Sena rebuilds the reference each cycle from what outlets charged and what buyers paid in the markets that matter.
Price benchmarking sets one price against a reference for the market it sells in, so a team can say where it stands in a single figure. Three fixtures of the index building put that figure out of date.
The reference gets constructed for a planning cycle and reused. Prices move weekly, and the index holds still, so the gap it reports is the gap that existed when it was built.
The basket is weighted by what the business sells. That describes its own mix and understates the items it is weak in, which are usually the ones the question is about.
A single national or regional figure covers countries whose price levels and competing sets differ. The average sits above the truth in some markets and below it in others.
Sena is the decision AI with access to real-world data. It reads what every item on the fixture charged in real outlets and what buyers paid for them, so the reference gets rebuilt from the market each cycle.
Captures return current shelf prices per outlet, so the index reflects the weeks it covers.
Receipts show what buyers across the category took, so the basket carries market weights.
Every figure carries its market and its outlet count, so a national number opens into the countries under it.
Price benchmarking measures one price against a reference built from the market it competes in and returns a single figure: at the market, above it, or below it. The whole exercise rests on how the reference is built.
| Choice | The question | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| The basket | Which items count as the market. | Drawn to the business's own range. |
| The weights | How much each item counts. | Weighted by own volume, absent category volume. |
| The basis | Posted, promoted, or paid price. | Mixed bases across the basket. |
| The refresh | How often the reference rebuilds. | Built once and carried. |
Two of the four are decisions about the business, taken away from the market, and both push the index toward flattering. A basket drawn from an own range and weighted by own volume returns a reference the business is already close to, which is a comfortable number and a useless one.
Price positioning is what the index is for. It states where a product intends to sit relative to the market and holds that intention across cycles. Three positions cover most ranges, and each needs a different reference.
The index runs near 100, and the work is holding it there as rivals move.
The index runs high on purpose, and the number worth watching is whether buyers still accept the premium.
The index runs low to take volume, and the figure to watch is realized price, since promotions compound a low position.
Four collected inputs build the reference, applied per market.
| Input | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Store captures | What every item on the fixture charged, outlet by outlet, that week. |
| Geo-verified photos | The label and its price, read in the outlet and dated. |
| Receipts | What buyers paid across the basket, so weights come from the market. |
| Stated preference | Whether buyers accept the position the index reports. |
The team's own numbers form a separate row. Price files, listing records, volume history and margin targets join through 250+ integrations, so the internal position sits beside the market reference.
Three questions sit outside a carried reference, and each one moves the figure. A rival's repositioning shows up a year late in an index rebuilt annually. Own volume weights describe the business, and category volume describes the market.
An index above 100 is a premium, and whether buyers accept it is a separate measurement.
Real people share what they buy and prefer, under explicit consent. Sena captures it directly at the source, so every figure traces back to where it came from whenever a number comes under question.
Shelf prices and category purchases arrive from the same markets and the same weeks, and every figure carries the outlet and the day.
Category purchase sets the basket weights, so the reference describes the market and the business separately.
Each read comes off current captures, so the index moves when the market moves.
Stated acceptance runs against the premium the index reports, so a position carries evidence.
That is how a price index is usually assembled. Sena builds every figure from real-world signals captured when the question needs it, from the fixture photographed in the outlet through to the receipts that set the weights.
Records what buyers across the category paid, so the basket carries market weights.
Reads every label and price on the fixture off images captured in real outlets, so the basket comes from the shelf.
Signal arrives from the consumer network under explicit consent. Whether a premium is accepted comes from the buyer paying it.
Price files, listing records, volume history, and margin targets join over 250+ integrations, so the internal position meets the market reference.
Every figure holds its outlet, its market, and its capture date, so an index opens back onto the prices behind it.
Past shelf captures, index histories, and price files, covering every cycle the category has been scanned in.
Four teams read the same index, and each one needs a different cut of it before they can act.
The position. Needs the index rebuilt on category weights, per market.
The fixture. Needs every item on it, at the price it charged that week.
The lever set. Needs the index read beside the realized price.
The market claim. Needs any index figure to open onto its basket.
The same reference, built from the fixture each category actually competes on.
The index against every pack on the fixture, weighted by what was sold.
The price per specification tier against the comparable tier elsewhere.
The branded index against the own label on the same fixture.
The tariff index against equivalent plans in the same market.
One mechanism, applied per market and per category. Each step is documented, which is what carries a market position through a commercial review.
Images from real outlets return every item on the fixture and the price on each label, placed and dated.
Receipts across the category set the basket weights, so the reference describes the market.
Sena reports the index per market, with stated acceptance against the premium or discount it shows.
Most price indexes are built once from a basket the business chose and weighted by the volume it produced, then carried for a planning cycle. Sena rebuilds the reference from the market each time it is asked.
| Capability area | Typical setup | Sena |
|---|---|---|
| The basket | Drawn from the business's own range. | Every item on the fixture, captured. |
| The weights | Internal volume. | Category volume from receipts. |
| Refresh | Once a planning cycle. | Rebuilt on the cycle being read. |
| The price basis | Mixed across the basket. | Declared and held, posted and paid. |
| Own-label | Frequently excluded. | Included where it holds share. |
| Market resolution | One national index. | An index per market, with the underlying records held by the provider. |
| Evidence in a review | An index number. | Open the figure onto its basket and its captures. |
Three situations where the reference decides the answer.
Reweight the basket on category volume and see where the position sits.
Capture every item on the shelf so the basket comes from the market.
Run stated acceptance against the premium the index reports, market by market.
An index reduces the market to one reference figure. The four decisions below are what a revenue team asks around it.
Every revenue decision Sena answers, in one place
What rivals charge
Compares named rivals item by item.
Explore competitive pricing analysis 02The ladder across packs
Reads the index across pack sizes, since a range sits at several points at once.
Explore price pack architecture 03The single price point
Turns a position into the number one line carries, against what buyers accept.
Explore price optimization 04The figures underneath
Tracks the gap to the reference every cycle, alongside realized price and mix.
Explore pricing analyticsThe walkthrough takes one category in one market, builds the reference from a shelf capture, reweights it on what the category sold, and shows where the position lands while the team watches.
Tell us the category and the market, and we will build the reference.