More Online Pricing Wars: Black Friday and Automobiles

With the economy uncertain, consumers have been increasingly less likely to spend money as freely as in recent past. This is a problem for retailers who depend on these six weeks to fix their profits for the rest of the year. Retailers are vying for the business of a shrinking consumer pool with shrinking funds, and the competition is as fierce online as in brick and mortar stores (where a Wal Mart employee was trampled to death the day after Thanksgiving by eager shoppers looking for the cheapest prices on high demand electronics):

"According to CNBC, Amazon's strategy is to use very low prices as a way of stopping competitors like eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) dead in their electronic tracks. This Christmas season, retailers, whether online or not, may find themselves in a no-win situation. They have to lower prices to encourage people to shop. But quality growth in top-line sales is questionable. When managements see the bad news flow about the global recession, they become scared and want to become even more aggressive in terms of pricing. The strategy may work and it may not. It's a vicious circle."

"Will Amazon win with its pricing strategy?"

In the vein of PriceSpider, a new website just launched which aggregates car prices around the country and helps consumers find the best deal:

"The founder of Autobrag.com, a website that searches for the best car prices, says he can help the ailing auto industry by pointing his customers toward the lowest-price deals.

Autobrag.com has amassed a database of 9,000 dealers nationwide that offer no-haggle pricing. The site uses the data to tell users what they should expect to pay for cars. When a user enters a make and model, Autobrag lists the no-haggle price and dealers offering the model within a certain radius of their zip code.

The service, launched in March 2006 with 140 dealers, now attracts 12,000 unique visitors a month, says CEO Danny Chan. And starting this week, Autobrag users can make bids on the cars through a new service, "The Braggler."

"Car Pricing Web Site Trying to Find Road to Profits"

Any retail pricers out there employing creative pricing strategies in this crucial time of year? Share your thoughts and experiences! Warmly, EM