Shelf price versus recorded price: why they drift apart

Imagine a customer brings a pack to the till: the shelf label says 12,000 so'm, but you quote 14,500 so'm from the table. An argument starts. Either you give in to the label price and lose 2,500 so'm on every pack, or you lose the customer. Both are unpleasant, and both have the same root: the label price and the recorded price do not match. A pricing routine is simple, but almost everyone neglects it.

Where prices drift apart

There are usually four causes:

• The supplier raises the price, you update the table, and the labels stay at the old price, or the other way round.
• A promotion has ended but the discount label still hangs on the shelf.
• One item sits in two places (on the shelf and in the display) with different labels.
• Several people change prices, and nobody knows who changed what.

If labels are not updated when prices rise or fall, the loss comes from both sides. A label that is too low cuts your profit on every sale. A label that is too high makes the customer feel cheated at the till, and he may not come back.

One price list

The rule is simple: keep the price in one place. Let the "Selling price" column in your table be the main source. Labels, the till and sales records take their figures only from it. Next to it add a "Date of last change" column. It shows both you and your staff since when a new price applies.

Only the owner or one responsible employee should change prices. A salesperson should not give discounts at the till on his own initiative: if one is needed, he should ask permission and write it down. Round prices conveniently, for example to the nearest 500 so'm: 14,500 rather than 14,490. That makes labels easier to read and change easier to give.

Steps for changing a price

Each time a price changes, work in the same order:

1. Decide the new price, taking cost, markup and competitors into account.
2. Update the price and date in the table.
3. Replace all labels: on the shelf, in the display, by the basket.
4. Tell the salespeople so they do not quote the old price.
5. Write it in a "Price changes" notebook: item, old price, new price, date.

Review the table on the very day the supplier announces a new price; do not wait for the end of the week. Every day of delay adds sales at the old price.

Whether to sell stock bought at the old price at the new price is your decision. What matters is that it is a conscious decision and applied the same way everywhere.

A weekly check

Once a week pick ten items at random and compare three places: the label, the table and the till. An illustrative example: an item sells 8 a day, the label says 12,000 so'm and the correct price is 14,500 so'm. You lose 2,500 so'm on each sale: 2,500 × 8 × 7 = 140,000 so'm in one week. That is for one item, and your list has hundreds. A ten-minute check catches such gaps in time. Correct any gap at once and note the cause: the supplier changed the price, the label was not replaced or a promotion ended. After a few weeks you will see which cause repeats most.

Check promotional prices too. Write the end date on the promotional label and make it the salesperson's duty to take it down that day.

What a good label looks like

A good label does not confuse either the customer or the employee:

• the price is large and clearly legible, and tidy even if handwritten;
• the unit is shown: piece, box, kilogram or litre;
• the item name is on the label too, so the customer does not tie the price to the neighbouring item;
• the promotional price is on a coloured label, with the normal price beside it in smaller type;
• the label sits on the shelf of its own item, not under its neighbour.

Conclusion

For the customer, the label price is a promise and the price at the till is its fulfilment. When they match, both your profit and the customer's trust are protected, and the salesperson's job is easier: no arguing at the till. One price list, a change routine and a weekly check achieve this at almost no cost. If prices and balances in your shop have got tangled, the AniqHisob team can run a stock count, help put your records in order and teach staff to keep records.