Unethical Pricing, Deceptive Pricing And Price Discrimination

This case study involves America’s largest and most recognizable retail chains. Walmart steadily grew from its founding in 1962 as a small Arkansas based retail store into the multi-national giant that it is today. One of the issues that Walmart’s unprecedented growth has raised is how it can maintain the ethical standards and principles held by its founder, Sam Walton, when it has grown past its humble roots and continues to grow in an ever more competitive and hectic world. Some of the current ethical issues that Walmart is facing are the treatment of its employees, the methods it employs to obtain retail goods at low prices, the sustainability of its products, and the use of bribery to further corporate interests (Ferrell 407). Therefore, this paper will examine each of these ethical issues and the stakeholders that are involved in the issues to create a global picture of the totality of the ethical dilemmas currently facing Walmart.

The principal microeconomic issue at work is supply and demand. The author invokes a number of economic theorists (both liberal and conservative) who endorse price gouging out of a belief that it is simply the natural manifestation of a capitalist society that relies on supply and demand. There is a belief that preventing price gouging allows consumers to act with little consequence for their actions. According to this line of thinking, a business is well within its rights to raise prices because they should respond to public demand; at other times, there is little demand, so they are wise to take advantage when there is significant demand. Moreover, economic theorists have argued that price-gouging is positive because it makes people question whether the item they are considering purchasing

Kohl’s pricing strategy has been the subject of illegal and ethical quandaries. Many opponents state that Kohl’s provides inflated deceptive reference prices. In 2013 a San Francisco appeals court permitted a lawsuit stating that the retailer falsely advertised sales pricing. (Los Angeles Times, 2013) Kohl’s appealed, only to lose as California courts permitted the lawsuits over the alleged false markdowns. While highly controversial other retailers have adopted a very resembling pricing model. In 2013 JCPenny implanted the Kohl’s sales strategies in its stores in an effort to revamp its struggling sales numbers. (Time 2013)

The problem with unethical practices is that a company itself is not the only one will suffer from the consequence of its illegal actions. Most of the time, there are customers who get victimized by these unethical practices as they put their trust and loyalty on businesses that they have patronized for so long. At the end of the day, all they can do is file their complaints and vent out their frustrations over the betrayal they experienced from their trusted businesses, but the damage remains permanent. The once excellent relationships are forever destroyed and victimized customers always carry with them the trauma and fear that they could be fooled again in the future.

An ethical issue that individuals face today involves the price war or price discrimination involving the airline industry. According to the legal definition of price discrimination: Price discrimination is the practice of charging different persons different prices for the same goods or services. Price discrimination is made illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act. 15 U.S.C. §2, the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §13, and by the Robinson-Patman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§13-13b, 21a, when engaged in for the purpose of lessening competition, such as tying the lower prices to the purchase of other goods or services.

How do channel members add value? Provide information, promotion, or put business in contact with potential customers.

Evaluate the view that, because price discrimination enables firms to make more profit, firms, but not consumers, benefit from price discrimination

As a consumer, we all get frustrated when we think a listed price is “too high” whether it is a necessity, and we have to buy it, or we just really want it. Some of the largest complaints by consumers today are directed towards the cost of goods. Marketing research has shown us that the costs of some items are being intentionally raised based on aspects of the individual who is making the purchase. The manipulation of prices can be broken down into three main issues: price fixing, price gouging, and price discrimination. Are there any positive or beneficial reasons to do this? Yes and no, the following paragraphs provide information about each practice individually.

Predatory pricing is an exclusionary act by which a firm, in order to create or maintain a monopoly power, lowers its prices below the profit maximizing level in order to push rival firms out of the market or prevent them from ever entering the market. In the long run, this results to be a detriment to consumers. Once the competition has left the market, the company can then raise prices to a supracompetitive level and recoup the losses suffered by predatory pricing. This results in higher prices for the consumer. With no alternative product available, the consumer is left with no choice but to pay the high price.

In other words most people would prefer to pay more and buy a more expensive product thinking that by paying more it is also superior to the other products of the same category that are cheaper. However, although the phrase “you get what you pay for” might have some validity in it that is not always the case, due to the fact that sometimes the products that might be cheaper are just as good as the competitor brand which has a higher price. In this instant it would be logical to buy the cheaper product however most human beings would opt for the expensive product, assuming that it is of better quality than the cheaper product. On the other hand, Dan Ariely rebuffs this claim and states, “We choose what we like, not what's best.” Sometimes humans don’t make decisions based on their preferences; instead they choose what they want and that leads to a process of rationalisation in order to get what they really want. However, they still want to give the impression that they were acting according to their preferences.

Imagen the price of something such as a case of water that normally sells for $10-$12. Now imgen that same package of water selling for $99. Hard to believe? It’s a real thing that happens to people in the world. This real world thing is called price gouging and it happens more times than you would think. Price gouging happens in times of need when people run out of supplies such as food, water and other needs price gougers buy items for low prices then resell them for much more than what there worth. They pretty much steal from the people they sell items to by giving them an unfair price. Around 37 states have already put laws against price gouging bit there are still 13 states that don’t have laws to counter it. In some cases price

Price gouging is the act of raising the prices of goods and services beyond what is considered reasonable

Rights. Using the rights method, an action or decision is considered ethical if it respects the rights of the involved persons or groups. Basic human rights such as the right to life, safety, free speech, freedom, to be informed, due process, property and others are protected and respected by ethical decisions and actions. I think the higher U.S. prices as unethical utilizing the rights framework and that it was unethical to price life-saving drugs so high that the people who needed them to live could not afford them. So GSK regarding to give services to its old customers was not socially responsible.

Quite often, consumers purchase goods and services based on their perceived need. Upon making the decision that a need is present and a solution is available consumers are more equipped to react to that need. Although previously perceived that consumers will normally accept prices as presented by suppliers that remains to not be the case. Consumers assess and process prices based on past purchases and other psychological process they went through previously such as persuasive marketing strategies, accessibility of the goods or services and possibly information gathered from prior purchasers of a product. There are countless options that are available to consumers. Consumers are then faced with the choice of choosing the product that best fulfills their need at that given point. Consumers who are knowledgeable regarding prices will be aware of the approximated price for products (Zhao, Zhao & Deng, 2015).

Price, which is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, can be difficult to get right. Pricing too high, or low, can negatively impact on customer satisfaction and revenue. Adopting a pricing strategy is necessary to achieve desired sales objectives (Chan & Wong 2005).