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The e-commerce pricing glossary

Plain-English definitions of the pricing terms every e-commerce team should know — from MAP and MSRP to dynamic pricing, repricing, and price elasticity.

AI Product Matching: The use of machine learning to identify identical products across different websites by comparing images, titles, and specifications — rather than relying on keyword guesses. Accurate matching is what makes competitor price comparisons trustworthy.
Buy Box: The featured offer on an Amazon product page where most purchases happen. Sellers compete for the buy box on price, availability, fulfillment, and seller metrics; repricing tools help win it more often.
Ceiling Price: The maximum price a repricing rule is allowed to set, used to stay competitive and avoid overpricing even when competitors are out of stock.
Competitive Pricing: A pricing strategy that sets prices relative to competitors rather than purely on cost or perceived value. It requires continuous visibility into competitor prices to be effective.
Competitor Price Tracking: The continuous monitoring of competitors' advertised prices across marketplaces and stores, usually automated, so a retailer can react to changes quickly instead of checking by hand.
Cost-Plus Pricing: Setting a price by adding a fixed markup to the unit cost of a product. Simple to apply but ignores demand and competitor prices, so it can leave margin or sales on the table.
Dynamic Pricing: Adjusting prices automatically and frequently in response to market signals such as competitor moves, demand, stock levels, or time of day. Common in e-commerce, travel, and marketplaces.
Elasticity (Price Elasticity): A measure of how much demand for a product changes when its price changes. Elastic products lose sales quickly as price rises; inelastic products are less sensitive to price.
Floor Price: The minimum price you're willing to sell a product for, usually set to protect margin. Repricing rules respect the floor so automation never sells below it.
MAP (Minimum Advertised Price): The lowest price a manufacturer allows a reseller to advertise a product for. MAP policies protect brand value; MAP monitoring detects resellers who advertise below the agreed minimum.
Margin: The difference between the selling price of a product and its cost, expressed as an amount or percentage. Protecting margin is the goal behind most pricing automation.
Markdown: A reduction from a product's original selling price, often to clear aging or excess inventory. Excessive markdowns erode margin; price intelligence helps reduce them.
MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price): The price a manufacturer recommends a retailer sell a product for. Unlike MAP, MSRP is a suggestion rather than an advertising restriction.
Price History: A record of how a product's price has changed over time. Analyzing price history reveals seasonal patterns, promotional cadence, and competitor behavior.
Price Intelligence: The collection and analysis of pricing data — your own and competitors' — to inform pricing decisions. It combines monitoring, matching, history, and analytics in one view.
Price War: A cycle of repeated price cuts between competitors chasing the same customers, which can quickly destroy margins. Repricing guardrails are designed to avoid triggering one.
Product Change Detection: Automatically spotting when a competitor adds a new listing or edits a title, specification, image, or description — signals that can change the basis of a price comparison.
Real-Time Monitoring: Detecting and reporting changes (price, stock, product details) within minutes rather than on a daily batch, so teams can react before an opportunity passes.
Repricing: Automatically updating product prices based on rules and market conditions. Rule-based repricing follows explicit logic; AI repricing optimizes toward goals like buy-box wins or margin.
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit): A unique identifier for a distinct sellable product or variant. Price monitoring operates at the SKU level so comparisons are exact.
Stock Monitoring: Tracking the availability (in-stock, low-stock, out-of-stock) of competitor products. Stockout signals reveal short-term opportunities to capture demand or raise prices.
Web Scraping: The automated extraction of data from websites. Modern price intelligence platforms combine scraping with AI matching and managed infrastructure so customers don't maintain scrapers themselves.

Pricing FAQ

Quick answers

What is the difference between MAP and MSRP?

MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) is the lowest price a reseller is allowed to advertise a product for and is enforceable through a policy. MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) is only a recommended selling price with no advertising restriction.

What is price intelligence?

Price intelligence is the practice of collecting and analyzing your own and competitors' pricing data to make better pricing decisions. It combines competitor monitoring, AI product matching, price history, and analytics in one place.

What is the difference between dynamic pricing and repricing?

Dynamic pricing is the broad strategy of adjusting prices in response to market conditions. Repricing is the mechanism — usually rule-based or AI-driven automation — that actually changes prices to execute that strategy.

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