Share of Items Sold Below Average Historical Price Point

Let's look at the data by merchandise class.

This brand just quit discounting, didn't they? That's how they are dealing with price increases. Let's compare 2022 to 2021 by merchandise class.

• 33.5% of old items were discounted last year, 20.3% this year.
• 48.4% of 3yrs ago items were discounted last year, 28.8% this year.
• 48.4% of 2yrs ago items were discounted last year, 30.2% this year.
• 38.4% of 1yr ago items were discounted last year, 36.4% this year (not as big a change).

You can either raise prices, or you can discount less, in an effort to increase gross margin percentages. Of course, either strategy results in lower response. It's a huge game of wack-a-mole, one that is terribly hard to win at.