Heuristic Rules for the Dynamic Pricing Problem
Special Issue in Marketing
Oleg Melnikov
National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute", Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2409-4983
Published 2023-07-13
https://doi.org/10.15388/omee.2023.14.99
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Keywords

dynamic pricing
revenue management
price discrimination
inventory
backward induction
dynamic programming
heuristics

How to Cite

Melnikov, O. (2023) “Heuristic Rules for the Dynamic Pricing Problem”, Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 14(2(28), pp. 436–457. doi:10.15388/omee.2023.14.99.

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the development of heuristics for the dynamic pricing problem. A discrete time model of dynamic pricing on the fixed time horizon is proposed. It is applicable to products that satisfy two properties: 1) product value expires at a certain predetermined date, and 2) consumers demand at most a single unit of the product. This type of demand structure allows deriving a simple system of recursive equations for optimal prices using dynamic programming techniques. Optimal pricing policy is expressed as a function of time to expiration and inventory levels of unsold products. An analytical solution to this problem was obtained for special cases, while for the general case, a numerical algorithm has been developed. Qualitative characteristics of the optimal pricing policy are established, and their implications for dynamics of inventories and prices are discussed. Based on these observations, a simple heuristic rule for dynamic price adjustments is proposed. Performance of this heuristic is evaluated against the optimal dynamic and fixed-price policies using Monte-Carlo experiments. Results demonstrate high efficiency of the proposed heuristic strategy and its even simpler derivatives. Heuristics’ adaptability and ease of implementation should make it suitable and attractive for small and medium businesses.

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