Building a Lamp Assortment Around a Price Ladder

A price ladder is not three versions of the same lamp at three prices. It is a structure in which each level answers a different customer question, and the assortment is judged by whether a shopper can tell them apart across the aisle.

The three levels and their jobs

Entry level carries the traffic and answers the question of whether the price is credible. The middle does the volume and answers the question of whether the product is good enough. The top level establishes the ceiling and answers the question of what the brand is capable of.

The gaps are the problem

If the entry and middle models differ only in finish, the middle one does not sell and the entry one sets the price expectation. Buyers who can compare specification sheets on the shelf edge will pay more only when the difference is visible.

Keep the visible differences honest

Height, output, function and materials are the four differences a customer can perceive in a showroom. Differences in internal components are real but invisible, and they belong in the specification rather than in the merchandising story.

Price points shift with freight

Because lamps are bulky, a change in freight or duty moves the whole ladder. Rebuilding the ladder once a year against current landed costs is a routine task that prevents a mid-season repricing exercise.

Measure the ladder, not the SKU

Track sell-through by level rather than by model. A ladder that shows eighty percent of units at the entry level is telling you the middle is not differentiated, and that is an assortment problem rather than a pricing one.