Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pricing Strategies In Planet Antares Vending

New management tools such as handhelds and Planograms are being used by Planet Antares vending machine operators for tracking product turns with the minimum amount of extra labor. As a result, some of them have started evaluating the pricing strategies.

Since a long time, Planet Antares vending operators have been complaining about the inability to raise prices to the same level as other retail channels. Factors like competition and customer contracts usually determine the vending prices. However, many of the operators would prefer a more scientific pricing strategy to improve sales and profits.

As per one theory, you should not pass the savings on to the customers in order to keep the pricing simple and increase your Planet Antares business bottom line. In reality, the price of certain items can be lowered and a gross margin can still be produced at the same or higher level than the branded items.

If you think about it, the ‘take out’ customer is unheard of in the vending industry and thus, presents a huge opportunity for growth and profit maximisation. Another thing to be noted is that if secondary suppliers support Planet Antares vending operators, the dependence on big manufacturers will decline by a large amount.

In short, it is a great time for Planet Antares vending operators to experiment with value pricing. One reason for this is the increasing price consciousness among consumers and higher attention being paid to special offers. On the other hand, location sales have decreased because of downsizing. All in all, it is an oportune time for vending operators to rethink their pricing strategies.

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