Since the Omnibus Directive went into effect, more and more customers have begun to pay attention to the price history of products. In this article, we discuss the value of price monitoring from the perspectives of the consumer, an online retailer, and even a manufacturer. We also make suggestions for the modifications the new directive has made.
Product pricing history – why is it important?
The pricing history of a product is a crucial consideration for both the buyer and the manufacturer or seller who participates in the e-commerce sector. Prices fluctuate in response to market conditions, supply and demand, consumer behavior, manufacturing and sales expenses, marketing tactics, and advertising campaigns.
The typical consumer or someone who owns a small online store might not be particularly interested in the product price chart. However, it is worthwhile to keep up with such changes in order to be able to make wise financial and commercial decisions.
The pricing history of the product from the consumer’s perspective
The pricing history of a product can influence consumer decisions when making purchases. You may discover the product’s original cost before the reduction and whether the current cost of a certain good or service is indeed a good deal by tracking price fluctuations over time.
If anything, it would be wiser to hold off and look for a better opportunity to advance. Price tracking makes it easy to determine which months of the year are the most expensive for a certain product as well as the lowest and highest prices for the same commodity.
The product’s pricing history from the seller’s and manufacturer’s perspectives
From the standpoint of the seller, the product price history is a tool used to assess the market environment. The online store can keep an eye on market prices, evaluate various pricing options, and base its business decisions on these findings.
However, price monitoring is required when it comes to the manufacturer in order to confirm how the cost of a certain brand’s product varies on the market. The producer can check the behavior of distributors, anticipate impending price wars, and take appropriate action by reviewing the price history of their products.
The Omnibus Directive – what is it?
The history of product pricing has recently received a lot of attention because a new rule, known as the “Omnibus Directive,” entered into force in Poland on January 1, 2023. Most EU nations have already put the directive into effect, but Poland’s legislative process didn’t start until July 2021.
Even then, business owners had to start thinking about the best ways to comply with the new legislation. The goal of these modifications is clear: to stop the increasingly common fraudulent practices of online merchants. for instance, artificially raising prices prior to popular holidays like Christmas, Cyber Monday, or Black Friday.
How will the Omnibus Directive affect the e-commerce market and pricing strategies?
The actions of business owners in the e-commerce sector are significantly impacted by the EU Omnibus Directive.
By putting e-shops under a new responsibility to disclose prices and planned promotions, it seeks to protect consumers [2]. Companies must maintain public records of product prices in accordance with the directive.
In light of the Omnibus Directive, how should pricing be planned?
The Omnibus Directive requires sellers to inform consumers about the lowest price of a product in the last 30 days [2]. However, when the goods have been put on sale in less than 30 days, the price valid from the date of putting them on sale must be given [2]. According to the new regulations, online stores must also inform customers [3]:
- the filter that is applied when results are displayed, such as in online marketplaces or price comparison websites;
- whether the seller used a sponsored offer, i.e. paid for the promotion of the offered products,
- if the vendor employs sophisticated algorithms that categorize clients into groups and then utilize this information to create various pricing schemes.
It’s important to remember that the new regulation covers not only the e-commerce sector, but also brick-and-mortar stores. It also stipulates that the lowest price from the last 30 days is to be shown in all types of communication: not only with the promotional price on the product card, but also on advertising banners informing about the promotion, leaflets, television commercials and even radio messages referring to for promotional prices. If violations are found, the shop may be fined 10% of the company’s annual turnover [3].
E-stores should prioritize being truthful with customers in the face of this. Every client should be able to make informed purchase decisions by having access to information such as pricing histories and recordings of all prices.
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How is the product’s pricing changing? It can be checked with Brandly360!
Due to the Omnibus Directive, solutions for tracking prices, like Brandly360, have become more commonly used. Advanced pricing monitoring of the competition is made possible by specialized software.
Brandly360’s reports and product price charts are quite readable. They make it simple to determine which stores a particular product is sold in and how its price fluctuates. Based on this, it is then possible to create price strategies that will enable you to maintain market competition while also adhering to the standards of the new directive. The same analysis, carried out manually, without a smart tool, would be very expensive. Its drawbacks include time consumption and, as a result, inefficiency, as the information gathered is quickly out of date.
Real-time price monitoring is not the only advantage of Brandly360. The tool also allows you to:
- analyze ads and thus recognize the most converting places,
- intelligent analysis of search suggestions in stores,
- monitor competition promotion actions,
- obtain useful reports related to the distribution of a given product,
- manage online sales.
The monitoring of reviews and product ratings also takes on a new significance in light of the Omnibus Directive. This is because the new regulations require vendors to make sure that the reviews are trustworthy and come from customers who have really made a purchase. You may monitor what consumers are saying about a certain commodity, service, or marketing strategy using the Brandly360 application. This is yet another crucial element that enables you to improve the strategy and the offer to make it even more suited to the demands of the clientele. As you can see, the regulations that were put in place to safeguard consumers do not have to make things challenging for vendors.
Sources:
Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards on better enforcement and modernization of EU consumer protection rules, OJ L 328, 18.12.2019, pp. 7-28.
https://www.parp.gov.pl/component/content/article/82715:dyrektywa-omnibus-obowiazek-informowania-o-cenach#_ftn1 [access: 24.01.2023 r.]
https://www.dlahandlu.pl/e-commerce/wiadomosci/dyrektywa-omnibus-czy-polskie-e-sklepy-sa-na-nia-gotowe-wyjasniamy,114617.html [access: 24.01.2023 r.]
I am involved in a broad range of e-marketing and visual identification. I have been practically associated with Brandly360 since the beginning. A passionate lover of good music and vinyl records.
