The famous “never knowingly undersold” price promise of this popular UK store is returning. This is a promise that was halted two years ago; it now comes back big. What’s different? This time, the pledge will include online shopping instead of just in-store purchases. The store would deploy advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, to match prices with 25 top retailers.

Why Bring Back Price Promise?
Over the past couple of years, the store has had it very tough. It had to close several outlets and lay off some of its staff just to keep its head above water. At the beginning of this year, however, fortunes began to change when it eventually posted a profit. It is still way off target, and further job losses are yet to be announced while the store fights its way back. The company’s new managing director, Peter Ruis, believes the return of the price pledge marks a necessary step in the right direction.

“When we took the price promise out, people automatically assumed all prices went up,” said Mr. Ruis. “That necessarily wasn’t the case.” He further alluded that the previous pledge had not worked that well in 2022. During that period, there was a need for staff to employ archaic methods of pencils, spreadsheets, and even visits to competitors’ stores to check prices. All this was very confusingly handled and did not fit in the modern shopping world, especially because increasingly more people shop online.

New Technology, New Opportunities
Mr. Ruis has a feeling that modern technology, especially AI, can make the price promise work so much better this time. In 2022, when the pledge was removed, many customers were baffled about how this works. The latter indeed was a product of times when most of the customers came from the locals, but shopping habits have changed. A new price pledge will be developed that would look at keeping prices competitive, even online.

The new policy will cover only branded products. Advanced software will be used to track the prices being charged by competitors such as Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, AO.com, and Amazon. This ensures the store can keep its promise that customers are assured of getting the best price possible.

Mixed Reactions to the Decision
This was in some ways confusing to some of them, since the previous managing director Pippa Wicks had dismantled the price pledge at just about the correct time when the cost of living was pinching many people. According to the BBC, analyst Catherine Shuttleworth said, “A lot of people were scratching their heads over the decision to scrap the pledge.” She thinks bringing the pledge back is a win for customers, but it is hard to say just how much it will cost the store, and if it will help win back customers.

“The challenge will be how easy shoppers find it to use,” she added. Mr. Ruis did not disclose how much the new price promise would cost but said it was among his highest priorities upon joining the company in January.

News of a New Direction for the Store
Mr. Ruis is not new to the store, this being his third stint with the company, having been a director and a senior buyer previously. He has also been the chief executive of other big retail names like Jigsaw and Anthropologie. Since his appointment, he has been hell-bent on steering the store in a new direction, ensuring the restoration of the price pledge and competitiveness of the store in today’s market.

Meanwhile, the retail landscape has been changing fast in the UK. The High Street struggles to get back on its feet after suffering at the hands of both COVID and online shopping. A report showed a net loss of 5,000 stores contributed by PwC last year. Even the competitors of this store are feeling the heat. Other large department store chains like Marks & Spencer have closed 110 shops as part of its major reorganization and Debenhams that once a popular department store closed its final shop in 2021 and is now an online brand only.

Online Retailers on the Rise
It is the future where more and more stores are moving from brick-and-mortar to just online stores. Some other famous stores like Topshop, Cath Kidston, and TM Lewin have also become online-only brands after shuttering their physical outlets. For example, Topshop now exists only as a part of the Asos website. However, Asos recently announced that it wants to offload 75% of its stake in Topshop for £135 million.