Publication Date:
2017-01-05
Description:
Online retailing has created an empirical opportunity to examine consumer search behavior using click stream data. In this article we examine the implications of greater variety online for consumer search intensity, and equilibrium prices. We test our hypothesis using consumer data on online search and purchase behavior from the comScore Web Behavior Panel. We find that search intensity systematically decreases in categories with broader product ranges, and equilibrium prices rise. Our findings suggests that broader product ranges in online retail markets can produce anti-competitive effects that are mediated through equilibrium responses in consumer search behavior.
Keywords:
D12 - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis, D83 - Search
;
Learning
;
Information and Knowledge
;
Communication
;
Belief, L13 - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets, L81 - Retail and Wholesale Trade
;
e-Commerce
Print ISSN:
0002-9092
Electronic ISSN:
1467-8276
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
,
Economics
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