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Price matching and platform pricing

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  • Bottasso, Anna
  • Marocco, Paolo
  • Robbiano, Simone

Abstract

In this study we investigate the effects of Price Matching Guarantees (PMGs) commercial policies on U.S. online consumer electronics daily prices. By applying a Diff-in-Diff identification strategy we find evidence in favor of price reductions occurring after the PMG policy is repealed. We further investigate if such effect is heterogeneous according to products characteristics, by exploiting User Generated Contents (UGCs, as products popularity and quality) and online search visibility measures (Google Search Rank). Estimates suggest that for high quality (visibility) products PMGs policies harms competition by keeping prices high, while for low quality (visibility) products, prices decrease during the policy validity period.

Suggested Citation

  • Bottasso, Anna & Marocco, Paolo & Robbiano, Simone, 2020. "Price matching and platform pricing," MPRA Paper 104811, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:104811
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    online platforms; price matching guarantees; platform pricing; user generated contents; policy evaluation; counterfactual evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L00 - Industrial Organization - - General - - - General
    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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