Foremost Golf tackles the price perception myth

Ian Melham, Head of Membership Services at Foremost Golf, discusses how professional shops are still perceived as the more expensive option over online and high street retailers, and offers solutions that can counteract this myth.

It’s no secret that many golfers believe green grass shops are more expensive than high street and online retailers. These larger off-course retailers tend to have significant choice and very large stock holdings – giving the impression that due to economies of scale, they will be paying less than at a smaller, independent PGA pro shop.

Foremost conducted a customer survey in late 2023 on behalf of our member retailers, receiving over 42,000 responses. The survey highlighted some key information on club member shopping habits. When asked about their preferred place to buy golf equipment, 41 percent of respondents said they didn’t buy the majority of their golf equipment from their club pro shop. Fifty-six percent of these respondents mentioned price as the reason for purchasing elsewhere.

However, when you look at industry data, it shows the opposite to be true. In the majority of retail categories, the last couple of years show on-course prices to be cheaper than off-course. There are several steps to take to combat this price myth.

Firstly, ticketing is a must. Customers will perceive you to be more expensive when there is no confident price ticketing visible on products. It is essential that you review the ticketing across the shop on a regular basis. You can make the same product look expensive or good value depending on how you present it. Foremost professionals have an industry leading ticket system (ForeTickIT) to create this perception of value and an overall professional feel to the shop.

Promoting a price match promise in store will help squash the myth that the pro shop is expensive – and remember, a price match promise is NOT saying ‘we will match the cheapest retailer’. In some cases, you might even find yourself putting prices UP to match some of the well-known retailers!

Something that can often be overlooked but can go a long way in the customer perception of your value, is the price point of popular and price sensitive products. An example would be golf balls.

The majority of golfers will know what the ‘going rate’ is for a leading golf ball on the market, and you will be judged on this. Therefore, it’s imperative that you are competitive with the market, including popular new releases, such as hardware. Prices have generally been much more stable over the last couple of years, as overheads for off-course retailers have increased, but it always pays to be in tune with what your competitors are charging on popular products.