Hello and happy holidays from all of us at Pervasive Mind. If you’re joining us for the first time, welcome – we’re always honored to have you with us – and we hope our regular readers are seeing value from what we’re sharing each week. The content we’re sharing each week is aimed to help brands navigate the world of e-commerce more effectively. The world of online retail today is evolving at lightning speed, and with it comes new challenges – and opportunities – for brands managing MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) programs. From emerging marketplaces to the rise of AI-driven tools like blocking technology and pricing models, the landscape is shifting rapidly, and only those brands that can adapt quickly and effectively are poised to stay ahead.
This week, we’ll explore strategies for future-proofing your MAP program, ensuring it not only withstands challenges your team is facing today but also that it’s prepared to navigate tomorrow’s complexities. This will be a primer for deeper dives into each topic in the coming weeks and if you’d like us to expand on anything in greater detail, please reach out to us, we’re always open to feedback and suggestions.
The Changing Face of E-commerce
The e-commerce ecosystem is no longer defined by a handful of dominant players. While marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay remain critical, newer entrants are gaining traction, reshaping how consumers interact with brands. Add to that the proliferation of third-party sellers, AI-driven dynamic pricing tools, and increasingly sophisticated resellers, and the task of maintaining MAP compliance becomes more complex than ever. It’s a lot for any team to consider and may seem overwhelming at times but rest assured that we’re here to help you work through this and emerge victorious on the other side.
As you start to tackle these new facets of MAP monitoring and enforcement, start your refocusing strategy by asking yourself this question: Are my MAP strategy and toolset robust enough to adapt?
Key Trends for Brands to Consider
Emerging Marketplaces: Platforms like Temu, Etsy and AliExpress are gaining steam rapidly, attracting a mix of legitimate and unauthorized sellers. Monitoring these new channels is critical to maintaining visibility and developing a strategy that reduces headaches for your team.
AI-Powered Pricing Tools: Many retailers and resellers now leverage AI to adjust prices dynamically. While this can boost sales for them, it can also lead to unintentional MAP violations if left unchecked. It’s also worth noting that the term “dynamic” means different things to different people, even within organizations. For clarity, we’re going to consider dynamic to mean pricing that adjusts to pre-determined attributes like sales velocity, seasonality, competitor price movement, and clearance strategies. In future posts, we’re explore this topic further to clear up much of the confusion surrounding it.
Sophisticated Reseller Networks: Retailers as well as unauthorized sellers are finding new ways to mask their activities. Some of that involves leveraging global supply chains and distributor networks while others employ increasingly sophisticated blocking techniques powered by AI that make monitoring difficult.
Consumer Behavior Shifts: Consumers are increasingly relying on price comparison tools and seeking deals across multiple channels, placing additional pressure on brands to ensure pricing consistency. Studies have shown that consumer shopping patterns are not what they once were and standard consideration/buying cycles have changed dramatically. With Flash Deals and late-night discounting becoming more widely adopted by retailers, shoppers are now able to strike quickly when deals present themselves and brands with comprehensive coverage of these sites will fare better.
Here’s some quick stats to illustrate this last point:
Flash Sales
- Roughly 60% of consumers say they make impulse buys during Flash Sales.
- Approximately 75% of shoppers feel more excited during these sales, leading 15-20% more during flash sales than during regular promotions.
Late-Night Shopping
- 72% of consumers report shopping online after bedtime, with the majority making purchases between midnight and 4 a.m.
- Millennials and Gen Xers are the biggest contributors to late-night shopping, spending an average of $165–$217 annually on purchases made during these hours.
In upcoming posts, we’ll suggest new strategies for brands to not only combat these trends but thrive in the face of them. For now, we’ve included some recommendations for getting started, below.
Strategies to Future-Proof Your MAP Program
- Expand Your Monitoring Capabilities
To keep pace with the evolving e-commerce landscape, brands must monitor more than just the traditional giants like Amazon and Walmart. Emerging marketplaces, aggregators, and niche resellers are equally important. Broadening your monitoring scope ensures violations are caught wherever they occur.
As you research and plan for means to adapt, focus on investing in tools and processes that can quickly and effortlessly adapt to new channels as they arise, ensuring your team always has full visibility across the market.
- Leverage AI
Relying solely on traditional means of data collection to identify violations isn’t enough in today’s fast-moving environment. AI-powered solutions allow brands to easily address potential issues before they escalate, enabling proactive enforcement.
Additionally, using AI to analyze past data and identify trends – such as high-risk sellers or seasonal spikes in violations – can help you prioritize enforcement efforts during critical sales periods like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
- Update Policy Guidelines
Rigid, one-size-fits-all MAP policies no longer suffice. Instead, brands need flexible policies that account for the nuances of different channels, product categories, and retailer relationships.
Some of the brands we speak to daily are customizing MAP guidelines based on the needs of each sales channel while maintaining overall consistency. This approach allows for tailored enforcement without compromising fairness.
- Strengthen Retailer Collaboration
Retailers are partners in MAP compliance, not adversaries. Engaging them early and often helps build trust and ensures they understand the importance of adhering to your policies.
One of the best ways to foster collaboration is by sharing reporting consistently so that they know what data set you are looking at. You may also consider offering access to tools or dashboards that provide retailers with transparency into their own performance. When communicating with retailers, highlight their compliance achievements and discuss opportunities for improvement collaboratively.
- Prioritize Continuous Improvement
The e-commerce landscape will continue to evolve, which means your MAP program must evolve with it. Treat your strategy as a living framework that can adapt to new challenges and incorporate lessons learned.
Meet with key stakeholders and day-to-day experts to regularly review your MAP enforcement data, refine your policies, and adjust your processes to stay ahead of industry changes. Incorporating a semi-annual MAP review that includes Operations, Marketing, Sales, executive stakeholders and contacts from key partners is a great way to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that processes, providers.
Why Future-Proofing Matters
A MAP strategy designed for today’s challenges won’t necessarily succeed overnight. But by taking a proactive approach to emerging trends, brands can protect their pricing integrity, strengthen retailer relationships, and maintain consumer trust – regardless of how the market evolves.
Future-proofing isn’t just about compliance; it’s about staying competitive in an rapidly changing landscape and making sure your policy and processes don’t become stagnant. The brands that embrace adaptability and innovation in their MAP programs will lead the pack, while those that cling to outdated approaches risk falling behind.
Final Thoughts
Future-proofing your MAP strategy isn’t a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process. By expanding monitoring capabilities, leveraging AI-powered solutions, creating dynamic policies, and fostering collaboration with retailers, brands can navigate the complexities of today’s e-commerce landscape while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.
If your current provider hasn’t moved at the same speed as the market or your MAP program needs an upgrade to meet the demands of the future, Pervasive Mind is here to help. Let’s start the conversation and build a MAP strategy that evolves with you.
