Dunnhumby Rebrands KSS Retail

Consumer science company Dunnhumby has relaunched its KSS Retail business unit under the new Dunnhumby Price and Promotion brand.

The move reflects the integration of the company’s software and tools with its globally established consulting and research practice, the company said.

Company officials said retailers can now turn to a single source for strategy, research and planning, and other distinctive price and promotion services, in addition to enterprise-class optimization and analytics tools. The goal is to empower merchandising and category management teams to better understand their customers and make informed decisions that drive long-term loyalty and profitability.

With the 2015 holiday season close at hand, retailers are waging intense price-matching battles to compete. However, their tactics too often increase shopper price sensitivity and diminish long-term loyalty, according to Howard Langer, managing director for price and promotion at Dunnhumby.

“At the very core of a successful price and promotion strategy is knowledge of one’s customers," he said. “The unique combination of our strategic processes, proprietary insights and cutting-edge software suite enables Dunnhumby Price and Promotion to help retailers truly take the right steps that result in sustained pricing power.”

For example, Dunnhumby Price and Promotion works with retail chains to:

• Evaluate and model customer price perception, providing insight into what steps influence sustained shopper loyalty and competitive advantage
• Develop more relevant, personalized promotional plans that attract their most valuable customers and grow category performance with minimal cannibalization
• Forecast the impact of pricing, promotional and assortment changes on customer demand and key financial metrics, such as revenue and gross margin

KSS Retail was acquired by Dunnhumby in 2010 based on the strength of its PriceStrat software solution, which pioneered the market for price and promotions optimization. Since then, PriceStrat has been implemented at some of the largest retailers in the world, including Tesco and Southeastern Grocers.