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How is AI transforming the way retailers price products and forecast demand? In this episode of Pricing Heroes, the leading retail pricing podcast, we speak with Jayadeep Shitole, Principal Data Scientist of Applied AI and Machine Learning at Walmart Global Tech. With over a decade of experience building large-scale pricing and forecasting systems, Jayadeep shares expert insights on how retailers can implement AI-powered pricing strategies that are dynamic, transparent, and aligned with real business goals.

We cover:

• The shift from static to dynamic pricing algorithms
• A practical 4-step framework for AI pricing implementation
• How demand forecasting and pricing optimization work hand-in-hand
• Strategies for building trust in AI pricing systems
• How to use AI to respond to tariffs, economic shifts, and supply chain disruptions
• What’s next in retail AI—from real-time optimization to decision intelligence

Whether you're a pricing analyst, retail data scientist, or commercial leader, this episode offers actionable advice on how to future-proof your pricing strategy with AI. Subscribe to Pricing Heroes — the go-to podcast for pricing professionals driving innovation in retail.

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we speak with Seth Nieman, former Vice President of Pricing Strategy & Transformation at Rite Aid, and former pricing and merchandising leader at Wakefern Food Corp and Lidl US. Seth shares his journey from helping launch Lidl’s U.S. pricing strategy to leading Rite Aid’s pricing transformation during its emergence from bankruptcy. He explains how pricing can serve as the conscience of the organization, and what it takes to build scalable architecture, align cross-functional teams, and drive pricing decisions under pressure.

Key Topics:

• Developing Lidl’s U.S. assortment and pricing from the ground up
• Launching Bowl & Basket and Paperbird at Wakefern, and using pricing to scale private-label growth
• Designing a KVI- and promotional role–based pricing architecture to improve CPI and RPI scores
• Implementing localized pricing zones across 60+ ShopRite stores, accounting for customer, competitor, and ownership differences
• Leading Rite Aid’s pricing reset post-bankruptcy: reassessing optimization logic, category roles, and competitive intelligence
• Why pricing must balance art and science—and how to communicate pricing decisions across functions
• Trends in ESLs, dynamic pricing, and why personalization should come with transparency and trust

Recommended Resources:

• Trade journals: Drug Store News, Progressive Grocer, Supermarket News
• NRF Big Show
• Business journals: The Wall Street Journal

Connect with Seth Nieman:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-nieman/

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we speak with Corina Manea, Vice President of Commercial at flaconi, Germany’s leading online beauty retailer. Corina shares her journey from Team Lead of Pricing to VP, and how she helped flaconi evolve from manual pricing processes to AI-powered optimization. She explains what makes pricing in luxury beauty so complex, how flaconi balances speed with strategic control, and why pricing teams are uniquely positioned to drive commercial transformation.

Key Topics:

• Career development across pricing and commercial functions
• Building pricing maturity — from spreadsheets to scalable systems
• Balancing pricing agility with brand integrity in beauty retail
• Experimentation, cross-functional collaboration, and internal advocacy
• How WeCommerce culture fuels pricing and team growth

Recommended Resources:

• Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Connect with Corina Manea:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corina-manea-831b9493/

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we speak with Per Sjöfors — also known as The Price Whisperer — and the founder and CEO of Sjöfors & Partners. With over 35 years of executive experience and more than 750 companies advised, Per shares his unique approach to pricing, grounded in behavioral economics, AI-driven insights, and deep market research.

We discuss the true impact of tariffs on pricing strategies, the psychological thresholds that influence customer behavior, and why most companies dramatically underestimate how their market perceives value. Per also explains how to avoid the common mistake of adding “tariff surcharges,” how to communicate price increases transparently, and how pricing teams can build resilience in times of uncertainty.

Key Topics:

• Why tariffs don’t affect willingness to pay — and what companies must do instead
• Identifying psychological “price walls” to avoid costly volume loss
• Communicating price increases with transparency and value framing
• The risks of gut-feel pricing and the ethical dilemma of margin padding
• Using behavioral economics to guide modern, data-informed pricing decisions

Recommended Resources:

• The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power by Per Sjöfors
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Misbehaving by Richard Thaler
• Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
• Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Connect with Per Sjöfors:

•  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/persjofors/
•  Website: https://sjofors.com/

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we speak with Josh Pollack, President and Principal Consultant at Pollack Retail Solutions. Josh shares insights from his 25+ years of experience in retail strategy, including stints at Sam’s Club, Circuit City, ALDI, PetSmart, FullBeauty Brands, and Cabela’s. He delves into why merchandising and pricing teams must work in tandem, how to balance short-term margin gains with long-term brand health, and where AI-driven dynamic pricing can either strengthen or undermine customer trust.

Key Topics:

• Blending creativity and data to drive merchandising success
• The intersection of pricing, forecasting, and inventory management
• Why tightly integrated merchandising and pricing functions matter
• Navigating price changes in volatile markets without alienating customers
• Using AI responsibly to optimize prices and maintain brand integrity

Recommended Resources:

• The Indicator by Planet Money
• Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans by Melanie Mitchell

Connect with Josh Pollack:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-pollack-81980a1/

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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

Get in touch!

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we sit down with Dr. Markus Husemann-Kopetzky, founder and managing director of the Price Management Institute, a boutique consultancy specializing in price management and price communication. As a senior research fellow, university lecturer, and advisor with more than a decade of experience in management and consulting roles, including over five years at Amazon as a senior manager of pricing and business analytics, Markus brings unique insights from both academic and practical perspectives. Some of you may know him as the author of the Handbook on Psychology of Pricing.

We invited him to discuss his latest report: “Data-based decision-making in retail & e-commerce,” which compiles actionable insights from a survey of more than 200 retail executives.

Recommended Resources

For pricing professionals looking to deepen their knowledge, Markus recommends:

• Getting Price Right by Gerald Smith
• The Expert Guide to Retail Pricing by Kiran Gange

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we sit down with Sheetal Chavan, the Commercial Pricing Lead at Zalando, one of Germany's largest online retailers selling shoes, fashion, and beauty products. With six years of experience in pricing and a diverse background across various business functions, Sheetal shares her journey into the pricing profession and offers valuable insights for both newcomers and seasoned professionals in the field.

Sheetal recommends several resources for those interested in pricing:

• The 10 Rules of Highly Effective Pricing by Danilo Zatta
• Price Model Revolution by Danilo Zatta

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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

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In this special episode of Pricing Heroes, we welcome back our very own Alex Galkin, who joins us for our conversation with today's guest, Maciej Kraus. Maciej is a Managing Partner at Movens Capital, a growth equity firm, where he helps companies generate more profit for their development and growth. He is also a guest lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the author of three books, including "The Future of Pricing: A Guide to the Next 10 Years of AI" and his forthcoming book, "Pricing Decoded: How Leading Pricing Practitioners Manage Practice to Boost Profits." Maciej is also one of the longest-serving members of Competera's advisory board.

Recommended Resources

Maciej recommends several resources for those looking to deepen their pricing knowledge:

• Value-Based Pricing by Stefan Liozu
• The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing by Thomas Nagle
• Mark Stiving's Impact Pricing Podcast

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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

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In this episode of Pricing Heroes, we dive deep into the fascinating world of behavioral economics with Melina Palmer, the founder and CEO of Brainy Business, a consultancy dedicated to applying behavioral economics principles to business growth. Melina is also the author of three insightful books, including The Truth About Pricing, which is the focus of our discussion for this episode. With a background in marketing and brand strategy and a master's degree in behavioral economics, Melina brings a unique perspective on how businesses can leverage behavioral science to enhance their pricing strategies.

Recommended Resources

• The Brainy Business podcast
• Using Behavioral Science by Nancy Harhut
• Mixed Signals by Uwe Gneezy

Connect with Melina

To learn more about Melina Palmer and her work, visit her website at TheBrainyBusiness.com, where you can find her books, podcast episodes, and information about consulting services. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn or on other social media platforms as @TheBrainyBiz on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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Get your free copy of Get Ready for the Future Of Pricing with our A-Z Guide.

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