Patent ID: 7853473

Claim:
In an electronic price optimization system comprising at least one computer processor and computer storage, a method for recommending to a user price changes for products of differing brands, the method comprising: using a computer processor for: determining whether any price-sensitivity baselines exist; and implementing, when any of said price-sensitivity baselines exist, price changes that incorporate said price-sensitivity baselines; determining whether a brand of product has been frequently price-promoted in the past and, if so, recommending that the regular price of the product be increased; identifying possible outlier products from market norms based on deviations of a user's sales from said market norms and recommending the price of said outlier products based on said deviations; comparing the prices of a category of products to prices charged for said category of products by retailers competing with said user and recommending prices based on an overall strategy of said user; determining whether the prices of products of specific brands are within acceptable ranges relative to a reference brand; comparing the projected average margin from a category of products with objectives set by said user, and calculating a recommended price for said product based on said objectives; and calculating across brands of a product a typical average relationship between unit sizes of said product and both price and margin per unit of said product.