Pricing Rules
Automate your pricing strategy with intelligent rules and schedules
What are Pricing Rules?
Pricing Rules are automated workflows that apply price transformations to products based on conditions you define. Instead of manually adjusting prices for individual products, you create rules that describe "when" and "how" prices should change, and Calibrate executes them automatically.
Why Use Pricing Rules?
- •Scale: Apply pricing changes to hundreds or thousands of products simultaneously
- •Consistency: Ensure pricing strategy is applied uniformly across your catalog
- •Efficiency: Save time by eliminating manual, repetitive price updates
- •Timing: Schedule price changes for optimal times (sales events, competitor changes)
Important: Pricing rules generate price change proposals. These still require human approval before being applied to your platforms, maintaining full governance and control.
Prerequisites
Before creating pricing rules, ensure you have:
- ✓Product Catalog: At least one platform integration with products synced to Calibrate
- ✓Role Permissions: Editor, Admin, or Owner role to create and manage rules
- ✓Pricing Strategy: Clear understanding of which products to target and desired price changes
- ●Optional: Test Products: A small subset of products to test rules before full deployment
How Pricing Rules Work
Pricing Rules combine three components to automate price changes: product selectors (which products), price transforms (how to change prices), and schedules (when to execute). Rules can run once or repeatedly.
Access: Navigate to Rules in the project sidebar, or visit /p/[your-project]/rules
Rule Components
Every pricing rule consists of three main components:
Product Selector
Define which products the rule applies to
- •SKU code patterns (exact match or wildcard)
- •Product tags (category, brand, collection)
- •Price ranges (minimum/maximum price filters)
- •Custom field conditions (metadata matching)
Price Transform
Specify how to calculate the new price
- •Percentage change (+20% or -15%)
- •Absolute adjustment (+$5 or -$10)
- •Set fixed price ($29.99)
- •Multiply by factor (×1.5)
Schedule
Control when the rule executes
- •Immediate: Execute once when saved
- •Scheduled: Run at specific date/time
- •Recurring: Repeat on cron schedule (hourly, daily, weekly)
Creating a Pricing Rule
Step-by-Step Guide
- 1.Navigate to Rules page and click "New Rule" or "Create Rule" button
- 2.Enter basic information:
- • Rule name (e.g., "Summer Sale 20% Off")
- • Description (optional, for documentation)
- • Enable/Disable toggle
- 3.Define product selector:
- • Add predicates (conditions) to match products
- • Combine multiple predicates with AND/OR logic
- • Use SKU patterns, tags, price ranges, or custom fields
- 4.Set price transform:
- • Choose transform type (percentage, absolute, set, multiply)
- • Enter the value (e.g., -20 for 20% discount)
- • Optional: Set constraints (floor, ceiling, max % delta)
- 5.Configure schedule:
- • Immediate: Run once when saved
- • Scheduled: Pick date and time
- • Recurring: Enter cron expression and timezone
- 6.Preview impact: See how many products match and estimated price changes
- 7.Save the rule: Click "Save" to create the rule
Product Selectors in Detail
SKU Code
Match products by SKU pattern
SHIRT-001→ Exact SKU match
SHIRT-*→ All SKUs starting with SHIRT-
*-BLUE→ All SKUs ending with -BLUE
Tags
Match products by tags or categories
summer→ Products tagged 'summer'
clearance→ Clearance items
brand:nike→ Nike brand products
Price Range
Match products within price boundaries
min: $50→ Products $50 and above
max: $100→ Products $100 and below
$20 - $50→ Products between $20 and $50
Custom Fields
Match products by metadata or custom attributes
color: blue→ Blue products
season: winter→ Winter collection
stock > 10→ Well-stocked items
Combining Selectors
Use logical operators to create complex selection criteria:
Price Transforms
Percentage
Increase or decrease price by a percentage
Absolute
Add or subtract a fixed amount
Set Price
Replace price with a specific value
Multiply
Multiply price by a factor
Price Constraints
Safety Limits
Add constraints to prevent unwanted price changes:
- •Price Floor: Minimum allowed price (e.g., never below $10)
- •Price Ceiling: Maximum allowed price (e.g., never above $1000)
- •Max % Delta: Maximum percentage change (e.g., never change more than 30%)
💡 Example: A -20% discount rule with floor of $15 ensures products never drop below $15, even if the discount would normally make them cheaper.
Scheduling Rules
Immediate Execution
Rule runs once when you save it
- •No additional configuration needed
- •Price changes appear in pending state immediately
Scheduled Execution
Rule runs at a specific date and time
- •Pick date using date picker
- •Set time (24-hour format)
- •Specify timezone for execution
Recurring Execution
Rule runs repeatedly on a schedule
- •Enter cron expression (e.g., '0 9 * * *' for daily at 9 AM)
- •Select timezone for cron schedule
- •Rule continues running until disabled
Cron Expression Examples
0 9 * * *Every day at 9:00 AM0 0 * * 0Every Sunday at midnight0 */6 * * *Every 6 hours0 0 1 * *First day of every month at midnightPreviewing Rule Impact
Before Saving
Before saving a rule, use the Preview feature to see its impact:
- •Matched Products: How many products meet the selector criteria
- •Price Changes: Example products showing old → new prices
- •Average Change: Average price increase or decrease
- •Constraint Violations: Products that hit floor/ceiling limits
Note: Preview is currently a mock feature showing estimated impact. Actual results may vary based on real-time catalog data.
Managing Rules
Enable / Disable
Toggle rules on or off without deleting them
- 1.Find the rule in the rules list
- 2.Click the enable/disable toggle switch
- 3.Disabled rules won't execute on their schedule
Edit Rules
Modify existing rules to adjust behavior
- 1.Click on a rule to open it
- 2.Update selectors, transforms, or schedule
- 3.Preview the new impact
- 4.Save changes
Delete Rules
Permanently remove rules you no longer need
- 1.Click the delete button on a rule
- 2.Confirm deletion in the modal
- 3.Deleted rules cannot be recovered
Real-World Use Cases
Use Case 1: Weekend Flash Sale
Scenario: Run a 25% discount on all summer apparel every Friday at 6 PM, automatically reverting prices on Monday morning.
- • Selector: Tag equals "summer" AND Category equals "apparel"
- • Transform: Percentage -25%
- • Constraints: Floor $10 (maintain minimum margins)
- • Schedule: Cron: 0 18 * * 5 (Every Friday at 6 PM)
- • Reversion Rule: Separate rule with +33.33% on Mondays at 6 AM
Tip: Create two rules - one for discount and one for reversion. Monitor the first execution carefully before leaving it automated.
Use Case 2: Clearance for Slow-Moving Inventory
Scenario: Automatically mark down products that haven't sold in 90 days by 30%, with weekly increases until sold.
- • Selector: Custom field "days_since_sale" > 90
- • Transform: Percentage -30% (initial markdown)
- • Constraints: Floor at cost price, Max delta 70%
- • Schedule: Weekly review: 0 9 * * 1 (Mondays at 9 AM)
Tip: Requires inventory data integration. Start with manual execution to verify product selection before enabling recurring schedule.
Use Case 3: Competitive Price Matching
Scenario: Match competitor prices for electronics category, but stay 5% cheaper while maintaining 20% minimum margin.
- • Selector: Category equals "electronics" AND has_competitor_data equals true
- • Transform: Set to competitor_avg_price × 0.95
- • Constraints: Floor at cost × 1.20, Ceiling at MSRP
- • Schedule: Daily: 0 6 * * * (Every morning at 6 AM)
Tip: Requires competitor monitoring setup. Set aggressive floor to protect margins - not all products may match competitor prices.
Use Case 4: Dynamic Premium Tier Pricing
Scenario: Maintain premium positioning by ensuring high-end products are always priced 50% above category average.
- • Selector: Tag equals "premium" AND brand in ["Gucci", "Prada", "LV"]
- • Transform: Set to category_avg_price × 1.50
- • Constraints: Floor $100, Max delta 25% per execution
- • Schedule: Bi-weekly: 0 0 1,15 * * (1st and 15th of month)
Tip: Requires category average calculation. Use max delta constraint to avoid shocking price jumps for customers.
Advanced Techniques
Chaining Rules for Complex Strategies
Create multiple rules that execute in sequence to build sophisticated pricing logic:
- 1.Base Price Rule: Set foundational prices based on cost + margin
- 2.Competitive Adjustment: Modify prices based on competitor data
- 3.Promotional Rule: Apply temporary discounts to specific segments
- 4.Safety Rule: Ensure no price violates absolute floor/ceiling
Note: Schedule these rules 5-10 minutes apart to ensure proper execution order.
A/B Testing Price Points
Use rules to test different pricing strategies on product segments:
- • Rule A: Set 50% of SKUs (even numbered) to price point $X
- • Rule B: Set 50% of SKUs (odd numbered) to price point $Y
- • Monitor performance for 2 weeks via Analytics
- • Scale winning strategy to full catalog
Regional Pricing Strategies
Apply different pricing logic based on currency or market conditions:
- • Create separate rules for USD, EUR, GBP with region-specific transforms
- • Adjust for local competition and purchasing power
- • Use currency-specific floors to maintain margins after conversion