Pricing Community, a curated network of pricing leaders in B2C retail, one simple question:
“If you could solve one pricing challenge today, what would it be?”
The responses were collected throughout 2025 and came from a diverse range of industries, company sizes, and pricing models. Some focused on automation, others on discount strategy, segmentation, forecasting, or cross-functional communication. We reviewed every response and grouped them into seven distinct categories.
Below is the result, giving a visual snapshot of the most pressing pricing challenges professionals are facing today:
Top pricing challenges of 2026
Based on responses from members of the Dynamic Pricing Community
Challenge category | % of responses |
Pricing data and forecasting | 23% |
Profitability vs. competitiveness | 23% |
Price optimization and personalization | 20% |
Automation and scalability | 10% |
Segmentation and differentiation | 10% |
Discounting and promotion strategy | 7% |
Communication and governance | 7% |
These categories reflect the top priorities for pricing teams across industries in 2026. Below, we’ve selected representative quotes for each challenge and provided actionable answers on how to solve them, backed by real-world experience and AI pricing strategies.
Pricing data and forecasting
“Our elasticity data isn’t reliable enough to support confident pricing decisions.”
Our answer:
Lack of elasticity data is one of the most common blockers for pricing teams. However, this can now be addressed quickly with predictive tools that simulate price impact on demand, margin, and returns. A/B tests are helpful but limited in scope. Modern AI pricing platforms provide product-level elasticity insights at scale, helping you make pricing decisions that support long-term profit goals.
Profitability vs. competitiveness
“We’re under constant pressure to stay price-competitive while still delivering sustainable profit.”
Our answer:
Instead of competing on price alone, retailers should focus on value-based pricing. With the correct segmentation and forecasting models, you can hold margins while retaining customers by aligning prices with perceived value. Tools that combine elasticity, market benchmarking, and promotion ROI analysis allow for more confident decisions.
Price optimization and personalization
“We’re trying to find the right price for the right product, at the right time, across multiple markets.”
Our answer:
Modern price optimization should be about predicting outcomes, not following rigid rules. Using AI-driven pricing software, you can model price sensitivity, forecast sales impact, and set the optimal price for each product at a specific time, channel, or customer segment.
Automation and scalability
“Maintaining manual pricing rules for thousands of SKUs is no longer sustainable.”
Our answer:
Your pricing operations should scale with your assortment complexity and business growth. Leading teams are automating up to 80 percent of pricing decisions while retaining control through override logic and business rules. With AI, you reduce manual workload, eliminate errors, and roll out price updates faster across markets, categories, or customer segments.
Segmentation and differentiation
“One price no longer fits all customers, markets, or channels.”
Our answer:
One-size-fits-all pricing is no longer viable. Effective segmentation requires both smart strategy and powerful data infrastructure. The most successful pricing teams combine customer behavior, location, WTP (willingness to pay), and product characteristics to personalize pricing at scale, ethically and profitably.
Discounting and promotion strategy
“It’s hard to determine the right discount level without risking margin or brand value.”
Our answer:
Uncontrolled discounting is a major cause of margin loss. Rather than running blanket tests or copying competitors, use predictive discounting to model campaign outcomes by product, segment, and channel. This allows for smarter promotions that maximize ROI while maintaining brand positioning.
Communication and governance
“Finance, Pricing, Sales, and Marketing not being aligned can lead to lost value.”
Our answer:
Many pricing losses stem not from strategy but from miscommunication. Aligning teams around pricing goals, timelines, and systems is critical. High-performing organizations use centralized pricing systems, cross-functional governance, and regular pricing review rituals to keep teams aligned and accountable.
Turn pricing complexity into confident decisions
The pricing challenges highlighted in this report are not new, but their speed and impact have fundamentally changed. Pricing professionals across various industries face similar issues: growing assortments, faster market dynamics, margin pressure, and rising expectations for personalization and profitability.
These challenges are no longer isolated pricing problems. They intersect data quality, automation, organizational alignment, and strategic decision-making. Manual processes, static rules, and isolated tests can no longer keep pace with the complexity pricing teams are expected to manage.
Organizations can respond by shifting away from reactive pricing and toward predictive, outcome-driven decision-making. Instead of asking “What price should we set?”, they ask “What will happen if we do?” This shift enables teams to simulate outcomes, balance competitiveness with profitability, and scale pricing decisions with confidence.
Success now depends less on individual tactics and more on building systems that combine data, technology, and cross-functional collaboration. Those who invest in predictive capabilities and clear pricing governance today will be better positioned to create sustainable competitive advantage in 2026 and beyond.
Methodology
This report is based on anonymised responses from 34 pricing specialists within the exclusive Dynamic Pricing Community. Participants represent senior pricing, revenue management, and commercial roles across B2C retail. Responses were analysed qualitatively and grouped into recurring challenge areas.
