  We study the price rigidity of regular and sale prices, and how it is
affected by pricing formats (pricing strategies). We use data from three large
Canadian stores with different pricing formats (Every-Day-Low-Price, Hi-Lo, and
Hybrid) that are located within a 1 km radius of each other. Our data contains
both the actual transaction prices and actual regular prices as displayed on
the store shelves. We combine these data with two generated regular price
series (filtered prices and reference prices) and study their rigidity. Regular
price rigidity varies with store formats because different format stores treat
sale prices differently, and consequently define regular prices differently.
Correspondingly, the meanings of price cuts and sale prices vary across store
formats. To interpret the findings, we consider the store pricing format
distribution across the US.
