IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v71y2025i1p366-389.html

Exercising Market Power Without Using Prices: Service Time in Online Grocery

Author

Listed:
  • Itai Ater

    (Coller School of Management, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Israel; Centre for Economic Policy Research, London EC1V 0DX, United Kingdom)

  • Adi Shany

    (Coller School of Management, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Israel)

Abstract

This paper studies how online grocers use service time to respond to local competition and demand conditions when prices are uniformly set at the national level. Using comprehensive data collected twice a week over three years from 172 Israeli local markets, we show that an online grocer sets identical prices in all markets. By contrast, service time is shorter in more competitive markets and on low-demand days. Next, we exploit regional and temporal variation in entry decisions to examine how the incumbent adjusts its service time when new online grocers enter the market. The incumbent’s service time falls significantly on low-demand days and in monopolistic markets. This decrease begins shortly before entry and is greater when the entrant poses a larger competitive threat. On high-demand days and in competitive markets we do not find a significant change in service time in the months surrounding entry. Our findings suggest that firms use service time to exercise their local market power when prices are unresponsive and that operational considerations affect the extent to which they respond.

Suggested Citation

  • Itai Ater & Adi Shany, 2025. "Exercising Market Power Without Using Prices: Service Time in Online Grocery," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(1), pages 366-389, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:1:p:366-389
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.01820
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01820
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01820?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matias Busso & Sebastian Galiani, 2019. "The Causal Effect of Competition on Prices and Quality: Evidence from a Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 33-56, January.
    2. I.P.L. Png & David Reitman, 1994. "Service Time Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(4), pages 619-634, Winter.
    3. Alberto Cavallo & Brent Neiman & Roberto Rigobon, 2014. "Currency Unions, Product Introductions, and the Real Exchange Rate," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 529-595.
    4. Kirill Borusyak & Xavier Jaravel & Jann Spiess, 2024. "Revisiting Event-Study Designs: Robust and Efficient Estimation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(6), pages 3253-3285.
    5. Victor Manuel Bennett & Lamar Pierce & Jason A. Snyder & Michael W. Toffel, 2013. "Customer-Driven Misconduct: How Competition Corrupts Business Practices," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(8), pages 1725-1742, August.
    6. Stefano DellaVigna & Matthew Gentzkow, 2019. "Uniform Pricing in U.S. Retail Chains," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 2011-2084.
    7. Michael Mazzeo, 2003. "Competition and Service Quality in the U.S. Airline Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 22(4), pages 275-296, June.
    8. Jean‐François Houde & Peter Newberry & Katja Seim, 2023. "Nexus Tax Laws and Economies of Density in E‐Commerce: A Study of Amazon's Fulfillment Center Network," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(1), pages 147-190, January.
    9. Itai Ater & Oren Rigbi, 2023. "Price Transparency, Media, and Informative Advertising," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 1-29, February.
    10. Pradeep K. Chintagunta & Junhong Chu & Javier Cebollada, 2012. "Quantifying Transaction Costs in Online/Off-line Grocery Channel Choice," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 96-114, January.
    11. Gad Allon & Awi Federgruen & Margaret Pierson, 2011. "How Much Is a Reduction of Your Customers' Wait Worth? An Empirical Study of the Fast-Food Drive-Thru Industry Based on Structural Estimation Methods," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 489-507, October.
    12. Thomas J. Holmes, 2011. "The Diffusion of Wal‐Mart and Economies of Density," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(1), pages 253-302, January.
    13. Israel Luski, 1976. "On Partial Equilibrium in a Queuing System with Two Servers," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 43(3), pages 519-525.
    14. Nicholas Economides & Katja Seim & V. Brian Viard, 2008. "Quantifying the benefits of entry into local phone service," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(3), pages 699-730, September.
    15. Andrea Pozzi, 2013. "The effect of Internet distribution on brick-and-mortar sales," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 44(3), pages 569-583, September.
    16. Becker, Bo & Milbourn, Todd, 2011. "How did increased competition affect credit ratings?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 493-514, September.
    17. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    18. Brian Adams & Kevin R. Williams, 2019. "Zone Pricing in Retail Oligopoly," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(1), pages 124-156, February.
    19. Marcelo Olivares & Gérard P. Cachon, 2009. "Competing Retailers and Inventory: An Empirical Investigation of General Motors' Dealerships in Isolated U.S. Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(9), pages 1586-1604, September.
    20. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    21. Ali Hortaçsu & F. Asís Martínez-Jerez & Jason Douglas, 2009. "The Geography of Trade in Online Transactions: Evidence from eBay and MercadoLibre," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 53-74, February.
    22. Alberto Cavallo, 2017. "Are Online and Offline Prices Similar? Evidence from Large Multi-channel Retailers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 283-303, January.
    23. Gérard P. Cachon & Patrick T. Harker, 2002. "Competition and Outsourcing with Scale Economies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(10), pages 1314-1333, October.
    24. Günter J. Hitsch & Ali Hortaçsu & Xiliang Lin, 2021. "Prices and promotions in U.S. retail markets," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 289-368, December.
    25. David A. Matsa, 2011. "Competition and Product Quality in the Supermarket Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(3), pages 1539-1591.
    26. A. Michael Spence, 1975. "Monopoly, Quality, and Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 6(2), pages 417-429, Autumn.
    27. Ehud Kalai & Morton I. Kamien & Michael Rubinovitch, 1992. "Optimal Service Speeds in a Competitive Environment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(8), pages 1154-1163, August.
    28. James D. Dana Jr. & Yuk‐Fai Fong, 2011. "Product Quality, Reputation, And Market Structure," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1059-1076, November.
    29. Peter Arcidiacono & Paul B. Ellickson & Carl F. Mela & John D. Singleton, 2020. "The Competitive Effects of Entry: Evidence from Supercenter Expansion," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 175-206, July.
    30. Liran Einav & Dan Knoepfle & Jonathan Levin & Neel Sundaresan, 2014. "Sales Taxes and Internet Commerce," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(1), pages 1-26, January.
    31. Andrea Pozzi, 2012. "Shopping Cost and Brand Exploration in Online Grocery," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 96-120, August.
    32. Austan Goolsbee & Chad Syverson, 2008. "How Do Incumbents Respond to the Threat of Entry? Evidence from the Major Airlines," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(4), pages 1611-1633.
    33. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultfœuille, 2020. "Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2964-2996, September.
    34. Ricard Gil & Evsen Korkmaz & Ozge Sahin, 2020. "Can free-shipping hurt online retailers?," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 305-342, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Argentesi, Elena & Buccirossi, Paolo & Cervone, Roberto & Duso, Tomaso & Marrazzo, Alessia, 2021. "The effect of mergers on variety in grocery retailing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Diego Aparicio & Zachary Metzman & Roberto Rigobon, 2024. "The pricing strategies of online grocery retailers," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Juan Pablo Atal & José Ignacio Cuesta & Felipe González & Cristóbal Otero, 2024. "The Economics of the Public Option: Evidence from Local Pharmaceutical Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(3), pages 615-644, March.
    4. Victor Manuel Bennett & Lamar Pierce & Jason A. Snyder & Michael W. Toffel, 2012. "Competition and Illicit Quality," Harvard Business School Working Papers 12-071, Harvard Business School, revised May 2012.
    5. Cardinali, Rebecca & Lusher, Lester & Taylor, Rebecca L.C. & Villas-Boas, Sofia B., 2025. "Does automation reduce stigma? The effect of self-checkout register adoption on purchasing decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    6. Chenarides, Lauren & Richards, Timothy J. & Rutledge, Zachariah & Pender, John, 2025. "Dollar store impact on local labor markets and retail activity," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    7. Messner, Teresa & Rumler, Fabio & Strasser, Georg, 2024. "Cross-country price dispersion: Retail network or national border?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    8. Gil, Ricard & Kim, Myongjin, 2021. "Does competition increase quality? Evidence from the US airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Ryan W. Buell & Dennis Campbell & Frances X. Frei, 2016. "How Do Customers Respond to Increased Service Quality Competition?," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 585-607, October.
    10. Justin C. Wiltshire, 2023. "Walmart Supercenters and Monopsony Power: How A Large, Low-Wage Employer Impacts Local Labor Markets," Department Discussion Papers 2304, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    11. Carl Hase & Johannes Kasinger, 2024. "The Pass-through of Retail Crime," Papers 2407.07201, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2024.
    12. Jennifer Kao, 2025. "Information Disclosure and Competitive Dynamics: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(7), pages 5948-5970, July.
    13. Hahm, Dong Woo, 2026. "From curriculum to career: Early-career labor market effects of the Common Core," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    14. A. Yeşim Orhun & Sriram Venkataraman & Pradeep K. Chintagunta, 2016. "Impact of Competition on Product Decisions: Movie Choices of Exhibitors," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(1), pages 73-92, January.
    15. Brehm, Johannes & Pestel, Nico & Schaffner, Sandra & Schmitz, Laura, 2025. "From Low Emission Zone to academic track: Environmental policy effects on educational achievement in elementary school," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    16. Gad Allon & Awi Federgruen, 2007. "Competition in Service Industries," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 55(1), pages 37-55, February.
    17. Hu, Changyu & Zhao, Qicheng & Ma, Ruiyun & Yin, Yugang, 2025. "Civil recognition and urban entrepreneurship: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1395-1414.
    18. Dong, Xiao & Byrne, Anne T. & Rhone, Alana & Ver Ploeg, Michele, 2025. "Review: untangling the complex economics of the local food retail environment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    19. Coraggio, Luca & Pagano, Marco & Scognamiglio, Annalisa & Tåg, Joacim, 2025. "JAQ of all trades: Job mismatch, firm productivity and managerial quality," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    20. Burton, Anne M. & Churchill, Brandyn F., 2025. "Supply-side opioid restrictions and the retail pharmacy market," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:1:p:366-389. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.