Amid tariff refunds, shifting commodity costs, and a challenged, bifurcated consumer, retailers and brands are wondering—is the price right? After several years of elevating prices, many are now evaluating the benefits of bringing them back down. Many food CPGs—including PepsiCo and General Mills, eager to jumpstart sinking unit sales—have reduced some of their prices over the last few months. Several others, from retail giants like Kroger and Walmart to beauty brands like E.l.f. Cosmetics, have also reconsidered their pricing strategies as a lever to drive up velocities and attract—and keep—customers. Dime Beauty, a prestige skin care and fragrance brand sold at Ulta Beauty, permanently dropped prices by an average of 20% across 17 of its SKUs on May 31. Consumers “feeling the pinch” of beauty prices was a contributing factor in the decision, Dime’s Chief Brand Officer Bernice Merlini told Retail Brew. “We’re prioritizing that long-term brand trust and customer loyalty rather than short-term margin potential,” she said. Nickel and diming: When Merlini, a former L’Oréal and Rare Beauty marketer, joined Dime late last year, she found its pricing strategy had become “siloed” with each new launch, with some not aligning with Dime’s “accessible luxury positioning.” The company decided to drop market prices across several of its cleansers—a core category it sees as an “acquisition tool” but that customers can be price-sensitive to—to under $30, while all its serums are now under $40, Merlini said. Those thresholds were determined from benchmarking its pricing across both prestige and mass brands, she said. Check out the details on retail price cuts.—EC | 
