A Pricing Model That Survived Ramadan Demand Spikes

ShopUp’s delivery pricing hadn’t changed in over a year, which felt like stability but was actually two separate problems wearing one number: underpriced during Ramadan surge, overpriced the rest of the year relative to actual cost-to-serve.

A pricing band, not a price point

We modeled a banded structure that flexed within a pre-approved range based on live delivery-zone density, rather than a single fixed number merchants had to be renegotiated into. That kept the change invisible at the UI level — merchants saw a price, not a formula.

The band survived the Ramadan spike without a manual override for the first time in three years, and full-year delivery margin improved by holding steady during off-peak months instead of quietly under-recovering cost.