MAP / MSRP Tracking

MAP monitoring and applying enforcements to violators are perfectly legal under U.S. antitrust statutes. Since minimum advertised price only relates to “advertised” pricing and does not tell a retailer what they can sell it for in their store, this practice is legal and serves as a protection for the manufacturers.

On the other hand, European laws restrict brands to force minimum advertised prices to retailers as it is considered as limiting competition. This essentially takes all the ability to price a product out of the hands of the manufacturer and ensures that it is the free market, which sets the price, and the mark-up on the product.

However, monitoring price fluctuations can help manufacturers effectively define future relationships with a retailer, while also delivering many incentives for retailers and distributors.

Amazon and big marketplaces often apply MAP but only if the brand owner informs them of violation. If brand or manufacturer figure out that the products are being sold below the MAP pricing policy by a Amazon reseller, they can report them. Amazon will warn them after the first violation. If they still do not respect to the MAP agreement, Amazon will have the right to remove them from the marketplace.

Overall, not only is MAP legal and applicable, but it’s also a very important aspect of pricing strategy and the whole process of tracking prices.

Automate your prices!

Employing MAP/MSRP pricing rules policy & tracking carries a range of benefits, including:

1. Promoting fair competition across all distribution channels.
   As the manufacturer, you can reach every potential customer through your small and large resellers. They are both valuable. So you should care to promote fair competition across all distribution channels and to allow smaller sellers to compete with larger retailers.
2. Maintaining brand identity and value
   Consistency is what consumer expects from the brands and MAP policy is the key for consistency in pricing. When you establish a minimum price for your products to be advertised, this will help you maintain your brand identity and value across your entire channel. It is a great way to maintain price integrity, which is a perfect sign of being a trust-builder among customers.
3. Preventing underpricing
   To attract the consumer, resellers can choose to lower the prices rather than enhancing their marketing, their shopping experience or their customer service. It is easy to make advertising with a super low price on it. But, MAP helps you prevent underpricing among your resellers, and make them change their vision. By using an intelligent MAP monitoring platform, you’ll be able detect the violators easily and review the relationship with them.
4. Attracting new retailers to your products
   A successful application of MAP means that you are serious about maintaining the integrity of your brand and supporting reseller while they are selling your products. As we have already mentioned, consistency makes them trust you and want to sell your products.

Start price tracking!

With MAP/MSRP, the price is becoming less competitive and the retailers are forced to attract customers in other ways such as perfect customer experiences, additional coupons, and campaigns. That will generate an added value for consumers.

Moreover, unauthorized sellers (which will be mentioned in the further part of the article) that are selling unauthorized products can be detected and eliminated from the market thanks to price monitoring which allows you to spot your products being sold at ridiculously low prices. In this way, consumers will get rid off receiving fake products or as you’ll prevent unauthorized sellers, they will be also avoided getting poor support from unauthorized sellers.

Find out more!