TECHNOLOGY
Small e-Tailers Test Price Matching
Once the domain of major retailers and e-tailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, price matching is helping small retailers and e-tailers compete in a tough marketplace.
Los Angeles–based e-tailer Rocker Rags introduced a price-match guarantee for its rock-band merchandise e-commerce site earlier this month, said David Landis, the founder of the site.
“The way we beat other companies is through great customer service,” he said. “It’s a way to compete with the bigger retailers. Our customers will know that they will get the best deal possible.”
Landis forecast that his business could handle price matching. First, his team will research a price-match claim and only grant it if the claim is accurate. He also estimated that his company could afford price matching. He estimates the vast majority of price-matching claims wouldn’t demand more than 15 percent off, which is the discount that his site already gives for its most popular promotion—a “Like us on Facebook or Twitter and get 15 percent off” deal.
Price matching will continue to be, even for small companies, an important tool to keep business, said Brooke Taylor Corcia, founder of Los Angeles–based e-commerce site The Dreslyn. “The long-term benefit of keeping a client is worth any loss of revenue,” she said.
