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Product Variety And Competition In The Retail Market For Eyeglasses

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  • RANDAL WATSON

Abstract

I use original data on eyewear retailers in a cross‐section of U.S. markets to study how firms' product range choices vary with the degree of local competition. Market level regressions show average per firm variety declining in the number of rivals. In regressions at the firm level, taking account of spatial differentiation within each market, a non‐monotonic relationship between product ranges and competition is apparent. As the number of nearby rivals increases, per firm variety may first rise before eventually declining. Explanations for this pattern are offered, in terms of a tradeoff between business stealing and clustering effects.

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  • Randal Watson, 2009. "Product Variety And Competition In The Retail Market For Eyeglasses," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 217-251, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:57:y:2009:i:2:p:217-251
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6451.2009.00381.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sumon Datta & K. Sudhir, 2013. "Does reducing spatial differentiation increase product differentiation? Effects of zoning on retail entry and format variety," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 83-116, March.
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    7. Liran Einav, 2010. "Not All Rivals Look Alike: Estimating An Equilibrium Model Of The Release Date Timing Game," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(2), pages 369-390, April.
    8. Sumon Datta & K. Sudhir, 2012. "Does Reducing Spatial Differentiation Increase Product Differentiation" Effects of Zoning on Retail Entry and Format Variety," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1851, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University, revised Sep 2012.
    9. Argentesi, Elena & Buccirossi, Paolo & Cervone, Roberto & Duso, Tomaso & Marrazzo, Alessia, 2021. "The effect of mergers on variety in grocery retailing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    10. Maican, Florin & Orth, Matilda, 2021. "Entry Regulations and Product Variety in Retail," CEPR Discussion Papers 15992, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Sumon Datta & K. Sudhir, 2013. "Does reducing spatial differentiation increase product differentiation? Effects of zoning on retail entry and format variety," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 83-116, March.
    12. M. Serkan Akturk & Michael Ketzenberg, 2022. "Impact of Competitor Store Closures on a Major Retailer," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(2), pages 715-730, February.
    13. Charlotte R. Ren & Ye Hu & Yu (Jeffrey) Hu & Jerry Hausman, 2011. "Managing Product Variety and Collocation in a Competitive Environment: An Empirical Investigation of Consumer Electronics Retailing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(6), pages 1009-1024, June.
    14. Lijesen, M.G., 2010. "Empirical applications of spatial competition; an interpretative literature review," Serie Research Memoranda 0006, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    15. Mitsuru Sunada, 2012. "Competition among movie theaters: an empirical investigation of the Toho–Subaru antitrust case," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 36(3), pages 179-206, August.
    16. Xuan Teng, 2022. "Self-Preferencing, Quality Provision, and Welfare in Mobile Application Markets," CESifo Working Paper Series 10042, CESifo.
    17. Marcelo Olivares & Gérard P. Cachon, 2009. "Competing Retailers and Inventory: An Empirical Investigation of General Motors' Dealerships in Isolated U.S. Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(9), pages 1586-1604, September.
    18. Argentesi, Elena & Buccirossi, Paolo & Cervone, Roberto & Duso, Tomaso & Marrazzo, Alessia, 2016. "The effect of retail mergers on prices and variety: An ex-post evaluation," DICE Discussion Papers 225, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    19. Kim In Kyung, 2020. "Movie Variety and the City," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-26, July.
    20. Chung, Hwan & Ahn, Dae-Yong & Ahn, Seungho, 2022. "Spillover effects of a mega shopping complex on pre-existing, small retail shops over space, over time and across retail types," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

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