PRICING TACTICS OF GROCERY RETAILRES AS THE DRIVER OF TACTICAL CONSUMER RESPONSE

Sa？etak Price is the most sensitive element of marketing mix for consumers, but also the fastest and easiest element to change, and consequently, easiest to copy by competitors. Retail pricing is quite challenging since it includes large number of products in retailers’ assortment. While strategic pricing relates to setting the regular prices and manage targeted price image, tactical pricing relates to daily price changes in very competitive environment. Price promotions are marketing and promotional tool commonly used by contemporary retailers all over the world. They have a special importance for grocery retailers who use Hi-Lo price strategy with a goal of attracting consumers in the store and increasing store turnover and profit. Without meaningful and clever management of price promotions retailers can face profit issues, e.g. due to the lack of impulsive purchases of products that are not at a price promotion. The latter can be associated to the consumers whose behaviour has been affected by regular price promotions. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to investigate consumers’ attitudes and behaviour towards price promotions at grocery retailers. With this intention, the survey questionnaire was conducted among 305 consumers whose answers were analysed using SPSS statistical software. Results suggest that consumers usually shop at multiple retailers, more precisely 3.8 retailers on average and that price promotions can be the main reason of attracting consumers to the store, but mostly for the occasional shopping, not regular. Furtherly, at majority retailers, largest impression regarding prices for the occasional shoppers leave the prices of individual products. At this level of managing prices of individual products and their price promotions, which is mostly a part of pricing tactic, consumer loyalty is not likely to be built. In addition to previous, consumers are more educated about prices and the main motives for their seeking of favourable prices are that they want to behave rational and are accustomed to price promotions