Feature
Sniffie Software digs out the best price for everyone
Having a little computer in hand at all times enables consumers to compare prices without trekking from one store to another. Finnish company Sniffie Software ensures that companies know what their competitors are selling for.
Tomi Grönfors knows what is the best way to save money: paying the optimal price for the product you need. A clever consumer will always compare prices before making a purchase decision – and with our always-connected mobiles, it’s easy and quick.
Thus, if retailers are unaware of the market price, they’ll lose revenue in a matter of clicks.
“This has really made consumers kings in the market,” Grönfors explains. “People can walk into stores to see the product, check out other retailers online and get it from the one who sells it for the best price.”
Sniffie Software, co-founded by the now-CEO Grönfors, is set to disrupt the pricing methods of e-commerce and retail giants. Its cloud-based software-as-a-service collects up-to-date market pricing information, enabling companies to analyse and optimise their margins by repricing their products and sending new data to their own system.
This, in Grönfors’ opinion, benefits both retailers and consumers. Retailers know how to price their products, where they can win and where they must toughen up, whereas consumers will be more likely to find their bargains.
“Even if it doesn’t directly lower prices, it increases activity in the market. In that sense, Sniffie democratises retail.”
Retailers need to act instantly
Being cheaper than the rest is not the message Sniffie is aiming to spread. Grönfors explains that the software is designed to enable retailers to know where they stand and how they can stand taller than others.
“A good example can be found in the hospitality industry,” he tells. “For instance, hotels sometimes have revenue managers that keep a keen eye on the market to get the best possible price, but the price can vary.”
With Sniffie, the price can be adjusted instantly. The monthly service even helps to build a pricing strategy that can be used to analyse the data it collects.
Grönfors says that Sniffie is best suited for companies that operate in price-intensive industries and resell products that are sold also by their competitors. The users include large corporations with in-depth in-house expertise in pricing, as well as small, independent e-commerce firms.
“The principle is based on the immense growth of mobile buying. Wherever consumers go, they have access to real-time information about prices, so retailers need to act right away, too.”
Grönfors also notes that as pricing information is so accessible to consumers, premium retailers need to find other ways to compete in the market, such as higher level of service or value-added services.
Growth ahead in all directions
Due to the growing mobile market, the competition has also hardened. Grönfors shares the story of one of the company’s advisors, who recently visited a shop to look for headphones.
“At the store, he searched for the product online and spotted it on Amazon for 70 euros cheaper. For that price difference, he was willing to wait for the two-day delivery. It’s a burning problem for both retail and e-commerce to keep track of, as it has a direct impact on their revenue.”
Evidently, Grönfors isn’t the only one believing in Sniffie. From the very beginning, there have been companies collaborating with the development of the service, and in January the team was selected for Google’s Accelerate your Growth Nordics programme.
Currently, Sniffie has customers in the Nordics and Baltics, with ambitions to grow all over Europe. The team of about a dozen members is set to expand as well, as Sniffie wants to be present in local markets. The vision is far from modest: to be the most significant e-commerce revenue optimisation platform by 2027.