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Low Response Rate from Merchants? Sample and Ask Consumers! An Application of Indirect Sampling Under a Consumer-Merchant Bipartite Network

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  • Heng Chen
  • Joy Wu

Abstract

Under the consumer-merchant bipartite network, we apply the indirect sampling approach to estimate merchant payment acceptance through a consumer payment diary. The records of in-person transactions in the consumer diary provide both the merchant sample via consumer-merchant linkages, and the merchant acceptance via consumers’ responses. Among merchants receiving multiple transactions, we show that the derived payment acceptance from the consumer reporting is high quality in terms of very few conflicts between usage and perception, and within perceptions. Furthermore, we show the necessity of weight adjustment to correct for the non-recorded-merchant bias due to the shorter duration of the diary (i.e., constrained to maximum three days). Finally, we compare our indirect sampling estimates to the ones from a direct sampling survey, and we find the results align well, which supports our indirect sampling application in terms of alleviating merchant response burden and reducing survey operation cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Heng Chen & Joy Wu, 2025. "Low Response Rate from Merchants? Sample and Ask Consumers! An Application of Indirect Sampling Under a Consumer-Merchant Bipartite Network," Technical Reports 126, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocatr:126
    DOI: 10.34989/tr-126
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christopher Henry & Doina Rusu & Matthew Shimoda, 2024. "2022 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report: Cash Use Over 13 Years," Discussion Papers 2024-01, Bank of Canada.
    2. Celhay, Pablo & Meyer, Bruce D. & Mittag, Nikolas, 2024. "What leads to measurement errors? Evidence from reports of program participation in three surveys," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 238(2).
    3. Christopher Henry & Matthew Shimoda & Doina Rusu, 2024. "2023 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report: The Resilience of Cash," Discussion Papers 2024-08, Bank of Canada.
    4. Yilin Chen & Pengfei Li & Changbao Wu, 2020. "Doubly Robust Inference With Nonprobability Survey Samples," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 115(532), pages 2011-2021, December.
    5. Heng Chen & Rallye Shen, 2017. "The Bank of Canada 2015 Retailer Survey on the Cost of Payment Methods: Calibration for Single-Location Retailers," Technical Reports 109, Bank of Canada.
    6. Richard V. Burkhauser & Nicolas Hérault & Stephen P. Jenkins & Roger Wilkins, 2018. "Survey Under‐Coverage of Top Incomes and Estimation of Inequality: What is the Role of the UK's SPI Adjustment?," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(2), pages 213-240, June.
    7. Hans Kiesl, 2016. "Indirect Sampling: A Review of Theory and Recent Applications," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 10(4), pages 289-303, December.
    8. David Bounie & Abel François & Leo Van Hove, 2017. "Consumer Payment Preferences, Network Externalities, and Merchant Card Acceptance: An Empirical Investigation," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 51(3), pages 257-290, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bank notes; Econometrics and statistical methods;

    JEL classification:

    • C80 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - General
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit

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