How to respond to a competitor's pack size change
Six weeks after a competitor changes a pack, see what it did and decide your move.
Competitive Brand PPA Action compares the two size ladders after a competitor's pack change at an account and shows how sales moved for both brands.
Covers every configured competitor at every account, with a readout six weeks after each flagged pack change.
See a pack-change readout for your category.
- Brands
- Every brand you configure
- Competitors
- Every competitor brand you configure
- Accounts
- Every account you configure
- Cadence
- A readout six weeks after each flagged pack change
The question it answers
A competitor changed a pack at this account six weeks ago. What happened, and what should we do?
Competitive Brand PPA Action is a readout produced six weeks after a market signal flags a shrunk, resized or replaced pack. It compares both brands' size ladders tier by tier, shows how non-promoted sales moved for each brand and for the pair, and helps the team position a next move.
Why it matters
When a competitor changes a pack, teams tend to react on instinct or not at all. Six weeks of evidence is enough to see whether shoppers switched, traded down or did nothing. Putting the ladder comparison and the sales movement side by side turns a debate about what might have happened into a decision about what to do.
How it works
- Inputs
Alakai's shelf observations for both brands' size ladders at the account, and licensed syndicated non-promoted sales by size tier, for the six weeks before and after the change.
- Analysis
Ladders are compared tier by tier on shelf price and price per equivalent unit, and shopper hypotheses are tested against the sales movement.
- Outputs
A readout and a set of positioned next moves.
What you get
Tier-by-tier ladder comparison
New ladder against the competitor's on everyday shelf price and price per equivalent unit.
Sales movement
Non-promoted sales before and after, for both brands and the two-brand set.
Hypothesis tests
Common shopper explanations checked against the facts.
Next-move options
A shelf price change, a promotion or display, a new or resized pack, or holding and monitoring.
Example in action
Illustrative scenario
Of the competitors you follow across your accounts, one replaces its large pack with a smaller one at the same price at a single account. Six weeks on, the readout shows your brand's large-tier sales up and the two-brand total flat, which points to switching. The team decides to hold price and monitor.
Questions
- Does it forecast the result of each next move?
- No. Next moves are positioned against observed facts. No outcome is forecast.
- Why six weeks?
- The readout compares the six weeks before the change with the six weeks after, which is enough to see how non-promoted sales moved.
- Which sales are used?
- Licensed syndicated non-promoted sales by size tier, so promotions do not distort the comparison.
- Is there a limit on brands, competitors or accounts?
- No. Follow as many as you need. Pricing scales with the coverage you configure.