Bulk price benefit / pricing structure

Many suppliers offer bulk price or volume discounts, enabling customers who buy more to make savings. METRO also provides permanently attractive pricing with its bulk price benefit.

What’s it all about?

  • What is the bulk price benefit?
  • Why does METRO offer the volume discount as part of its pricing structure?
  • On which channels and to which products does the bulk price apply?

In the wholesale industry, an attractive, transparent and permanent pricing structure is a vital tool for gaining and retaining customers. Commercial customers require a certain level of calculation and planning security to operate their businesses successfully. One way to provide this is the bulk price benefit.

Behind the bulk price benefit is a buy-more-pay-less strategy. This means that people buying larger quantities of a product pay less. This pricing structure is commonly known under such names as volume discount or bulk price.

What is the bulk price benefit?

The aim of the bulk price benefit is to motivate customers to buy larger quantities when making a purchase or arranging a delivery. The supplier thereby secures a larger purchasing volume from the customer. At the same time, the customer benefits from a price reduction or an additional quantity of the same product at no extra cost. In contrast to the sales promotions and temporary special offers that are often found in the retail industry, the bulk price applies permanently. This type of pricing structure is frequently used in wholesale, as these customers buy larger quantities and require a certain level of planning security.

Why does METRO offer the volume discount as part of its pricing structure?

METRO operates a multichannel marketing strategy, where customers and their needs are the focus across all channels. This is also reflected in the pricing structure. METRO’s core customer groups include customers from the HoReCa sector and Traders; both groups usually buy larger product quantities each time they make a purchase. When they consciously use the bulk price benefit, they can permanently make savings as well as implement longer-term and more secure planning. With the volume discount, METRO generates customer loyalty and gains a greater share of the customer’s purchasing volume.

At the same time, the pricing structure is anchored in strategy. METRO grants the bulk price discount primarily on food and non-food products from the METRO own brands and other products with a high stock rotation rate. In this way, METRO promotes the demand for certain products, so that products with slower stock rotation can be removed from the product range.

On which channels and to which products does the bulk price apply?

The bulk price applies to food products in the METRO wholesale store and to non-food products in the METRO online shop. Each volume discount is subdivided into three price tiers, where the particular quantities sometimes differ. Customers benefit from the pricing structure when they stock up on the particular product as well as equivalent products.