Most expensive liquid on earth

Any idea of which is the most expensive liquid sold in supermarket ?

A 100 ml bottle of perfume, let's say Chanel n°5 (for the eau de parfum, not the least expensive indeed !) is currently sold 90€, for a 900 € per liter.

One bottle of Romanée Conti 2003 is sold about 2000 € see here, that makes about 2600€ per liter.

No, these fluids are quite cheap if you compare them with ... ink print ! Have a look at your standard ink cartridge and look at the volume : you get around 3000€ per liter !

Of course, the price is not justified by the rarity of the ink but by the smart business model in which the hardware is sponsored by the consumible. That's also why a cup of coffee costs you at home 0,05cts, a Nespresso 0,3 cts, 2€ in a restaurant and 4€ at Starbucks...

Smart pricing : fix the price for the value you offer taking account the willingness to pay of your customers and not for the cost you deliver...

99 ct pricing

Tim Arango wrote an interesting article in the New York Times about .99 price ending. He records the history of .99 prices which seems to have been first published in 1860 by Rowland Macy (1822 - 1877), founder of Macy's Department Store. The success of this promo encouraged retailers to multiply this kind of pricing. Other explanation can be found in the odd fact that prices ending in .99 was a way to fight internal robbery: employees were forced to give change to customers (at least 1ct) and therefore oblige salesmen to register the purchases...

The psychological factor is often used to explain success stories like iTunes or the One Dollar Store chains. Many economists made studies trying to measure the effect of such prices. But the truth obliges to say that the positive effect of .99 prices is still to be demonstrated !

Photo : Denkschema in Flickr

Pricing puzzle : Why do ice creams are sold the same price ?

Price discrimination is the norm in the modern retail. Promotions, sales, happy hour, coupons, loyalty cards, bulk prices, etc... all these techniques consider charging different prices to customers upon the quantity sold or the time they buy. 

The art of pricing is also the ability to define the higher possible price to maximize turnover without discouraging clients. This is key to any successful retailer. 

Contrary to that law, I've always been puzzled by this consideration : why do ice cream stores charge the same price for all flavors ? It seems to be the case in any store I could see in the world (as an amateur, I've seen a lot !). Even if chocolate or vanilla are much more popular than any other or even if some flavors (like vanilla or chocolate) cost much cheaper to produce than exotic ones (like "Nuit de Chine", a specialty of Martine Lambert made of Szechuan pepper and bitter chocolate), the pricing is based on the number of balls. 

In supermarkets, it's not the case and depending on your taste you can spend 3 £ for Tesco Chocolate & Hazelnut ice cream or 1,99 £ for the Chocolatino (both in 1 ltr). The ease of price calculation maybe one possible explanation, but it could be solved with 2 or 3 range of prices. If you have a possible explanation are welcomed to bring coments !

ps1 : My own ice creams ranking:

1) Berthillon, Paris. The only ice cream store shut during summer

2) Persicco, Buenos Aires. For his Dulce de leche / raspberry cone

3) Martine Lambert, Trouville. Any fruit sorbet is a splendor

4) Sergio Dondoli, San Gimignano. Elected world champion !!

ps2 : I shot the upper photo in Paipa, Colombia, the other one in Firenze, Tuscany last week. The Melone / Apricot was particulary gorgeous !