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Shopping Malls, Platforms and Consumer Search

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  • Alexei Parakhonyak
  • Maria Titova

Abstract

We consider a general model of a market for differentiated goods, in which firms are located in marketplaces: shopping malls or platforms. There are search frictions between the marketplaces, but not within them. Marketplaces differ in their size. We show that consumers prefer to start their search from the largest marketplace and continue in the descending order of their size. We show that the descending search order is the only search order which can be a part of an equilibrium for any market cofiguration. Despite charging lower prices, firms at larger marketplaces earn higher profits, and under free entry all firms cluster at one place. If a marketplace determines the price of entry, the equilibrium marketplace size depends negatively on search costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexei Parakhonyak & Maria Titova, 2016. "Shopping Malls, Platforms and Consumer Search," Economics Series Working Papers 807, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:807
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Sander Heinsalu, 2023. "Greater search cost reduces prices," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 75(3), pages 923-947, April.
    3. Bernhardt, Dan & Constantinou, Evangelos & Shadmehr, Mehdi, 2019. "When do co-located firms selling identical products thrive?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1202, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Amit Pazgal & David Soberman & Raphael Thomadsen, 2022. "Consumer informedness: A key driver of differentiation," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 356-368, April.
    5. Norlaile Salleh Hudin & Nur Shafiqa Azrin Khairil Annuar & Ahmad Zainal Abidin Abd Razak, 2019. "The Influence of Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value Towards Consumer Behavioral Intention Among Youth Mall Shoppers," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(5), pages 1-8, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Shopping Malls; Consumer Search; Platforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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