PRICE DISPERSION, PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS, AND FIRMS’ BEHAVIORS: STYLIZED FACTS FROM SHOPPER.COM

Abstract

We study how price dispersion varies with product characteristics at a popular online price comparison site – Shopper.com. Our primary finding suggests that price dispersion in online markets varies with product characteristics and firm behavior. We also find evidence that the level of dispersion varies with the percent of firms listing price information in multiple categories. When the percent of firms listing prices in multiple categories is relatively high (low), price dispersion is low (high).

Citation

Chen, J. and Scholten, P. (2003), "PRICE DISPERSION, PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS, AND FIRMS’ BEHAVIORS: STYLIZED FACTS FROM SHOPPER.COM", Baye, M.R. (Ed.) Organizing the New Industrial Economy (Advances in Applied Microeconomics, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 143-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-0984(03)12006-8