How to Change Prices and Predict Them Without Guessing with Felix Hoffmann

Felix Hoffmann is the co-founder of 7Learnings, where he helps companies move from intuition-based pricing to predictive, data-driven pricing systems. He previously led pricing optimization at Zalando, managing pricing across millions of products and markets—giving him a front-row seat to how pricing actually behaves in the real world. In this episode, instead of relying on gut feel or delayed results, Felix introduces predictive pricing—a system that forecasts the impact of price changes before you make them. They break down why most pricing decisions today are still reactive, how companies are leaving profit on the table by not simulating outcomes, and why testing alone isn't enough anymore. If you've ever changed prices and hoped for the best—this episode will challenge that approach.   Why You Have to Listen: If you're changing prices without knowing what will happen—this episode shows you a better way. Understand why testing pricing isn't enough—and what comes after testing. Discover how companies are using simulations to make faster, smarter pricing decisions.   "You shouldn't decide based on gut feeling—you should decide based on what you predict will happen." — Felix Hoffmann   Topics Covered: 01:30 – What Is Predictive Pricing? How to forecast the impact of price changes before making them 04:00 – Why "Should We Change Price?" Is the Wrong Question The real question: what happens if you change it 07:00 – What You Need to Predict (Beyond Sales) Profit, costs, returns, and long-term effects of pricing decisions 13:30 – Why Testing Alone Isn't Enough You can't test everything—so you need simulations 17:00 – Competitor Pricing: Guessing vs Predicting Why most companies match competitors blindly—and how to avoid it 20:30 – The Role of External Signals (Weather, Seasonality, Trends) How real-world factors shape pricing decisions 23:30 – B2B vs B2C Pricing Reality Why predictive pricing is easier in high-volume environments 29:00 – Final Advice: Predict First, Decide Second Why simulation is the missing layer in pricing strategy   Key Takeaways: "The question is not: should I change my price? The question is: what happens if I change it?" — Felix Hoffmann "Nobody is doing perfect decisions today… perfect decisions would require mathematical optimization." — Felix Hoffmann   Resources Mentioned: 7Learnings – Platform for predictive pricing and revenue optimization Zalando – Example of large-scale pricing optimization   Connect with Felix Hoffmann: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-hoffmann-7learnings/  Website: https://7learnings.com/    Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: [email protected]