Summary
The Price Elasticity screen allows you to analyze how changes in price affect demand for your items. Using historical cost and pricing data, StockIQ calculates an elasticity curve for selected hierarchy nodes or item-sites, enabling you to visualize demand sensitivity to price changes and simulate the projected impact before committing to a forecast adjustment.
Layout
The Price Elasticity screen is divided into three main areas:
- Left Panel – Search / Navigation
- Upper Right Panel – Charts
- Lower Right Panel – Detail Tabs
Left Panel: Searching for Items
Use the left panel to find and select the hierarchy node or item-site you want to analyze. Two search tabs are available:
| Tab | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Grid | List icon | Browse and select nodes from the Forecast Hierarchy grid at your chosen hierarchy level |
| Item-Sites | List-alt icon | Search for and select a specific item-site directly |
Tip: When navigating by Item-Site, StockIQ automatically maps the item-site to its corresponding hierarchy node(s) for analysis.
Click any row in either grid to load data for that selection into the chart and detail panels.
Upper Right Panel: Charts
Once a hierarchy node or item-site is selected, the upper panel displays analytical charts across two tabs:
Summary Tab
Displays a demand trend chart showing historical and forecasted demand over time for the selected node. This chart provides context for understanding baseline demand before factoring in price effects.
- A data grid can be toggled alongside the trend chart using the Show Grid / Hide Grid option in the configuration menu (⚙️). This is useful for reviewing the underlying numbers behind the chart.
Elasticity Curve Tab
Displays the price elasticity curve for the selected node — a visual representation of how demand is expected to respond to price increases or decreases.
Key fields shown below the curve:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Avg Demand | The average demand per period used as the baseline for elasticity modeling |
| Avg Unit Cost | The average unit cost used in the elasticity calculation |
The title of this tab reflects the specific elasticity description calculated for the selected node.
Lower Right Panel: Detail Tabs
The lower panel provides additional context and configuration for the selected node. Tabs shown depend on your current selection:
Selected Nodes Tab
Visible when multiple nodes are selected. Displays a summary grid of all currently selected nodes and their details.
Item Attributes Tab
Visible when a single item-site is selected (or all selections belong to the same item-site). Displays attributes for the selected item-site such as category, unit of measure, and other classification data.
Elasticity Tab
Visible when a valid selection is loaded. Allows you to view and configure the price elasticity settings for the selected node, including:
- Elasticity Type – Select the method or model used to calculate elasticity (e.g., standard types or custom curves)
- Custom Elasticity Curve – Optionally assign a custom-defined elasticity curve to the node
- Save or delete elasticity settings for the node; changes immediately refresh the Elasticity Curve chart
Price Changes Tab
Visible when a valid selection is loaded. Displays pricing history and customer-specific price change data for the selected node, including:
- Average Cost & Price Grid – Historical average cost and price data at the hierarchy node level
- Customer Price Changes Grid – A breakdown of price changes by customer, useful for understanding how pricing variations across your customer base contribute to demand shifts
Toolbar Actions
The toolbar at the top of the screen provides the following actions:
| Button / Menu | Description |
|---|---|
| Simulate | Opens the Demand Simulation dialog for the selected node (single selection required) |
| Configuration Menu | Toggle the data grid on/off alongside the trend chart; access Simulate and Clear Simulation options |
| Filters Menu | Apply filters to search inputs or to the chart data independently |
| Display Config | Adjust display options such as units of measure, number of history/future months shown, and whether current/future actuals are displayed |
Running a Simulation
The simulation feature lets you model the demand impact of a proposed price change before applying it to your forecast.
To run a simulation:
- Select a single hierarchy node from the search panel (multi-selection is not supported for simulation).
- Confirm that elasticity settings are configured for the node (the Elasticity and Price Changes tabs will be visible).
- Click the Simulate button in the toolbar (or select Simulate Changes... from the ⚙️ configuration menu).
- The simulation dialog will open, pre-populated with the node's current forecast settings, elasticity settings, and pricing information.
- Adjust the simulation inputs as needed and confirm.
- The trend chart will update to show the projected demand impact of the simulated price change.
To clear a simulation: Select Clear Simulation from the ⚙️ configuration menu to revert the chart to the original, unmodified forecast.
Note: Simulations are non-destructive and do not save changes to the operational forecast until explicitly saved through the appropriate forecast workflow.
Filtering Data
Two independent filters are available from the Filters Menu:
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Filter Inputs | Narrows the list of nodes/items shown in the search grids |
| Filter Chart Data | Filters the data displayed in the trend and elasticity charts without changing the search results |
Tips & Best Practices
- Start with the Elasticity Curve tab after selecting a node to confirm that an elasticity model has been configured. If the tab is not visible, elasticity settings have not yet been assigned to that node.
- Use the Price Changes tab to understand whether recent cost or price changes may already be influencing the elasticity calculation.
- Custom elasticity curves can be assigned at the node level if the standard model does not reflect real-world behavior for a specific item or category.
- For multi-location items, consider analyzing at the item-site level (using the Item-Sites search tab) for the most granular view of price-demand relationships.
For questions about configuring elasticity types or custom curves at the system level, contact your StockIQ administrator.