Pricing is a trust product.
In this episode, Edris Bemanian, CEO of Engage3, breaks down how retailers can manage price perception with the same rigor they bring to inventory or merchandising. Engage3 works across retailers, manufacturers, and consumers, collecting billions of data points to model “price image”—the specific items that anchor value in a shopper’s mind.
Bemanian explains why blanket price moves can leave perception unchanged, and why targeted moves on the products that drive price image can lift loyalty while protecting margin. He also walks through trade promotions from the manufacturer side, including a stat that frames the scale: roughly $100B is spent on trade promotions in the U.S. each year, and Nielsen estimates about two-thirds don’t deliver positive ROI. He traces his own pricing “aha” back to restaurant promos, where a simple “free taco” beat the cleanest, most rational discount.
He also argues that stability matters. Frequent price changes train customers to wait, question fairness, and split trips across competitors. The episode looks ahead to more personalized offers as well, where sustainability-minded shoppers and budget-focused shoppers respond to different signals.