2025 Pricing Predictions: Insights from Industry Experts

How will AI, inflation, and shifting market dynamics impact pricing in 2025?

In this special episode of Pricing Heroes, we asked nine top pricing experts to share their boldest predictions for the year ahead. From the rise of AI-driven pricing to the risks of dynamic pricing missteps, this episode explores the biggest trends shaping the future of pricing—and what retailers must do to stay ahead.

Featured Experts:

🎙️ Stephan Liozu – Chief Value Officer, Zilliant
🎙️ Per Sjöfors – Author of The Price Whisperer
🎙️ Oliver Banks – Retail Transformation Expert, Author of Driving Retail Transformation
🎙️ Ayon Bhattacharyya – Founder & CEO, Biz Growth Spurt
🎙️ Markus Husemann-Kopetzky – Founder, Price Management Institute
🎙️ Danilo Zatta – Pricing Advisor, Author of The 10 Rules of Highly Effective Pricing
🎙️ Maciej Kraus – Managing Partner, Movens Capital, Author of The Future of Pricing
🎙️ Tim J. Smith – CEO, Wiglaf Pricing & Adjunct Professor, DePaul University
🎙️ Alex Halkin – Founder & CEO, Competera

What We Cover:

✅ The game-changing role of AI in pricing strategies
✅ Why data-driven decision-making will be the new competitive advantage
✅ How trade policies and inflation will force pricing shifts
✅ The growing impact of hyper-personalization & marketplace pricing
✅ The real risks of price wars & unethical AI

Whether you’re a pricing professional, retail leader, or industry strategist, this episode is packed with insights to help you navigate pricing in 2025.

🔊 Listen now and stay ahead of the curve!

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You can access all of our Pricing Heroes episodes featuring our interviews with retail pricing experts at https://competera.ai/resources/pricing-heroes.

Interested in joining a dynamic community of pricing experts? Check out the Retail Pricing Community on LinkedIn, where you will find a community of professionals sharing their expertise and discussing the latest trends.

For more information about AI pricing solutions, visit Competera.ai.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Pricing Heroes, a podcast sponsored by Competera. 

This is a series of interviews with the best-in-class retail pricing experts driving bottom-line metrics for major retail brands and the industry as a whole.

Today, we have a special episode for you. We asked nine top pricing experts to share their boldest predictions for 2025. Will AI take over pricing decisions? How will new trade policies shake up global markets and what’s the implication for pricing? And how will businesses adapt their pricing strategies to rising consumer expectations? Listen in for their advice on navigating pricing in the year ahead—some of their insights just might surprise you.

Let's dive in!

As we look ahead to 2025, pricing strategies won't exist in a vacuum – they'll be shaped by significant shifts in the global economic landscape. From international trade tensions to supply chain evolution, these macro forces will create both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Let's start with Stéphane Liozu, Chief Value Officer at Zilliant, who explains how market pressures are forcing companies to be more responsive:

"We will experience a lot more dynamism in the economy, driven by changing environmental pressures such as tariffs, protectionism, and labor shortages. This will require companies to be much more dynamic in their pricing, with more frequent price updates, changes, and adaptations to their pricing strategies."

And Per Sjöfors, pricing thought leader and author of "The Price Whisperer — A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power", breaks down how upcoming trade policies could reshape pricing strategies:

"What I think will happen in pricing in 2025 is a couple of things. First of all, prices will go up. Why do I say that? Well, we know that Trump is going to put tariffs in place, and that will obviously mean cost increases for American companies selling a product to the American or global audience of customers. Those tariffs will be passed on as an added cost to the buyers of their product. In some cases, the tariffs will have a profound impact because someone is reselling imported goods from China, Vietnam, or another low-cost country. In other cases, companies use parts from China, Vietnam, or Mexico. They will be less impacted, but there still will be a cost increase, and that cost increase will be passed on to buyers in the U.S. So, what's important for companies that do have to increase their prices because of the tariffs is that they must understand how much their customers, their buyers, are truly willing to pay. If you don't know that, any price increases will be a shot in the dark. It may work, it may not work, and it may have little impact on sales volume—or it could have a dramatic impact. But if you don't know, you don't know. And you have to know how to deal with these price increases that will come."

These market pressures are reshaping retail strategies globally. Oliver Banks, retail transformation expert and author of "Driving Retail Transformation: How to Navigate Disruption and Change", explains how different regions are adapting:

"In the US, with new import duties and fees, We'll tend to see prices increase, whereas in the rest of the Western world in particular, I think we'll see more companies investing in overseas marketplaces to counter the rise and growth of Shein and Teemu. We know consumers love a bargain, as the growth of those two marketplaces has demonstrated. But as companies strive to lower prices, there is only so far that you can go if you are on on-shoaring stock without hemorrhaging or profitability. So I think we'll see more companies investing and extending their marketplace platform to allow overseas sellers and overseas stock to import into the customer's country."

As companies navigate an increasingly complex business environment, a greater investment in data emerges as a critical foundation for pricing decisions. Ayon Bhattacharyya, Founder & CEO of Biz Growth Spurt, explains why investment in data capabilities will be crucial in 2025:

"I think that big data will play an increasingly more significant role in making fact based decisions around pricing, particularly when it comes to price differentiation and segmenting customers based on their needs, usage, and value. This means a larger investment into data science teams, analytical tools, value modeling, and tighter processes around CRM data capture."

Markus Husemann-Kopetzky, founder and managing director of the Price Management Institute, explains how companies are turning to data to find new growth opportunities as traditional cost-cutting measures reach their limits:

"How to leverage data for better decision making in pricing will become a more frequent question in 2025. Why is that? The financial situation of many companies is currently changing. Cost reductions and efficiency programs are maxed out and companies now search for opportunities for incremental profitability. And given that the majority in pricing is comparably low, companies will look into Pricing as a lever to increase profitability. On the other side, companies will become more increasingly fluent with AI. And this also means that data and database decision making will play a greater role in companies in general. So the importance of data will become more salient and putting both together means that companies will engage in database decision making in pricing."

Danilo Zatta, pricing advisor and author of "The 10 Rules of Highly Effective Pricing," explains how companies will apply data and technology:

"A stronger leverage of data and technologies in pricing enhances the accuracy and effectiveness of dynamic pricing strategies. For example, real-time data processing means pricing can be adjusted in real time, based on factors like inventory, customer demand, supply chain data, and so on. Increased data sources also result in better informed price adjustments. Technologies like AI powered pricing engines will have more of an impact on dynamic pricing, as will big data analytics platforms like Google BigQuery and Snowflake. These trends offer concrete opportunities to better monetize the value provided to customers."

It’s no surprise that advanced data collection and analysis will be a crucial enabler for successful pricing in 2025. After all, pricing decisions are only as good as the insights behind them. But perhaps even more importantly, data serves as the foundation for the technological advancement that dominated our experts’ predictions: artificial intelligence. Of all the trends shaping the future of pricing, AI capabilities emerge as the number one enabler.

Maciej Kraus, Managing Partner at Movens Capital and author of "The Future of Pricing" and "Pricing Decoded," when asked about his number one prediction:

"It will obviously be AI, and I believe that it will redefine how companies approach pricing, and AI tools will allow businesses to dynamically adjust pricing in real time based on customer behavior, demand, and external factors. There are companies already using this and those are setting benchmarks for what's possible. There are challenges, however, and this will be balancing the transparency and ethical considerations. Look what was happening in the U.S. in autumn last year."

And Ayon again:

"Embedding AI features and capabilities will continue to be a hot trend in 2025 as a critical way to enhance customer value propositions as well as internally from a productivity and efficiency perspective. We've seen some huge investments in this space running into the millions and even billions of dollars."

The emergence of generative AI adds another dimension to this transformation. Here’s Danilo again to describe how this technology is bringing new capabilities to pricing strategies:

"While AI driven pricing strategies have been around for a number of years, we are now starting to see the use of GenAI. What does this mean? In a nutshell, GenAI introduces creativity into pricing strategies, offering a more human-like approach. For example, GenAI can create more personalized pricing strategies, generating custom made offers, discounts, and price bundles, tailored to customer behavior. For businesses, it can create 'what-if' scenarios to test out different pricing strategies for various market conditions, such as if inflation were to go back to 3%."

Considering the latest capabilities of AI pricing technologies, Alex Galkin, Founder & CEO of Competera, explains how retailers will be able to adapt pricing to offer hyper-local and personalized experiences that align with customer expectations:

"The biggest trends we will see are that customers and retailers are understanding that the pricing can be similar in the stores and online. Customers require more personalized experiences than ever before. And we will see more and more cases when price is tailored for the specific geographic position of the stores and what customers are willing to pay. And we need to make the business prepared and drive those changes."

However, amid this AI enthusiasm, some experts urge caution. Per warns against viewing AI as a universal solution:

"AI will continue to be, let's call it, the golden goose in pricing. There will continue to be a lot of hype around how AI can optimize prices—which it can, in some cases. In other cases, it will be a complete disaster for a company. So, it's going to be a hit and miss. Many companies are going to try it in different ways. Many will fail, and a select few will gain significant benefits from it.”

Per also provides a cautionary perspective about the limitations of dynamic pricing:

"Dynamic pricing will continue to be a hot topic. However, it's going to be used in places where it's not appropriate, and it's going to fail. It will alienate buyers, lead to a loss of brand value, a loss of revenue, and overall be a disaster for many companies that try it outside of the appropriate context. Even in the appropriate context, there will be companies that, by using dynamic pricing, manage to shoot themselves in the foot. They may sell more, but it may kill profitability. And it's profitability that runs every company—with no profits, you have no company. It's as simple as that. Dynamic pricing, especially when uncontrolled, just creates a race to the bottom. Many companies don't understand that and think it's the silver bullet for better pricing, but it certainly is not. Beware of it."

In this competitive landscape, the race to the bottom on price proves dangerous. Oliver, offers strategic guidance on maintaining profitability:

"And then to achieve pricing success in 2025, we must remember that only one company can win the race to be cheapest. And second place in that particular battle is the first loser. And so, to ensure you're not second place, you need to understand your prices, your price elasticity, and your entire cost model. This insight and understanding will remain vitally important, as it always has done for that matter. So as you are faced with consumers striving for lower prices, you can make sensible and intentional and data led decisions without either destroying your revenues or your margins. So understanding your numbers is absolutely vital, especially as more and more competitors start to lower their prices to win over your customers."

Echoing this point, Tim Smith, CEO of Wiglaf Pricing and adjunct professor at DePaul University, emphasizes the importance of being prepared while staying true to core pricing principles:

“We have a number of disruptions that are possibly going to happen and possibly not. If these disruptions occur, we will need to be prepared for change. Changing prices. Changing supply chains. Changing many things. So the question is today, have you built the capability required to process that change? Are your contracts flexible enough so that you can change your prices if you need to? The rules of value based pricing still will be on hold. Value is defined as the benefits you deliver, less the price you extract. You solve for a price that you can extract, and it says the price of your alternative is adjusted for your differential value. Well, that will still remain, but to expect the price of your competitors to change in response to industry shocks, and therefore your price can change too. And if it's an industry wide shock, your customers will understand because you'll still be offering the best value for money using value based pricing."

The shift toward value-based pricing represents another key trend. Stephan elaborates on how companies are evolving their pricing models:

"We will see more and more companies moving toward value-based pricing. This is due to pressure on costs but also the changing dynamics in the environment, which are transforming value models and value propositions. Companies will have to adapt to this changing environment by refocusing on value drivers and value propositions. We'll see the emergence of more hybrid pricing models, such as usage-based, outcome-based, and subscription models. Software and service companies will increasingly adopt models like per-use, per-task, or per-outcome pricing. This trend is especially strong in the AI space, where agents are being priced based on outcomes. We'll see this transformation accelerate in 2025 as companies launch their own AI engines."

Innovation in pricing models offers one path forward. Ayon shares how companies can differentiate themselves through creative pricing approaches:

"I personally believe that thinking outside of the box and focusing on building innovative pricing models will play a huge role in a company's ability to differentiate from the competition in 2025. Hybrid pricing will continue to gain momentum as businesses can get the right balance of certainty and predictability of revenue generation through base subscriptions, whilst also leveraging the revenue scalability that usage based pricing offers. Companies will now need to think strategically about how to capture that value and achieve ROI through their pricing strategies. In light of this, and the increasingly competitive SaaS landscape, now more than ever, businesses will need to figure out how to prove value to customers and demonstrate a compelling ROI."

The evolution of pricing models extends to subscription-based businesses as well. Maciej describes how customer retention is becoming central to pricing strategy:

"The transformation of subscription models. And the focus will shift from acquisition to retention and businesses will move towards flexible plans, modular add ons and clear communication of value. Sustainability premiums — I believe those will rise. Customers are willing to pay more for sustainable, ethically sourced products, but only when they see value and the value is clearly communicated."

Success in this evolving landscape requires a deep understanding of customers. Ayon emphasizes the importance of customer insight:

"The winners in 2025 will be those companies that can consistently demonstrate that they deeply understand their customers, that they understand which pricing levers that they can pull to capture more value and leverage this to focus more on value driven innovation."

As we look toward implementing these strategies successfully, our experts offer practical guidance for businesses. Maciej outlines three key areas of focus:

"Number one, I think it's about data analytics and enhanced pricing decisions. Understanding customer behavior and segmentation on a very granular level will be critical. Number two, it's about value communication. It's not just about the price—customers need to see tangible and emotional benefits for what they're getting. And number three, it's about experimentation and flexibility. All the ways you can validate your pricing concepts and ideas with real users to see what's working and what's not. That's a skill that any successful pricing organization should have."

Beyond tools and techniques, organizational structure emerges as a critical success factor. Alex returns with important insights about the structural changes companies need to make:

"First of all, a huge and most complicated thing still is this separation, the function, but merchandisers should stop focusing on pricing and give this more to the specialized resources and people. I will see that the main challenge again, this is the data foundation. The function should be redesigned to be able to achieve more flexibility and more personalization in pricing."

The integration of technology and teams will play a crucial role in this transformation. Stephan explains how pricing operations will evolve to become more connected and intelligent:

"We'll see a greater integration of pricing solutions into a unified pricing tech stack. Companies don't want to deploy multiple systems connected to their traditional tech stacks. Instead, they want a single provider of pricing solutions that covers the entire lifecycle of pricing. We'll see a stronger connection between pricing teams and sales teams. Pricing will become more like revenue intelligence, with deep integration into sales processes and tools like CPQ and sales intelligence. Software will provide predictions on share of wallet, product recommendations, cross-sell and upsell opportunities—all closely connected to price optimization. Price optimization will fit seamlessly into the broader revenue intelligence engine."

Wrapping up our practical guidance, Markus emphasizes the importance of focused implementation and leveraging existing best practices:

"To achieve pricing success in 2025, given these trends, the senior management should commit to using data for objective decision making and pricing and take away their expert opinions of individuals to make pricing decisions. So we need commitment from senior management to engage in this process. Secondly, be aware of your use cases. How do you want to improve your pricing? Current pricing decisions. Don't look for edge cases that artificial intelligence can support. Look at your bread and butter use cases and consciously decide how to improve this specific pricing decision that makes 80 or 90 percent of your overall revenue. And lastly, Don't reinvent the wheel. There's a methodology out there for each of the use cases that you want to solve. There's a methodology out there for setting your shelf prices or regular prices. There's a methodology out there on how to best set markdown prices. There's methodology out there for selecting your promotional items and setting your promotional prices. And even for segmenting your articles into article roles, there's methodology out there. You don't have to invent everything yourself."

From the insights shared by our experts today, it's clear that 2025 will be a transformative year for pricing. While AI and data analytics will drive many changes, success will depend on balancing technology with human insight. Whether it's through personalization, hybrid models, or dynamic pricing, the key will be understanding customer value and communicating it effectively. Thank you to all our guests for sharing their valuable predictions.

I hope you enjoyed today’s special episode.

Be sure to follow and connect with our guests on LinkedIn to gain more insights on pricing trends in real time.

For more information about AI pricing solutions, visit Competera.ai
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If you find the insights on this show valuable, I encourage you to check out the Retail Pricing Community on LinkedIn where you’ll find pricing professionals sharing their expertise and latest trends.

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Take care — until next time.