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Search and Price Dispersion in Online Grocery markets

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  • Timothy Richards

    (Arizona State University)

  • Stephen Hamilton

    (Department of Economics, California Polytechnic State University)

  • William Allender

    (McMaster University)

Abstract

Prices for similar products often differ between retail outlets, leading consumers to actively search for products that meet their needs at the lowest possible price. Prices differ among retailers, and search intensity differs among consumers because search is a costly activity and consumers differ in their costs of search. How variety and the multiproduct nature of retailing affect search costs, search intensity, and the dispersion of prices, however, is not well understood. In this paper, we use online grocery pricing data form four retailers in the UK to estimate search costs and equilibrium price dispersions. When consumers search for singe products, we find that variety reduces the cost of search and induces consumers to search less, which increases the pricing power of online retailers. However, when consumers search for multiple products, search costs still fall in variety, but consumers search more intensively across stores, potentially increasing the competitiveness of online retail markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy Richards & Stephen Hamilton & William Allender, 2015. "Search and Price Dispersion in Online Grocery markets," Working Papers 1504, California Polytechnic State University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpl:wpaper:1504
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    Cited by:

    1. Moraga-González, José Luis & Sándor, Zsolt & Wildenbeest, Matthijs R., 2017. "Nonsequential search equilibrium with search cost heterogeneity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 392-414.
    2. Araujo, Julia P. & Rodrigues, Mauro, 2020. "Evidence on search costs under hyperinflation in Brazil: The effect of Plano Real," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 40(1), August.
    3. Alessandro Bonanno & Francesco Bimbo & Marco Costanigro & Alfons Oude Lansink & Rosaria Viscecchia, 2019. "Credence attributes and the quest for a higher price – a hedonic stochastic frontier approach," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(2), pages 163-192.
    4. Sheldon, Ian M., 2017. "The Competitiveness Of Agricultural Product And Input Markets: A Review And Synthesis Of Recent Research," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(1), pages 1-44, February.
    5. Xulia González & Daniel Miles-Touya, 2018. "Price dispersion, chain heterogeneity, and search in online grocery markets," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 115-139, March.
    6. Lindgren, Charlie & Daunfeldt, Sven-Olov & Rudholm, Niklas, 2021. "Pricing In Retail Markets With Low Search Costs: Evidence From A Price Comparison Website," HFI Working Papers 18, Institute of Retail Economics (Handelns Forskningsinstitut).
    7. Volpe, Richard J. III & Tedjasaputra, Nicole & Jackson, Olivia & Provost, Ryan, 2021. "Supermarket Pricing and Promotional Behavior: Evidence from the San Luis Obispo Market," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 52(2), July.

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    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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