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Banning volume discounts to curb excessive consumption: A cautionary tale

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  • Bokhari, Farasat A.S.
  • Dobson, Paul W.
  • Morciano, Marcello
  • Suhrcke, Marc

Abstract

Volume discounts encourage consumers to buy more. Banning such discounts should then lead to consumers buying less. This is the thinking behind banning multiple-unit discounts, including multibuy price promotions, to curb excessive harmful consumption of alcohol and high-fat, -sugar, and -salt (HFSS) foods. However, our analysis questions the validity of this thinking, which ignores the possible restraining effect of volume discounts. We find that such a ban for retailing alcohol in Scotland increased rather than reduced sales. Retailers switched to using more straight (single-unit) discounts, which encouraged high-consumption households to increase their shopping frequency and buy more.

Suggested Citation

  • Bokhari, Farasat A.S. & Dobson, Paul W. & Morciano, Marcello & Suhrcke, Marc, 2023. "Banning volume discounts to curb excessive consumption: A cautionary tale," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:156:y:2023:i:c:s0014292123001095
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104480
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Volume discounts; Excessive consumption; Multibuy; Alcohol;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C54 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Quantitative Policy Modeling
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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