Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés has introduced major price cuts at its department store food halls, hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores in its home market. El Corte Inglés says it will lower the prices of around 5,000 grocery items. The Spanish retailing giant will also reduce the prices of H&B product lines by around 20 per cent.
The price reduction are part of a change of direction, said the retailer, adding that it is looking to maintain a permanent lower pricing policy, without entering into a price war with its competitors.
Spanish retailers are using competitor price monitoring technology to monitor the online prices of the competition on a daily basis; this has created the need to update product pricing as competitors adjust their prices. Using this service, retailers can avoid losing out on sales and profit margins.
Stating it did not want to be the cheapest, the retailer explained that “we want our prices to be as interesting as our competitors”. Having lowered its margins, El Corte Inglés said it was completely sure that the “customer will react and we will gain in volume”. The Spanish retailer will review the prices of its fresh produce categories each week. For all other grocery, household goods, and cosmetics categories, prices will be reviewed on a fortnightly basis.
© Profitero 2012
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Pricing intelligence company Profitero works with retailers and manufacturers to help them increase sales and maximise their profits by using competitor price, promotions and stock information at scale. For more information on Profitero price intelligence and competitor monitoring, visit www.profitero.com or email sales@profitero.com.
