Latest news with #economicvolatility
Forbes
9 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
6 Pricing Strategies To Mitigate The Impact Of Ongoing Volatility
Tariffs and ongoing volatility have impacted global trade and exerted cost pressure across nearly all industries, creating ripple effects that demand companies rethink core strategies like pricing, supply chain management, and customer engagement. While comprehensive solutions such as supplier diversification take time to implement, companies can apply actionable, short-term pricing strategies to tackle the immediate challenges. The following six strategic pricing approaches offer a roadmap to protect your margins while maintaining customer trust during times of economic volatility. Temporary surcharges have become a widely accepted strategy for handling unforeseen cost fluctuations. Whether through fuel surcharges, supply chain fees, or similar adjustments, businesses across industries successfully implemented this approach during the COVID-19 pandemic. When properly communicated, surcharge-based pricing enables enterprises to recover costs from tariff increases while avoiding broad price hikes. Transparent surcharges—for example, a "Tariff Adjustment Fee" or "Import Cost Recovery Surcharge"—signal these adjustments as temporary, external cost-driven measures rather than arbitrary or permanent increases. This strategy works particularly well in B2B settings, where line-item charges are common and expected. Actionable Steps Dynamic pricing powered by artificial intelligence ensures real-time alignment between cost fluctuations and pricing adjustments. Unlike traditional static pricing models, AI-driven strategies incorporate data from market conditions, customer demand, and cost changes to maintain competitive yet profitable pricing structures. Whether your pricing model is negotiated or list-based, AI enables businesses to balance market expectations and operational margins. Smarter pricing decisions, such as prioritizing high-demand products while adjusting prices for less critical SKUs, can stabilize revenues without alienating customers. Actionable Steps Bundling products strategically allows businesses to distribute tariff-related costs across multiple items, reducing the impact of price increases on high-tariff goods. Customers are more likely to accept price adjustments when the perceived value of a bundle outshines individual costs. The effectiveness of bundling lies in creating packages with complementary products or added benefits, such as subscription services or warranties. The focus must remain on value creation rather than just cost-saving for customers. Actionable Steps Flexibility in pricing options can help retain price-sensitive customers while maintaining profitability. By tailoring your offerings to your different customer segments, high-tariff products occupy the premium category, while alternatives at lower price points provide cost-conscious customers with additional choices. A tiered strategy, modeled on branded packages used in airlines, allows businesses to cater to varied customer needs without driving away potential buyers or compromising premium product values. Actionable Steps Often overlooked, variables like exchange rates and supplier contracts play an essential role in mitigating volatility pressures. Businesses that proactively manage contract terms and currency hedging can maintain financial stability while minimizing customer-facing price adjustments. For instance, negotiating contracts in alternative currencies or leveraging buying groups to amplify purchasing power provides flexibility to counter volatility-induced cost increases effectively. Actionable Steps When price increases become unavoidable, rebates or incentives can help soften customer reactions. For B2B clients, volume-based rebates tied to annual spend provide financial benefits while encouraging greater purchasing commitments. For B2C customers, loyalty programs and exclusive discounts foster customer retention despite volatility-related cost adjustments. Both approaches not only retain buyer confidence but also encourage repeat purchases, reducing the likelihood of customer churn. Actionable Steps While economic volatility inevitably challenges businesses, it also offers opportunities to demonstrate agility, strategic insights, and customer-centric innovation. Leaders who implement proactive pricing strategies and maintain transparent communication can protect their organizations' margins while building lasting customer loyalty.
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Marketing in an age of economic uncertainty
Let's get this out of the way: We constantly live in uncertain times. Periods of tranquility are actually an aberration, if not an illusion. The relationship between marketing budgets and economic volatility has always been complex. What we're witnessing isn't just the usual ebb and flow of consumer confidence or standard market corrections. It's an unprecedented convergence of tariff confusion, inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, and debt refinancing challenges. As I talk to CMOs and marketing leaders across industries, one word keeps surfacing: paralysis. Decision makers find themselves frozen, unsure whether to commit to long-term advertising contracts, unable to accurately forecast costs, and struggling to craft messaging that resonates in a consumer landscape where spending power is increasingly unpredictable. The historical perspective: Who thrives in downturns? When I look back at previous economic contractions—particularly 2008 and 2020—a clear pattern emerges that separates survivors from thrivers. In 2008, as financial markets collapsed, brands like Amazon, Netflix, and Hyundai didn't retreat. They advanced. Netflix invested heavily in its streaming service during the financial crisis, laying the groundwork for its eventual dominance. Hyundai introduced its ground-breaking 'Assurance Program,' allowing customers to return newly purchased vehicles if they lost their jobs—a true masterstroke that increased Hyundai's market share while competitors were seeing double-digit sales declines. The 2020 pandemic presented similar divergent paths. While many brands slashed marketing budgets in panic, companies like Zoom and DoorDash significantly increased their marketing investments, recognizing the unique moment to capture market share when consumers were rapidly forming new habits. The common thread? These companies didn't view marketing as a discretionary expense to be cut during uncertainty. They saw it as a strategic lever, one that should be pulled harder during hard times. 4 strategic approaches for the uncertainty-conscious marketer Here's what the most forward-thinking marketers are doing now to navigate the choppy waters ahead: They're embracing flexibility in all media contracts. The days of rigid, long-term commitments are giving way to more agile arrangements that allow for budget reallocation as economic conditions shift. This means negotiating pause clauses, shorter commitment windows, and performance-based terms that protect all contracted parties. Budgets are shifting toward measurable, adaptable channels. While social media and traditional media face the deepest anticipated cuts (41% and 43% respectively), digital advertising continues to gain market share despite economic concerns. Digital is projected to encompass up to 79% of total ad spend by 2030, up from its current 67%. Message content is being entirely rethought. In the face of economic anxiety, brands need messaging that acknowledges reality while providing genuine value. We're seeing this play out in automotive advertising, where some manufacturers are emphasizing their American manufacturing credentials. Ford's 'From America, For America' campaign represents a strategic positioning that resonates in an era of tariff concerns. As Hyundai, in 2008, these advertisers are using the moment to emphasize their particular brand's appeal. AI is being leveraged not just for cost cutting but for scenario planning. The most sophisticated marketing teams are using AI to model multiple economic outcomes and prepare messaging, budget allocations, and channel strategies for each scenario. The creative reset: How agencies have already adapted It's worth noting that the industry isn't starting from scratch in facing these challenges. Client behavior on creative development has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several years. The best independent agencies have already restructured their operations in response. Gone are the days of lengthy creative development cycles and rigid campaign frameworks. Anticipating these changes years ago, independent shops have largely embraced agile methodologies that align perfectly with today's economic realities. In many ways, the independent agency sector has already prepared for exactly this kind of destabilizing environment. They've built their businesses around speed and adaptability rather than scale and standardization. As such, they're uniquely positioned to help steer brands through bumps ahead without sacrificing creative impact or market presence. Brand versus performance in uncertain times Perhaps the most critical strategic question facing marketers is how to balance brand building against performance marketing when budgets contract. Historical data consistently shows that brands maintaining or increasing their share of voice during downturns emerge in stronger positions when markets recover. Yet short-term revenue pressures make performance marketing irresistibly tempting when every dollar must be justified. The smart play here isn't choosing one over the other but reimagining how all of these factors work together. Performance marketing can be designed to build brand equity simultaneously. Brand marketing can incorporate more direct response elements. The artificial wall between these disciplines must come down to survive economic headwinds. Opportunity within adversity The brands that will emerge strongest from this period of uncertainty won't be those with the largest budgets, but those with the clearest strategic vision, the most agile execution, and the courage to maintain presence when competitors retreat. Economic uncertainty doesn't change the fundamental truth that share of voice leads to share of market. It simply raises the stakes and rewards those who can maintain their voice when others fall silent. Looking at the latter half of 2025, the marketing leaders who view this period not as a time to hide but as a rare opportunity to stand out will be the ones writing the success stories we'll be studying for years to come.
Irish Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Business closures concentrated in Greater Dublin area, new report shows
Dublin and its neighbouring counties have seen the highest levels of business closures relative to their population in the first five months of the year, but Clare is also in the top five, according to new data from The consultancy firm has analysed the more than 3,250 businesses that have shut up shop this year based on data compiled by the Companies Registration Office (CRO). Dublin had a closure rate of 121.1 businesses for every 100,000 people, said, more than double the rate of most other counties, unsurprising given the large number of businesses based in the city and its environs. Louth and Clare were second and third with rates of 60.8 and 60.2 per 100,000 people, the firm said. 'Both counties have a mix of retail, hospitality, and tourism-focused businesses which can be more vulnerable to economic volatility,' said. READ MORE Rounding out the top five are Meath and Wicklow, with closure rates of 50 for every 100,000 people living there, 'a sign that rapid development and rising commercial costs could be impacting small and mid-sized enterprises in those areas'. Business closures and insolvencies have been on the rise since 2023. The winding down of Covid-era subsidies and the government's tax debt warehousing scheme, coupled with rising energy costs stemming from the war in Ukraine, have contributed to the phenomenon. Company insolvencies reached 875 in 2024, up a third on the previous year and the highest number since 2016, according to a report from accountants Deloitte published in January. The firm predicts that this year's total will top 1,000, an average of 20 a week. Hospitality businesses, shops and builders, all of which suffered in 2024, are likely to remain most at risk this year, Deloitte warned. Hospitality businesses, mostly pubs and restaurants, accounted for 147 casualties in 2024, up from 99 the previous year and more than twice the 66 failures recorded in 2022.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Australia news live: Chalmers warns of ‘global dislocation' as Treasury reveals biggest threats to economy
Brace for global dislocation, Chalmers warns Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Patrick Commins The start of the 148th federal parliament coincides with the world 'entering a period of global dislocation not seen' since the second world war, Jim Chalmers has warned. The offshore threats to Australia's economy over the coming three years loomed large in treasury's post-election briefing to Chalmers, which he said warned of the 'damaging' effects of Donald Trump's trade war. Chalmers met with the treasury secretary, Steven Kennedy, early on the Sunday morning directly after the Saturday 2 May election which handed an unexpectedly big win to the incumbent Albanese government. 'We know the job isn't finished and we know we will be faced with more global economic volatility and unpredictability over the next three years, not less,' Chalmers said in a statement last night. 'It's one of the reasons why Australians voted so emphatically for stability in uncertain times.' Share A truck driver was ambushed and shot in Sydney's south west overnight. About 11.20pm yesterday, emergency services were called to Yennora, following reports of a shooting, police said in a statement. Officers were told a 29-year-old man had been driving a truck on Donald Street, when a vehicle stopped in front of him. A man allegedly exited the vehicle and fired several shots at the truck, before getting back into the vehicle and leaving the scene. The truck driver was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for gunshot wounds to his wrist and abdomen and taken to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition. Police were investigating a link to two subsequent car fires: a black Lexus sedan alight in South Granville, and a second vehicle alight in Chester Hill. Share Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer with some of the top overnight stories and then Cait Kelly will take the controls. All eyes will be on the Liberal party room in Canberra today as Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor vie for the leadership. We'll bring you the latest from Canberra as it happens. Whoever wins, it's going to be a tough task to mount an opposition to Anthony Albanese with a diminished crop of MPs and an electoral mountain to climb in three years. Our latest polling shows a surge in support for Albanese's leadership – combined with calls for him to get on with reforms on housing, health and energy. Housing is not getting any easier, though, with new figures showing Labor's election win has already given a boost to the property market. More coming up. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has warned Australians to brace for economic turbulence as Donald Trump's trade tariffs threaten to endanger the nation's 'soft landing' from high inflation. Although the US president offered hope to markets overnight with the prospect of a 'total reset' on trade with China, Chalmers said Australia was entering 'a period of global dislocation' not seen since the second world war. More on that, too, soon Share
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
How much will a $500,000 annuity pay monthly?
We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. Investing $500,000 in an annuity right now could result in hefty monthly payouts, but there are numerous factors that play a role. the_burtons/Getty Images With inflation lingering and market volatility rattling retirement portfolios, many Americans are rethinking how to create stable income in their later years. As a result, annuities have surged in popularity, especially among those nearing retirement. With an annuity, you take a lump sum of money and convert it into a predictable stream of monthly income, either for life or for a set number of years. The idea of locking in income from a large investment can be incredibly appealing, after all, especially during periods of economic volatility. But while this type of retirement tool could be a smart addition to your portfolio right now, it's important to understand how much you can count on getting in return each month, especially if you're planning to invest a large amount. That answer isn't always straightforward, though, as annuity payouts are shaped by factors like your age, the type of contract you choose and how long you want the payments to last. And, the interest rate landscape can impact both investment yields and insurer payouts, too. So, what could your payments look like if you're investing $500,000 in an annuity, and why does that number vary so widely? That's what we'll outline below. Add an annuity to your retirement portfolio today. How much will a $500,000 annuity pay monthly? If you're investing $500,000 into an annuity, your payments could range anywhere from about $2,600 to over $5,200 per month, according to an analysis of Cannex data by However, the exact amount of your monthly payment depends on a range of factors, including: Your age when payments begin: One of the biggest influences on your monthly payout is your age when the annuity starts paying out. The older you are, the higher your payments typically are. For example, the average 70-year-old male with a $500,000 annuity can expect a monthly payment of $3,655 right now, while the average 60-year-old male can expect a monthly payment of $2,953. Your gender: Men and women typically receive different payment amounts, as women tend to live longer than men, statistically. That means insurers expect to make payments over a longer period for women, which lowers the monthly amount. For instance, a 65-year-old man would currently receive about $3,237 a month on a $500,000 annuity, while a woman the same age would receive a monthly payment of $3,103. The annuity type you choose: There are many kinds of annuities, and your choice affects both your initial payment amount and long-term growth. Some common options include: Fixed annuities : Fixed annuities pay a predictable, guaranteed amount each month. : Fixed annuities pay a predictable, guaranteed amount each month. Variable annuities : Payments on variable annuities will vary based on how investments perform. : Payments on variable annuities will vary based on how investments perform. Immediate annuities : An immediate annuity starts paying out monthly income shortly after you invest. : An immediate annuity starts paying out monthly income shortly after you invest. Deferred annuities: Deferred annuities, as the name suggests, delay payments, giving your money time to grow. Guarantees and extra features: Adding guarantees to protect your heirs can lower your monthly income. For example, if you choose lifetime-only payments, your monthly check will be higher, but the payments stop when you die. If you add a 20-year guarantee, the annuity will keep paying your beneficiaries if you die earlier than expected, but your monthly income might be lower. Similarly, inflation protection riders can help your payments keep up with rising costs, but reduce your starting income. The interest rate environment: When interest rates are high, insurers can offer more generous monthly payments. When rates are low, the opposite happens. That means timing your purchase can make a noticeable difference in your monthly income. Compare your top annuity options online now. How to find the right annuity for your retirement portfolio Finding the right annuity for your $500,000 investment requires careful consideration of your unique retirement needs and goals. Here's how to navigate the process effectively: Consider your risk tolerance. If market volatility is a concern, a fixed annuity providing guaranteed payments might be preferable. However, if you're comfortable with some investment risk and want the potential for higher returns, a variable annuity could be worth exploring. Compare different annuity types. Immediate annuities start paying right away, but lock in your capital. Deferred annuities allow your money to potentially grow before payments begin. A single premium immediate annuity typically offers the highest monthly payments, while fixed-indexed annuities provide growth potential with downside protection. Check provider financial strength: Before entrusting $500,000 to an insurance company, verify their financial stability through independent rating agencies. A company with an "A" rating or higher offers greater security that it'll honor decades of future payments. Read the fine print on fees: Annuities, especially the variable and indexed varieties, can carry substantial fees that reduce your effective returns. Ask for clear disclosure of all charges, including mortality and expense fees, administrative fees, surrender charges and rider costs. The bottom line A $500,000 annuity can be a powerful way to guarantee income for retirement, but the exact amount you'll receive each month depends on when you buy it, your profile and the contract terms you select. As a rough guide, you can expect somewhere between $2,600 and $5,200 per month currently. Before committing to an annuity, though, you should carefully consider your overall financial picture, including other income sources, health status and financial goals for your heirs. After all, the highest-paying option won't be the best choice if it doesn't align with your broader needs.
