Three cool pricing rollouts from a hot summer

The summer is drawing to a close, but leading-edge pricing solutions implemented by retailers will deliver value for years to come.

Once again, summer has drifted by while everyone was busy hitting the beach or heading for the mountains. Technically, a few weeks remain in what always seems to be fastest season of all, but this is a good time to look back at some of the cool pricing management tools deployed by retailers in summer 2026.

Bealls

A regional Southeast off-price retailer is automating markdown decisions based on real-time data. Bealls Inc. is leveraging the artificial intelligence-equipped Oracle Retail Lifecycle Pricing Optimization (LPO) solution to automate and optimize pricing decisions based on real-time demand signals, inventory levels, regional considerations, and projected lifecycle margin. 

[READ MORE: Bealls optimizes clearance pricing]

Prior to using LFO, Bealls relied on time-based markdown schedules that advanced products through fixed discount tiers regardless of item-level performance. Since deploying LPO, the retailer says it has increased clearance sales dollars by 25% and reduced its reliance on spreadsheets and fixed pricing calendars. 

As a result, Bealls says its merchants and planners are now able to focus on strategic exceptions while LPO continuously evaluates item performance and recommends the optimal markdown path.

Grupo Coppel

The operator of one of Mexico’s largest department store chains is AI-enabling its private label apparel and footwear strategy. Grupo Coppel is utilizing First Insight AI decision tools as part of a broader $4.6 billion transformation growth strategy at its Coppel department store banner. 

Coppel is bringing predictive consumer signals into its merchandising process to help guide its private label strategy and support decisions across assortment, pricing and category growth. 

Coppel will use First Insight’s proprietary Value Score, a predictive measure of customer appeal, price point and purchase intent, throughout the private label product development lifecycle.

The retailer intends to shape private label assortments around the products most likely to resonate with shoppers to help reduce markdowns, improve sell-through and direct development investment toward the strongest opportunities. Coppel also hopes to optimize pricing, align merchandising strategies across channels, and obtain customer feedback early in development rather than waiting for samples or sales data.

In an initial pilot of First Insight technology, Coppel focused on women’s apparel, its largest category. More than seven in 10 (72%) private label women’s styles landed within the medium-to-high Value Score range. The analysis also revealed pricing’s critical role in impacting purchase intent.

Savers Value Village

The largest for-profit thrift store operator in North America is implementing a new technology tool to streamline and optimize its pricing process. Savers Value Village Inc. has launched ThriftIQ, a platform designed to modernize operations by reducing manual inputs and bringing more “consistency and precision” to pricing decisions across the company’s men’s and women’s apparel assortment. 

The retailer says ThriftIQ, which leverages artificial intelligence, allows for more consistent and predictable pricing, which helps customers shop a broad assortment of pre-owned items while preserving the “excitement” of discovering unique finds.

ThriftIQ has been deployed in 58 pilot stores, helping to price more than 25 million men’s and women’s apparel items across 45,000 retail brands. Stores using the platform saw improvements across key metrics, including higher unit sell-through, larger basket sizes and stronger sales yields, according to the company.