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Shopping malls, platforms and consumer search

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  • Parakhonyak, Alexei
  • Titova, Maria

Abstract

We consider a model of a market for differentiated goods in which firms are located in marketplaces e.g., shopping malls or platforms. There are search frictions between marketplaces, but not within. Marketplaces differ in size. We show that an equilibrium in which consumers start their search at the largest marketplace and continue in the descending order of size, always exists. Despite charging lower prices, firms in larger marketplaces earn higher profits. Under free entry, all firms cluster in one marketplace provided that search frictions are large enough. If a marketplace determines the price of entry, then the equilibrium marketplace size is a single-peaked function of search costs and is decreasing for most of the search cost range.

Suggested Citation

  • Parakhonyak, Alexei & Titova, Maria, 2018. "Shopping malls, platforms and consumer search," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 183-213.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:58:y:2018:i:c:p:183-213
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2018.02.004
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sander Heinsalu, 2023. "Greater search cost reduces prices," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 75(3), pages 923-947, April.
    3. Bernhardt, Dan & Constantinou, Evangelos & Shadmehr, Mehdi, 2019. "When do co-located firms selling identical products thrive?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1202, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Amit Pazgal & David Soberman & Raphael Thomadsen, 2022. "Consumer informedness: A key driver of differentiation," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 356-368, April.
    5. Norlaile Salleh Hudin & Nur Shafiqa Azrin Khairil Annuar & Ahmad Zainal Abidin Abd Razak, 2019. "The Influence of Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value Towards Consumer Behavioral Intention Among Youth Mall Shoppers," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(5), pages 1-8, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Shopping Malls; Consumer Search; Platforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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