Re: UKNM: Price matching

[Steve Bowbrick]

At 16:33 07/10/98 +0100, you wrote:

>Just a curious note -- one of the employees at the Excite office has taken

>it upon himself to find out whether high street brands will continue their

>price-matching policies for online -- John Lewis say yea, Dixons say nay.  I

>wonder what the future holds?


Top of my head? Price pledges work in the real world because price

comparison is quite hard to do (ever bought a TV in shop A only to learn it

was cheaper in shop B NEXT DOOR later?). Price comparison is easy online -

and getting easier thanks to Excite et al so we'll see conflicting pressures:


1. Punter compares prices, then goes to Favourite Supplier and asks them to

match the best.


Then, either:


2. Favourite Supplier feels disinclined to match price since ease of

comparison online has increased the number of whinging punters and makes

trading uneconomical. FS withdraws from game.


or:


3. Favourite supplier will take this opportunity to a) make the sale and b)

make a friend for life of whinging punter by matching the price. FS raises

stakes.


Given the inevitability of easier, more comprehensive price comparison, I

vote for scenario 3. In fact I anticipate a wave of suppliers offering to

do the comparison for you or at least semi-automate it by offering whinging

punter the opportunity to enter URL of cheaper product for instant verdict.

Then, even if FS doesn't make the sale or is disinclined to match mad

price, data capture has occurred and dialogue is open... Bingo.


s

--

Steve Bowbrick                                    Webmedia Group

0171 292 5545                                       0468 257 570




http://www.webmedia.com/steve

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