Retailers are increasingly struggling to respond to rapid pricing changes driven by market disruption, with new research highlighting significant delays that risk impacting margins and competitiveness.
According to data from Conga, 30% of retailers take weeks to implement pricing updates in response to internal pressures or external factors such as supplier costs, tariffs and shifting demand. In an environment where pricing conditions can change daily, this lag is creating growing challenges for e-commerce and payments leaders tasked with maintaining profitability and customer trust.
The concept of ‘pricing shocks’, sudden, external events that force rapid price adjustments, is becoming more prevalent. Yet only 24% of retailers say they are very confident in their ability to adapt pricing strategies to major disruption, suggesting many organisations lack the agility required in today’s market.
For digital commerce leaders, the issue is compounded by operational complexity. Disconnected systems and fragmented data are limiting visibility, with 40% of retailers reporting difficulties measuring the impact of pricing decisions on margins and revenue performance. This lack of insight makes it harder to balance competitive pricing with financial outcomes.
The implications extend beyond pricing teams. In e-commerce environments, delayed or inconsistent pricing updates can lead to customer friction, abandoned baskets and increased payment disputes, particularly if price discrepancies arise across channels or at checkout.
In response, retailers are prioritising investment in technology. The research shows that 70% plan to increase spending on pricing tools, with half identifying faster time-to-market for pricing changes as the single biggest opportunity to improve processes.
However, progress remains constrained by ongoing challenges around system integration, data quality and end-to-end visibility across the commercial stack. Without addressing these foundational issues, technology investment alone may fall short of delivering the required agility.
As pricing volatility continues to intensify, the ability to respond in near real-time is becoming a critical capability. For e-commerce and payments leaders, aligning pricing, transaction data and commercial systems will be key to protecting margins, reducing friction and maintaining resilience in an increasingly unpredictable retail landscape.
Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash
