Elasticity sounds academic, but the idea is simple: how much does demand move when price moves? Get that wrong and every optimization downstream inherits the error.
Most teams estimate it from raw history — and raw history is full of prices that were set deliberately, which makes price look far less consequential than it is.
Honest elasticity comes from variation you can trust: controlled tests, natural experiments, and instruments. With it, you can read your own catalog and know where a price has room to move.