CHICAGO — To offset utility costs is no longer the No. 1 reason that self-service laundry owners raise their vend prices, based on the results of American Coin-Op’s latest Your Views survey.
Generating more revenue is the top reason why the majority of coin laundry operators polled (37.5%) make the decision to increase their store’s vend prices. Offsetting utility costs—which had been the top choice in two previous Your Views surveys dating back several years—is still a close second, at 29.2%.
Other operators say their top reason for raising prices is for “other” reasons related to staying in business (16.7%), “to afford new equipment” (12.5%), or “to capitalize on new store improvements” (4.2%).
No one taking the survey said they raise prices “to remain [their] area’s high-price leader” or because they “just raise prices every so often.”
Three-quarters of store owners polled say the prices that competitors are charging factor into their own pricing: 50% say “sometimes,” 20.8% say “rarely,” and 4.2% say “always.” The remaining 25% of respondents say competitors’ prices never factor into their own.
Nearly 71% of operators “don’t publicize price hikes in any fashion.” Roughly 17% “make minimal effort to announce a price hike,” and 12.5% “let [customers] know what’s happening and why.”
American Coin-Op received a variety of responses upon asking what type of pricing promotion customers favor most, but the bulk were said to involve loyalty programs, free drying, or time-of-day/day-of-week discounts.
We asked store owners what pricing strategy of theirs has been most successful. Here are some of the responses:
- “Tiered pricing for hot and warm water.”
- “We have always tried to increase our prices in the late summer/early fall in time [for] the busier school year and winter season. We also have looked for opportunities to increase our pricing when customers are being bombarded with media reports of either raising costs or prices.”
- “Our prices start off lower than some of our competitors but, with cycle modifiers, we top out higher. Just like upsizing your meal at a fast-food restaurant.”
- “When raising prices, I try to avoid ‘sticker shock’ for my customers. … One approach is to raise prices on one aisle or one size of machine at a time, instead of doing the entire store at once.”
- “I don’t change my pricing. One price that has worked well is with the dryers: $1.50 to start the cycle and for (each) quarter added, you will get five minutes, and for every dollar coin added, (you) will get 20.”
We also asked about wash-dry-fold (WDF) pricing and how the laundry owner’s pricing strategy may differ from their self-service equipment. Here are some responses:
- “WDF pricing is entirely separate from self-service pricing, and must consider the costs of labor, supplies, and liability you are taking on.”
- “WDF is priced based off of what others in area are charging. We try to incorporate value for repeat customers. One item is adding bedding in clothes order wash instead of washing bedding separately for extra cost.”
- “At a minimum, it should be at least double self-service for the same size load. I price my WDF to match my attendants’ wages.”
American Coin-Op’s Your Views survey presents an unscientific snapshot of the trade audience’s viewpoints. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Subscribers to American Coin-Op emails are invited to participate anonymously in an industry survey each quarter. The entire trade audience is encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define owner/operator opinions and industry trends.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
