What is variable pricing?

Point of Sale (POS) Glossary

Variable pricing occurs when a retailer offers a product or service at different or frequently changing prices versus a fixed amount. An example of variable pricing might be a merchant offering one price on their website and another price when purchased at a point of sale register in a physical store. Another example might be a seafood restaurant that adjusts its crab or lobster prices based on frequently changing market costs.

A retailer may change prices for sales or seasonally, but this is not considered variable pricing. Variable pricing is a much more frequent adjustment of cost or pricing based on demand, stock, location, and other dynamically changing things. A robust POS terminal may be configured to handle both fixed and variable pricing.