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Pricing with Cookies: Behavior-Based Price Discrimination and Spatial Competition

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  • Chongwoo Choe
  • Stephen King
  • Noriaki Matsushima

Abstract

We study a two-period model of spatial competition with two symmetric firms where firms learn customers’ preferences from the first-period purchase, which they use for personalized pricing in the second period. With product choice exogenously fixed with maximal differentiation, we show that there exist two asymmetric equilibria and customer switching is only from one firm to the other unless firms discount future too much. Firms are worse off with such personalized pricing than when they use pricing at higher levels of aggregation. When product choice is also made optimally, there continue to exist two asymmetric equilibria given sufficiently small discounting, none of which features maximal differentiation. More customer information hurts firms, and more so when they make both product choice and pricing decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Chongwoo Choe & Stephen King & Noriaki Matsushima, 2017. "Pricing with Cookies: Behavior-Based Price Discrimination and Spatial Competition," Monash Economics Working Papers 07-17, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:mos:moswps:2017-07
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    3. Kanying Liu & Yong Lan & Wei Li & Erbao Cao, 2019. "Behavior-Based Pricing of Organic and Conventional Agricultural Products Based on Green Subsidies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Paul Belleflamme & Wing Man Wynne Lam & Wouter Vergote, 2019. "Competitive Imperfect Price Discrimination and Market Power," CESifo Working Paper Series 7964, CESifo.
    5. Esteves, Rosa-Branca & Resende, Joana, 2019. "Personalized pricing and advertising: Who are the winners?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 239-282.
    6. Stefano Colombo, 2018. "Behavior‐ and characteristic‐based price discrimination," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 237-250, June.
    7. Hu, Xiaoqing & Cai, Jianhu & Yue, Xiaohang, 2024. "Power structure preferences in a dual-channel supply chain: Demand information symmetry vs. asymmetry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 314(3), pages 920-934.
    8. Delbono, Flavio & Reggiani, Carlo & Sandrini, Luca, 2024. "Strategic data sales with partial segment profiling," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Tremblay, Mark J., 2019. "Pareto price discrimination," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Laussel, Didier & Long, Ngo Van & Resende, Joana, 2020. "Quality and price personalization under customer recognition: A dynamic monopoly model with contrasting equilibria," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Tao Wang & Shi-Xiao Wang, 2022. "International Manufacturer’s Online Marketplace Choice Considering Behavior-Based Pricing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    12. Yiquan Gu & Leonardo Madio & Carlo Reggiani, 2019. "Exclusive Data, Price Manipulation and Market Leadership," CESifo Working Paper Series 7853, CESifo.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Spatial competition; behavior-based price discrimination; personalized pricing; endogenous product choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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