From the month of march onwards, our lives have been disrupted like never before. The home office has become the new normal, as well as digital yoga classes or parties where one has to stay seated in stead of dancing. COVID-19 has disrupted our lives, but also caused several disruptions that could be extrapolated to the digital word. As mentioned, a lot of online activities have been going online since we are more often than not confined to our bedrooms or newly acclaimed home offices. One aspect of business that could be next in line for a (digital) disruption is pricing. Demand in a lot of markets has never been more unpredictable, which makes pricing decisions increasingly difficult. Next to this, it is a challenge for entrepreneurs and businesses to adapt their operations to the current situation and the future simultaneously, as changing back or again after this crisis might be too costly.
According to Stef Driessen, sector banker leisure for ABN AMRO, this is the right moment to introduce dynamic pricing into more markets than just the traveling industry. Dynamic pricing is a way of pricing where an algorithm is used to determine the price of a certain product. Driessen states that this concept could be applicable to industries like events and leisure. For the leisure industry this could be a ticket price for an amusement park that is based on the (predicted) demand, just like airplane tickets! This could maximise profits for the leisure industry, which is currently struggling according to the Financial Times on 15 Sep. 20. Another argument for bringing dynamic pricing into the leisure industry is that is stops price wars. According to the article How to Fight a Price War, a company that engages in a price will always have the risk of losing it, with big financial consequences. Dynamic pricing could be a great solution to help this industry get back in the game.
Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with this statement, different views on the topic can always prove helpful.
