Preliminary Study on Price Tool Management and the Effects on Business Activities-A Qualitative Study with Business Owners from Indonesia

Abstract

The growth of e-commerce has made price management an important issue for online businesses. Pricing systems have become popular due to their ability to automate price decisions, monitor competitions, and use artificial intelligence to gain advantages over competitors. However, pricing systems face issues related to technology, distrust from customers, and ethics. This paper looks at the effect of pricing systems that use AI on business processes and explores how business owners view their strengths and weaknesses. For this study, a qualitative method was used through six open-ended questions conducted online through Google Forms. The respondents were three business owners in Indonesia, who run online and offline businesses. They responded to questions concerning their experience with price management systems. It is shown that companies face issues in implementing price management systems, such as fast changes in prices, lack of structured data, technical problems, lack of finances, and distrust towards automation. Despite some scepticism, the participants viewed AI as a helpful tool rather than a threat, but highlighted the risks of over-automation, loss of control by humans, price wars, and increasing difference between big and small businesses. Price also plays a lesser role than what people think when selling goods or services.