10 ways retailers use pricing software to stay competitive

Price is one of the most important factors a shopper considers before buying. It shapes how competitive you look in the market, how well your ads perform, and ultimately how much profit you take home. The challenge now is that prices are no longer stable. Competitors adjust constantly, marketplaces shift by the hour, and customer expectations move just as fast. Trying to manage it all manually is like playing catch-up in a game that never pauses.

This is where a pricing software like PriceShape steps in. We allow retailers to track competitors in real time, automate updates, and protect margins at scale. Instead of reacting late, you gain the speed and confidence to make better daily decisions. Instead of being just a tool for updating prices, it becomes part of how retailers grow sales and stay ahead of competitors.

Here are ten practical ways retailers put PriceShape’s pricing software to work, showing just a fraction of what the platform can do.

1. Competitor price monitoring and analysis

Manually monitoring competitors' price data is extremely difficult and time-consuming, especially as the number of products and rivals grows. Pricing software makes this easy by collecting competitor prices daily and displaying them in dashboards and reports. Retailers can filter by brand, SKU, or category to see where they stand in the market. The result is a clear view of competitive positioning and the data needed to make more intelligent pricing decisions.

In PriceShape, you can decide which products to examine against which competitors in the specific markets you need. 

2. Automated and dynamic pricing adjustments

Manually updating prices across a large catalog takes time; by the time you finish, the market may already have moved again. PriceShape's dynamic pricing software solves this by letting you set rules that automatically adjust prices based on the market. For example, you can match the lowest competitor while making sure your margins are never crossed. Once the rules are active, the system updates prices directly in your store or ERP so you stay competitive without the manual grind.

In PriceShape, you decide the logic behind your pricing. You can define minimum margins, price bands, and competitor targets, and the platform will handle the rest automatically.

3. Margin and profitability control

Chasing the lowest price without clear rules can quickly eat into profits. Pricing software prevents this by letting you set margin thresholds that act as guardrails. The system will never suggest a price that risks selling at a loss, even if competitors drop below your limit. This way, you stay competitive while still protecting profit margins.

In PriceShape, you can configure minimum and maximum margin requirements for specific products or groups. The platform automatically respects these limits in every price adjustment, giving you complete confidence that no change will ever undermine your margins.

4. Campaign and promotion management

Promotions are a proven way to attract shoppers, but without structure, they can be hard to track and measure. Our pricing software makes campaign management easier by letting you schedule start and end dates, set discount levels, and compare results against regular prices. This ensures promotions are visible, consistent, and tied back to performance.

In PriceShape, you can define campaign prices in the platform, set discounts as percentages or fixed amounts, and tag the products you want included. In the product’s price history, you can also see when the promotion started and whether competitors reacted by matching you during the same period.

5. Stock level-based pricing

Stock levels can reveal when it makes sense to adjust prices, whether that means clearing slow movers or protecting the value of low-stock items. In our platform, we make it possible to link inventory data with pricing rules so these adjustments happen automatically.

In PriceShape, you can connect your stock feed and use dynamic tags that react to real-time inventory. This way, clearance products can be marked down at the right moment, and popular low-stock items can be priced to maximize value until replenishment arrives.

6. Google Shopping and advertising optimization

Ad spend only works if the products being promoted are priced to compete. If an item is too expensive compared to the market, clicks cost money but rarely convert. Our pricing software makes it easier to align advertising with competitiveness by adding pricing data to your output feed, which you can connect to Google Shopping.

In PriceShape, you can add custom labels such as “competitive,” “high margin,” or “campaign product” to your feed. These labels allow you to optimize ad spend on products that are more likely to deliver profitable results. Combined with reporting through Google Analytics 4, you get a clear picture of which products convert and where your budget has the most impact.

   

Smarter ad spend with PriceShape

Intersport Denmark uses PriceShape to decide which products should be promoted in Google Shopping. By focusing ad spend on items that are both competitive and profitable, they cut waste and improved conversions. Their team now has a clear overview of which products drive the best results across channels.

Learn how Intersport improved conversions

7. Historical price and sales data analysis

Looking back at how prices have changed over time can reveal patterns that guide better decisions. Retailers use historical data to spot patterns in competitor pricing, measure the impact of their own price changes, and strengthen negotiations with suppliers. Pricing software makes this easy by storing and visualizing every price change in clear graphs and reports.

In PriceShape, you can track and export historical prices for your products and competitors. This gives you a reliable foundation for spotting trends, seeing who drops the price first, analysing product performance, evaluating past campaigns, and planning more innovative strategies going forward.

8. Automated reporting

Manually pulling data for pricing reports takes time and often leaves blind spots. Pricing software simplifies this by letting you set up reports that run automatically, giving you a clear picture of the market without the manual work. You can track competitor activity, price changes, or performance of your own products across categories in reports sent directly to your email.

In PriceShape, you decide what data each report should include and how often it should run. The result is consistent, reliable insight that helps your team make decisions faster and stay aligned on performance.

9. Product matching and data integration

Comparing the right products across competitors is critical, but it can be messy when each retailer lists items differently. Pricing software takes care of this by matching products automatically, ensuring that the data and market insights you see are accurate and consistent.

In PriceShape, matching is based primarily on EAN numbers, which provide a reliable link across retailers. If products are not matched automatically, you can provide manual matches to our support team, who then set them up in the system. This ensures every comparison is correct and consistent across all users.

10. Price strategy customization

Different products and markets call for different approaches. Our pricing software allows you to design strategies that fit your goals instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all model. You can choose whether to compete with the lowest price, stay close to the market average, or set rules that balance margin and competitiveness.

In PriceShape, you can build and adjust pricing strategies with complete flexibility. You can add conditions, round prices the way you prefer, and preview the results before applying them. This gives you control and confidence that every pricing move supports your overall strategy.

Why retailers rely on pricing software

Retail competition never slows down, and neither should your pricing strategy. With the right pricing software and great pricing intelligence, retailers can move from reactive changes to proactive control. The benefits go far beyond adjusting prices, from monitoring competitors to optimizing ad spend.

PriceShape brings all of these use cases into one platform, giving you the tools to act quickly, protect margins, and uncover new opportunities. If you are ready to see how pricing software can work in your business, you can sign up for a free trial here.