Short-dated products require regular monitoring. In the food industry, stock is not a stable asset: its value decreases daily as the date approaches. The closer the deadline, the greater the operational pressure, the greater the risk of breakage, and the more fragile the margin. Without a structured pricing strategy, a department can lose a significant part of its profitability on the most date-sensitive references.
For a long time, the management of products close to expiry was based on late discounts, often applied in a uniform, reactive manner. Today, this approach is showing its limits. It reduces margins, trivializes promotions and sometimes makes consumers dependent on discounted products. The issue is no longer simply to sell before the deadline, but to determine when to adjust the price to preserve the value of the stock as much as possible.
In this context, pricing becomes a real balancing act. A well-constructed pricing strategy for perishable products enables sensitive items to be sold out more quickly, food waste to be limited and profitability to be protected, while maintaining a consistent price image for the brand.
The ability to adjust prices at the right moment becomes a competitive advantage as well as a lever for profitability.
Understanding the challenges of short-dated products
The first difficulty lies in the very nature of the dates indicated on products. A best-before date is directly linked to health safety and requires strict management: once exceeded, the product can no longer be sold. The DDM, on the other hand, allows greater flexibility, since some products can still be consumed after the date displayed, without any major risk to the consumer. This distinction profoundly changes pricing logic, as it determines the expected speed of sale, the level of risk and the commercial room for manoeuvre.
As the date approaches, the perceived value of the product diminishes. Consumers become more price-sensitive, and stock gradually loses its attractiveness. This is where the notion of the “time value of stock” comes into play. In the case of perishable products, time has a direct impact on the economic value of the merchandise. Stock depreciates continuously, and every day lost reduces the chances of preserving margins.
This pressure doesn’t just come from the customer. It also comes from operational costs linked to breakage, food waste, restocking constraints and the need to maintain a balance between profitability and fast clearance. The wrong pricing strategy can result in discounts being applied too late, with a direct impact on the department’s results.
Why conventional approaches are no longer enough
Many chains still use very simple mechanisms: an automatic discount on D-1, an identical grid in all stores, or markdowns triggered only when stock becomes critical. These approaches have several limitations.
When a discount comes too late, it often has to be much stronger to quickly sell off remaining volumes. Conversely, if markdowns are too systematic, customer behavior can change. Consumers learn to wait for discounts, which gradually reduces sales at normal prices.
The real challenge is not to reduce prices faster, but to anticipate the risk of non-sales earlier. It is this logic that today distinguishes the most effective strategies from purely reactive approaches.
The objectives and benefits of an effective pricing strategy
An effective pricing strategy for short-dated products does not consist in multiplying discounts to quickly sell off stocks. Its aim is more strategic: to strike the right balance between speed of clearance, margin preservation and maintaining the perceived value of products.
When properly managed, pricing strategy is above all a way of anticipating the risk of breakage, rather than suffering from it. By adjusting prices progressively and at the right time, retailers can avoid massive last-minute markdowns, which have a serious impact on profitability. Pricing thus becomes a genuine management tool, capable of keeping pace with demand and maximizing the value recovered before expiry.
A successful pricing strategy has several key objectives:
- Get rid of products before they expire without sacrificing profitability.
- Reduce unsold food and limit waste.
- Preserve the store’s price image and avoid trivialization of promotions.
- Maintain a perception of quality for fresh and perishable products.
- Adapt discounts to the actual level of risk and rotation speed.
- Improve stock flow and reduce operational pressure in stores.
This approach also helps to protect consumer relationships over the long term. Overly aggressive or systematic promotions can get customers used to waiting for discounts, and gradually weaken the perceived value of products. Conversely, a coherent and controlled discounting policy helps preserve customer confidence while maintaining a fair and balanced price perception.
The benefits are not limited to immediate profitability. A well-constructed perishable pricing strategy also improves overall operational efficiency. It is based on a more comprehensive approach that combines :
- demand forecasting,
- adjustment of ordered volumes,
- inventory management,
- coordination of store operations,
- tracking of turnover and sales data.
Pricing thus becomes a transversal lever linking commercial, operational and environmental issues. Relying on sales data, rotation histories and local buying patterns, retailers can fine-tune their decisions with greater precision, and limit losses without damaging margins.
Ultimately, an effective pricing strategy not only enables you to sell faster, but also to sell better. It transforms the management of short-dated products into a genuine lever for sustainable performance, capable of reconciling economic efficiency, operational fluidity and reduced food waste.
The main pricing strategies
Progressive markdowns depending on the number of days remaining
Gradual discounting remains the most intuitive mechanism. It accompanies the decline in perceived value while preserving the margin when the product is still attractive, making it possible to anticipate depreciation without resorting to hasty discounting.
Dynamic pricing based on rotation speed
Dynamic pricing for short-dated products is based on actual demand. When rotation slows down, the price drop occurs earlier; when it accelerates, the price remains stable. This data-driven strategy maximizes stock clearance without sacrificing profitability, by adjusting prices to actual customer behavior.
Targeted discounts by category, brand or format
Some categories are more resilient to discounting than others. A fine-tuned strategy makes it possible to adapt pricing according to the price sensitivity of the department, brand awareness or product format. This avoids uniform discounts and makes the sales strategy more relevant and effective.
Use lots and promotional mechanisms with care
Lots can accelerate sales, but risk cannibalizing sales at normal prices. Their use must remain measured to preserve the perception of value and avoid margin dilution.
Differentiated pricing strategy for best-before and sell-by dates
DDM products allow for more flexible pricing, sometimes even after the date. DLC products require a stricter strategy, focused on safety and waste reduction. This differentiation makes it possible to adapt the strategy to the actual level of risk.
Building a high-performance discount grid
Define rules by date threshold
An effective grid is based on clear thresholds: J-3, J-2, J-1. Each stage corresponds to a level of discount consistent with the product’s residual value and probability of sale.
Tailor discounts to the risk of wastage
The higher the risk of breakage, the greater the discount should be. The aim is to reduce unsold food without resorting to systematic discounting. The grid must reflect reality on the ground, not theoretical logic.
Integrate minimum margin constraints
The price scale must respect an incompressible margin threshold. A successful perishables pricing strategy never sacrifices profitability for volume. Discounting must remain a management tool, not a headlong rush.
Test thresholds by department and store
Each store has its own dynamics. By testing, measuring and adjusting, we can optimize the grid according to actual customer behavior and local conditions.
The growing role of data and AI
Price optimization according to CSD increasingly relies on data analysis. The most advanced retailers now use sales histories, weather, traffic times, competitor promotions and local events to anticipate buying behavior.
Artificial intelligence enables us to automate these trade-offs by proposing price recommendations in real time. It doesn’t just look for the best price at time T; it looks for the best probable price, taking into account the future risk of non-sale.
This approach considerably improves store responsiveness. It also avoids certain common mistakes, such as unnecessary discounts on products that would otherwise have been sold without a discount.
The data thus becomes a genuine operational management tool. It enables us to monitor not only breakage and clearance rates, but also more strategic indicators such as markdown margins and inventory aging costs.
In-store best practices
Even the best pricing models are ineffective without rigorous in-store execution. Product visibility plays a decisive role in speed of sale. A product with a high markdown but low visibility still carries a high risk of going unsold.
Team training is just as essential. Success often depends on the right timing for applying discounts, and on coordination between operations, merchandising and restocking.
The most successful strategies are based precisely on this alignment between pricing, supply chain and field execution. Price alone cannot compensate for poor inventory management or inadequate restocking.
Regulatory framework
Regulation of food promotions
Promotions on food products are strictly regulated. The strategy must respect these limits to avoid non-compliance and guarantee consumer safety.
What can be stored, donated or removed from the shelf
Regulations clearly distinguish between products that can be discounted, those that can be donated and those that must be destroyed. This distinction has a direct impact on pricing strategy and the management of perishable goods.
Points to watch for on commercial terms
All information must be accurate, legible and comply with legal requirements. An error can undermine trust and expose the brand to sanctions, particularly in the case of expired products or expired best-before dates.
A concrete example of pricing management for yoghurts in supermarkets
Let’s take the example of a tub of plain yoghurt sold in a supermarket with a 7-day best-before date. When it is put on the shelf, the product is sold at the normal price, as its perceived value remains high and demand is stable. As long as rotation remains fluid, no pricing intervention is necessary.
As the date approaches, the strategy evolves according to the level of non-sales risk. At D-3, if sales slow down slightly but inventory remains under control, a small discount can be applied to accelerate off-take without degrading margin. The aim is to anticipate the drop in perceived value, while maintaining acceptable profitability and limiting food waste.
For a highly perishable product such as yoghurt, faster intervention often becomes necessary when stock remains high at D-2 or D-1. In this case, the priority is no longer just the margin per unit, but reducing the risk of breakage. A higher discount can then be applied to sell the maximum number of products before they are withdrawn from the shelf.
However, the strategy must remain consistent with the product’s role in the store. If the yogurt in question belongs to a well-known brand or a product that consumers buy a lot of, an over-aggressive discount could damage the overall perception of prices in the fresh produce department. The retailer will therefore seek to apply a gradual and controlled markdown, capable of accelerating sales without trivializing promotions.
Conversely, a product with low price sensitivity, or with a best-before date rather than a best-before date, can withstand a later discount. As demand often remains stable for longer, the retailer can better preserve its margin before adjusting the price.
This example shows that the management of short-dated products does not depend solely on the number of days remaining before expiry. It depends above all on a combination of turnover speed, stock levels, consumer price sensitivity and the product’s strategic role in the store.
Mistakes to avoid when managing prices for short-dated products
- Apply markdowns too late, when the product has already lost much of its appeal.
- Use an identical discount grid for all departments, without taking into account differences in turnover, price sensitivity or risk level.
- Multiply aggressive promotions that damage the price image and get customers used to waiting for discounts.
- Focusing solely on reducing breakage without measuring the real impact on margins.
- Under-estimating the importance of in-store visibility: a product that is well differentiated but not very visible is difficult to sell.
- Disconnect pricing from inventory management and restocking, which can lead to overstocking and out-of-stock situations.
- Adjust prices only according to the remaining date, without taking into account actual demand or rotation speed.
- Ignoring the differences between CSD and MDD in pricing strategy.
- Apply deep discounts too early, at the risk of unnecessarily sacrificing profitability.
- Lack of coordination between pricing, merchandising, supply chain and store operations teams.
- Manage short-dated products without reliable data or tracking of key KPIs such as throughput rate, recovered margin or inventory aging cost.
- Failure to train teams in proper markdown timing and execution practices.
- Ignore the specific local characteristics of stores and the buying behavior of each catchment area.
- Unclear communication on discounts or dates, which can undermine consumer confidence.
- Treat markdowns as a simple end-of-cycle operation, rather than as a genuine strategic lever for managing perishable stock.
From reactive to predictive pricing: anticipating rather than enduring shelf life
The management of short-dated products is a perfect illustration of how time influences the economic value of a stock. The closer the expiry date, the more price becomes a strategic lever capable of accelerating off-take while limiting losses.
The most successful strategies no longer consider markdowns as a simple end-of-cycle reaction. They now manage perishable products as dynamic assets whose value is constantly evolving.
By combining data, forecasts, dynamic pricing and operational execution, retailers can significantly reduce waste without damaging their price image. Pricing products close to expiry is no longer a defensive measure: it becomes a genuine value-creation tool, capable of aligning profitability, operational efficiency and the reduction of food waste.
