I'm actually surprised this is not already built into Shopify by default. This seems like a very basic functionality which can be added at any moment so what would that do with a startup?
Former Shopify employee, but speaking based on public knowledge;
1. Liability. A result of "raising prices by $10 is 5% more revenue" is not confirmation that raising prices by $10 is a good idea. I expect a non-trivial error rate, especially since most merchants aren't statistics savvy (forming experiments, doing risk analysis and interpreting data is hard). If Shopify causes this, it's a story. Startups will have room to develop features / legal to adjust to the liability concerns
2. Channels. Shopify is a very multi-channel platform and many stores actually rely on Facebook or Instagram integrations and physical stores rather than their online store. To be able to control prices on all these channels is an engineering challenge, and will also further dilute the value of the data. It'll also amplify concerns about pricing-inconsistencies.
3. Just a high-risk idea. Customers don't like seeing different prices. Merchants don't like running experiments that could cause them to lose money. Merchants also like being "good" to their customers by some measure, and some merchants would consider this unfair.
I agree with all of this. If there was any store I shopped at and realized there were two different prices I would think they have some savvy marketers but would also stop being their customer. I don't want amazon or airline fluctuations in price when I'm shopping.
Best of luck though. I can see many stores thinking this is the way to unlock profitability.
All great points. Data significance + education on how it works is super important here (and something I've been personally explaining to many brands and merchants).
Another thing I'd like to add: most of the comments in this thread are assuming price is going to be increased when in reality a good number of merchants are going to actually end up lowering their prices (and serving more customers). In the end, it's all about delivering + capturing as much value as possible.
1. Liability. A result of "raising prices by $10 is 5% more revenue" is not confirmation that raising prices by $10 is a good idea. I expect a non-trivial error rate, especially since most merchants aren't statistics savvy (forming experiments, doing risk analysis and interpreting data is hard). If Shopify causes this, it's a story. Startups will have room to develop features / legal to adjust to the liability concerns
2. Channels. Shopify is a very multi-channel platform and many stores actually rely on Facebook or Instagram integrations and physical stores rather than their online store. To be able to control prices on all these channels is an engineering challenge, and will also further dilute the value of the data. It'll also amplify concerns about pricing-inconsistencies.
3. Just a high-risk idea. Customers don't like seeing different prices. Merchants don't like running experiments that could cause them to lose money. Merchants also like being "good" to their customers by some measure, and some merchants would consider this unfair.