12 eCommerce Pricing Strategies to Consider for Your Online Store

Learn about the importance of eCommerce pricing strategies, review 12 pricing strategy ideas, and learn how to fast-track implementation.

In the highly competitive eCommerce market, the pricing strategy a brand deploys will play a significant role in the business's success. Some brands can rely upon the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) or a cost-plus pricing strategy that calculates total cost and then adds a markup for profit. However, these traditional approaches to pricing may or may not align with how the brand needs to be perceived.

When customers see prices, they don't think about the production costs. Instead, customers think about what the product is worth to them. If the pricing matches their expectations, customers will likely stay on their carts and buy. If it doesn't, they'll bounce to the competition. In the eCommerce landscape that is hyperfocused on delivering the best brand experiences, companies need to think beyond the bottom line and approach pricing with reputation in mind.

Pricing has also become a more automated discipline. Based on Salesforce's State of Commerce research, 49% of B2B companies now use AI for dynamic pricing and discount optimization, up from a much smaller share just a few years ago. For B2B sellers, that shift brings a wrinkle retail doesn't have to deal with: pricing needs to respect existing contracts, volume tiers, and negotiated terms across thousands of accounts, not just react to demand.

Let's dive into the world of eCommerce pricing strategies.

What do we mean by eCommerce pricing strategy?

An eCommerce pricing strategy is more than just a mathematical formula. It is the approach businesses use to price their products that considers production costs, revenue goals, lifetime customer value, average order value, and more. Pricing strategies can significantly impact sales, profitability, customer perception, and overall market positioning. The sweet spot with pricing strategies is found when the prices are high enough to turn profits, but not so high that a business loses customers.

Considerations for your eCommerce pricing strategy

Pricing strategies vary widely, and not all are right for all businesses or products. For example, commanding a luxury price requires a deep understanding of your customers, your market, and an exceptional customer experience, which may not be practical for some product categories. Ultimately, the pricing strategy must align with your overall business strategy and empower you to meet your goals.

For B2B sellers running on Microsoft Dynamics 365, that also means pricing needs to be consistent between your ERP and your storefront. Customer-specific pricing, contract terms, and volume tiers set up in Dynamics 365 should show up automatically online, not require a separate pricing setup for eCommerce.

A successful eCommerce pricing strategy:

• Allows a business to set competitive and profitable prices

• Attracts and retains customers

• Ensures the sustainability of an eCommerce business

• Distinguishes the brand from the competition

• Minimizes returns and reduces chargebacks

12 eCommerce pricing strategies to consider

There are many ways to go about pricing products or services. Depending on business goals, multiple pricing strategies can be layered into a single approach. Here are the most common pricing strategies to consider:

Cost-Plus Pricing. By far the simplest pricing strategy, cost-plus pricing determines selling prices by calculating the cost of producing or acquiring a product and then adding a markup percentage.

Competitive Pricing. This approach uses competition as the main point of reference. Businesses analyze competitor prices and can choose to undercut, match, or upsell depending on goals and value propositions.

Dynamic Pricing. This strategy involves adjusting prices in real time or periodically based on demand, competitor prices, and other market conditions, and it's increasingly AI-driven rather than manually managed. If you sell into the EU, keep pricing transparency rules in mind too: EU consumer protection rules generally require showing the prior price when advertising a price reduction, so any dynamic or discount pricing setup needs to track price history, not just the current price.

Penetration Pricing. Penetration pricing sets a lower initial price to quickly gain recognition and market share. After a promotional period or once the product is established, the price is increased.

Bundle Pricing. With bundle pricing, brands offer multiple products at a discounted price.

Value-Based Pricing. In value-based pricing, the products are priced based on the customer's perceived value. This approach requires extensive market research and a deep understanding of the target audience's desires, which starts with having accurate, well-structured product data to back up the value you're communicating.

Tiered Pricing. This strategy offers multiple product versions at different price points (e.g., basic, premium, and pro versions), or in a B2B context, different pricing tiers per customer segment or contract level.

Discount Pricing. Discount pricing is one of the most popular pricing strategies, and it is effective at driving volume and clearing out inventory. In the discount pricing approach, prices are temporarily reduced for occasions such as seasonal sales, Black Friday deals, or clearance sales.

Decoy Pricing. Decoy pricing aims to influence buyers towards a particular purchase by pricing select products in a way that makes others appear more attractive.

Loss Leader. In this approach, a product is priced below market cost to encourage other sales of more profitable goods or services.

Geographic Pricing. As the name implies, geographic pricing involves setting prices based on the location of the customer. Geographic pricing is typically used to account for factors like shipping costs, local market conditions, and currency differences.

Membership or Subscription Pricing. These approaches are popular and involve charging customers on a recurring basis for continued access to a product or service.

Implementing new pricing strategies in your eCommerce store

It can be challenging to choose the best eCommerce pricing strategies for your business. However, once the decisions are made, the work is not over. For many businesses, it is no small task to implement eCommerce pricing strategies, especially when pricing logic needs to stay in sync between your ERP, your storefront, and any B2B customer portals you run.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common eCommerce pricing strategy? Cost-plus pricing remains the most widely used approach because of its simplicity, but most mature eCommerce businesses layer it with at least one other strategy, such as competitive or value-based pricing, to stay responsive to the market.

Is dynamic pricing legal? Yes, adjusting prices based on demand or market conditions is legal, but some jurisdictions, including the EU, require businesses to disclose prior pricing when advertising a discount. Check the rules that apply to where your customers are before automating price changes.

How does B2B pricing differ from B2C pricing? B2B pricing typically layers customer-specific pricing, contract terms, and volume discounts on top of a base strategy, and it needs to stay consistent with pricing set in your ERP, whereas B2C pricing is usually simpler and applied uniformly to all customers.

Ready to bring consistent, ERP-driven pricing to your eCommerce store? See how the Truvio Commerce Suite, built natively for Microsoft Dynamics 365, keeps pricing in sync across your storefront, portals, and sales channels. Explore how other businesses have modernized their pricing in our customer case stories.