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Bye-box: An Analysis of Non-Promotion on the Amazon Marketplace 03.06.2022

Author

Listed:
  • Matthias Hunold

    (University of Siegen = Universität Siegen [Siegen])

  • Ulrich Laitenberger

    (ECO-Télécom Paris - Equipe Eco Economie - I3 SES - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation de Telecom Paris - Télécom Paris - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, SES - Département Sciences Economiques et Sociales - Télécom Paris - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, CRED - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Droit - Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas)

  • Guillaume Thébaudin

    (ECO-Télécom Paris - Equipe Eco Economie - I3 SES - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation de Telecom Paris - Télécom Paris - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, SES - Département Sciences Economiques et Sociales - Télécom Paris - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris)

Abstract

We study seller and product recommendations of the hybrid e-commerce platform Amazon. Using web-scraped data, we find that Amazon makes the visibility of offers of third-party suppliers in the "buybox" dependent on prices on competing marketplaces like Walmart and eBay. Amazon's own offers are visible regardless of their competitiveness. We find that the absence of seller recommendations makes recommendations to related products more effective and Amazon tends to steer consumers in these situations more often to products it sells itself. We discuss that this behavior is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis of an independent marketplace operator.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Hunold & Ulrich Laitenberger & Guillaume Thébaudin, 2022. "Bye-box: An Analysis of Non-Promotion on the Amazon Marketplace 03.06.2022," Working Papers hal-04104183, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04104183
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04104183v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Amazon marketplace buybox self-preferencing algorithm bias recommendation algorithms D40 L42 L81; Amazon marketplace; buybox; self-preferencing; algorithm bias; recommendation algorithms D40; L42; L81;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L42 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L42 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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