The HiLo pricing model is dead 🪦 It didn't work for years and Amazon's push for
By Martin Heubel · November 11, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The HiLo pricing model is dead 🪦 It didn't work for years and Amazon's push for price transparency through Alexa for Shopping and auto-purchases put the final nail in its coffin.
Today, shoppers know with the click of a button whether your price displayed on Amazon is competitive (low), or not (high). Amazon itself changed its pricing policies earlier this year, which clearly state that MSRPs/RRPs that a product has never been sold at will no longer show on its PDP.
Worse, products that are activated for more than 45 out of the last 90 days will also see their list price/WAS price being suppressed during deals.
Now, add new market entrants like TikTok Shop and Joybuy into the mix and it becomes clear why HiLo pricing must no longer be the default pricing activation strategy for your online innovations:
Because Amazon is effectively displaying an EDLP price, matching your rotating price promotional calendar with other retailers. Adding more competitors to the mix isn't the solution.
So what is?
Making EDLP the default for your online channel exclusives and becoming more selective in which HVEs you participate in with Amazon. It cannot be Spring Sales, Prime Day, PBDD, Back-to-School, Cyber Monday, and Black Friday all at once.
And there's also no need for it.
Social traffic, Retail Media, Subscribe and Save and Coupons are all valid activation strategies most brands never exhaust to execute.
So if falling margins are a key problem for you on Amazon and in the online channel, your price activation strategies may simply no longer be fit for purpose.
What other growth levers should brands consider?