Case Study · Branded discrete-choice conjoint with market simulation
Pricing hardware and subscription together for a connected-device brand
BrandSpark used a branded discrete-choice conjoint to re-price a connected device and its subscription together. The study found that hardware and subscription price combined drive roughly half of purchase preference, and the client adopted a managed price range its commercial team now operates inside.
The Challenge
Hardware and subscription prices interact, because a consumer weighs the combined cost of ownership. The category had become more competitive since the previous wave, so any recommendation had to hold against named competitors at their real list and sale prices. The client also needed a price its team could operate across a promotional calendar.
Our Approach
Choice sets showed the client brand beside named competitors, varying brand, price, battery life, activity monitoring, location accuracy, subscription tier and fit. Utilities were estimated at the individual level and built into a market simulator. A second set of simulations ran at observed sale prices, and we modelled competitor price moves to test how much share was exposed if rivals discounted.
What the Research Found
- ›Hardware price and subscription price together drive roughly half of preference, with hardware carrying the larger share.
- ›Brand strength had risen to the third most important non-price attribute since the prior wave.
- ›The model located a price-elasticity threshold: below a specific price point, each further $50 reduction bought materially more share than it did above it.
Outcome
We presented price as a managed range with a one-page pricing playbook: a list price at the top, an always-on sale price, time-boxed promotional windows, and a margin and brand floor. The client adopted the range.