A new online price capture service has launched that lets consumers specify the price they are willing to pay for an item, directly from the pages of a retailer’s website.
And, according to analytic models and simulations sourced from Professor Chris Anderson of Cornell University, the new Pricewhispers service has the potential to increase online revenues and profits by 6-12% by enabling retailers to optimally segment their consumer base by price sensitivity and to reduce the chances of missing out on some of those sales.
“The Pricewhispers model will enable our company to increasingly understand our consumers’ collective buying intent, to sell more products and to ultimately increase both our revenue and profitability,” says Colin Campbell, founder of online boutique Lavish & Lime.
On the Lavish & Lime site, the Pricewhispers service now features as a third option alongside ‘Add to cart’ and ‘Add to wishlist’ in the form of a ‘Name your price‘ button. Clicking on the button allows the customer to specify the percentage discount they require and an expiry date for their offer.
As well as Lavish & Lime, the service is also being used by Canadian art retailer Lemon Lime Kids and “we also have a healthy pipeline of additional retailers across a broad spectrum of retail categories including fashion apparel, sporting goods, jewellery and home furnishings lined up to join the Pricewhispers community over the next few months,” says Neil FitzGerald, founder and chief executive at Pricewhispers.
