The same barrel of oil, where to buy cheap? The Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission started trials of supermarket commodity price information in Shanghai in mid-July this year. In the official website and on Weibo, the prices of commodities in supermarkets are sunk to open up the prices of livelihood products to prevent inflated prices from occurring.

As soon as the initiative was introduced, it was found that the difference in the price of the same edible oil reached RMB 63 in different stores. Low prices have always been the most direct weapon of retail competition, but from the supplier to the store, even different stores will have different pricing due to some commercial reasons. This is due to the retailer pricing system. Industry insiders believe that only "Internet printing price" is not enough to change the retailer's pricing rules.

Forty-eight supermarkets had a price parity ratio. “We have received notice. According to the request, this time we compare the consumption of edible oil products. There are about 50 types of goods. We will report the price of the goods involved in the store, as well as some price collection. The staff members will conduct visits and publish them on the Internet after being collected.” Mr. Ji from Carrefour East China Region told the “First Financial Daily”.

This time it was included in the scope of price information published by a total of 48 stores including Shiji Lianhua, Bee Lotus, Carrefour, Tesco, Hualian Kyrgyzstan, Wal-Mart, Agriculture and Industry, RT-Mart, Auchan and other 10 large supermarkets. The commodities for which the price comparison was first announced were mainly small packaged edible oils, including about 50 soybean oil, peanut oil and rapeseed oil. After receiving the price information reported by supermarket price collectors, the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission will timely verify the authenticity and accuracy of price information at each survey site, and then publish the price information in the “Shanghai release” microblog and “Shanghai development”. The reforms include Weibo, the website of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and the website of the Shanghai Municipal Price Monitoring and Cost Survey Team.

After comparing prices, consumers found that the same sea lion 5L olive oil blended in the Century Lianhua Stadium store promotional price of 65.9 yuan, while the Auchan Changyang store price is 128.9 yuan, the difference up to 63 yuan. In addition, sea lion camellia oil 2L in the Lotus Lotus Tianshan store price is 109.9 yuan, while the Auchan Changyang store price is 169.1 yuan, the difference also reached 59.2 yuan.

After the release of the price comparison information, Auchan has reduced the price of related products.

Where does the difference come from?

After interviewing a number of retail companies, the reporter learned that although there are commodities exposed to spreads of up to tens of yuan, this is after all a minority. The spread of most of the products is between 10% and 20%, but for retailers, they are not very Willing to publish all commodity prices to the public, although the price is not confidential, but it is behind the retailers' pricing system chain and their respective bargaining power and product strategy, if the customer changes to other due to the price of the first wave of edible oil. Shopping on the store will have an impact on the retailer's performance.

Mr. Shen worked in the store company for about 10 years and was fully aware of the pricing process. “The purchase price given to different retailers by the same supplier is different. This is related to each retailer’s sales ability, purchase size and deduction points. Retailers with large sales volume receive lower purchase prices, and the more deduction points, the more If the price is high, it must be high, so that it can be profitable. At the same time, it is also related to the charging rate of various stores. If the store is willing to reduce some expenses, the purchase price of the supplier will be lower. The above factors are considered comprehensively.”

After the goods enter the store, it is the retailer's pricing process, which is related to the retailer's positioning. The industry has reflected that agribusiness is positioning itself as a relatively popular store, while Tesco is more attractive to young customers than mid-to-high end. This subtle difference determines how retailers define their own key product prices to ensure gross margins. For example, the positioning of a more popular agricultural industry and commerce will focus on the minimum price of fresh produce in order to grasp the key customer base, and the same goods in the other higher positioning of the store will be higher prices. However, the pricing of other non-key commodities in agriculture, industry and commerce is not always very low. There have been consumer reports that some Carrefour stores are typically concentrated on several major merchandise promotions, but the prices of other goods may not be low. Tesco also announced that some of its products can be sold at a minimum price within a certain range of radiation.

“In addition, stores with an area of ​​more than 5,000 square meters have certain pricing and promotional rights. For example, the location of a store in a shopping district or high-end residential area will be priced even higher, and some new stores can be used for special promotions. When the company headquarters accepts a new product, it will investigate the pricing situation of competitors in other stores, including using a special price collector to investigate the price of the opponent. However, the result of the survey does not necessarily have to be adjusted downward, but as a reference, according to various stores in the company. Different locations, spending power, key profit products, etc. are priced, so sometimes there is a difference in the same model in the same branded store,” Mr. Shen told reporters.

Many retailers have reported that the above factors will cause the difference. For most retailers, unless they are a strong supplier such as Coca-Cola, which imposes a uniform market price, due to the purchase price, key commodity, gross profit margin, and strategy of each company, The condition of the stores is different, so the difference must exist. The intention of the new price ratio measure is good. It is also possible for the retailer to adjust some of the commodity prices that are too large, but it is unlikely that the entire pricing system will be changed in the short term. This is related to the enterprise. Profit and overall business strategy.