"The real key to matrix pricing is to identify the items in the assortment that are "blind." By blind items, we mean products that are not at all price sensitive: Customers either don't know the price or don't really care. Blind items represent the only real opportunity for margin enhancement in the assortment."
http://www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/business-management/how-bli...


"Blind Items – Mainly unusual items which can carry a higher-than- normal Margin because of special and only occasional appeal to customers who are more interested in filling their requirements than they are in price."
http://seoplannow.com/blind-ad-2/

"To improve margins, you need to maintain an aggressive variable pricing program. You should keep prices low on the cost-sensitive items most visible to customers, while increasing prices on blind items shoppers aren’t likely to price check. You can’t sustain your business long-term if you try to beat every competitor on every price."
http://www.hardwareretailing.com/new-generation-of-pricing/

"6. Increase margins on non-price sensitive (blind) items that your competitors carry. If you've never price-shopped the mass merchandisers, you're going to be surprised to find many of your prices on blind items are lower or virtually the same as theirs. Even the big guys need margin. And if they're giving away price sensitive items they need to make up the difference on blind items.

In Exhibit 1 you'll see the Independent Hardware Store price was 19% less on the small base bulb and virtually the same price as Wal-Mart on the night light bulb. You may take an overall price increase on all blind items of 4 or 5%, or you may adjust each individually.

Remember these blind items are about 90% of the items in your store. If you own a hardware store, you may have 40 different kinds of lights bulbs and only 4 may be highly price sensitive. You may be able to stay within 15% on the blind items, but you don't need to. It's much more important to be close on the visible items."
http://www.americanretailsupply.com/SubPage.aspx?spdt_id=2&s...


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Note added at 4 hrs (2015-05-06 18:44:29 GMT)
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"Raise Your Prices

Yes, you heard it right — get what you deserve. Chances are you sell many price-sensitive items; it is OK to be competitive with those items. However, your customers probably have no idea what the price is on 80 percent of your SKUs. Increase your margin on these “blind” items.

Try this the next time you bring in a new item. Without telling them the cost, ask your salespeople what they think the sale price should be. In an informal study we found in almost every instance the employees priced the new item higher than the boss did. Those are margin dollars that are slipping through your fingers."
http://www.lgrmag.com/dollars-sense-gross-profit-myth

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Note added at 4 hrs (2015-05-06 18:46:48 GMT)
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"Retailers should consider the differences between what are often referred to as blind and sensitive items. Items that consumers are familiar with – to the extent that they react to a change in price – are referred to as “price-sensitive.” All other items, that consumers are less familiar with, and for which price is not readily understood or known, can be categorized as “blind items.”
The importance of this distinction is that sensitive items are typically managed tightly from a pricing perspective in reaction to competition – producing slender margins. Conversely, blind items receive less pricing attention and yet represent a greater opportunity for maximizing margins. This scenario has been the result of not having the systems capable of distinguishing sensitive and blind items and their corresponding potential contribution towards category and enterprise financial performance.
For the most part, consumer price perceptions are formed in reference to sensitive items. However, there is always a risk that some customers will attach brand attributes to an enterprise based on blind items."
http://www.free-conversant.com/mindspill/.../Retail_Revenue_...