Which metric would you choose to evaluate the effectiveness of a pricing change over time?

• A. Price realization
• B. Inventory variance
• C. Pour cost
• D. Sales by category

Answer: (D)

Evaluating a pricing change over time benefits from a measure that shows how demand and revenue respond across product groups as prices shift. Sales by category does exactly that: it tracks both units sold and revenue within each category over time, so you can see whether higher prices increased or decreased overall category revenue, how demand moved, and how the mix of what you sell changed after the pricing adjustment. This makes it possible to assess elasticity, substitution between categories, and whether the pricing change achieved the desired financial effect.

Price realization focuses on the gap between achieved prices and target or list prices, which helps you see if you’re charging the intended amount, but it doesn’t reveal how customers actually changed their purchasing behavior in response to those prices. Inventory variance is about forecast accuracy and stock control, not pricing impact. Pour cost deals with the cost of goods per pour, which is useful for cost management but not for evaluating the effectiveness of a pricing decision.