Quality-based Price Discrimination: Evidence from Internet Retailers鈥?Shipping Options

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• 作者：Han Li^a ; ^{hli@swufe.edu.cn} ; Emin Dinlersoz^b ; ^{emin.m.dinlersoz@census.gov}
• 关键词：Price discrimination ; Online retailing ; E-commerce ; E-retailing ; Shipping ; Delivery ; Shipping fees ; Shipping options ; Vertical differentiation
• 刊名：Journal of Retailing
• 出版年：2012
• 期刊代码：60_00224359
• 类别：bus
• 出版时间：June, 2012
• 卷：88
• 期：2
• 页码：276-290
• 文件大小：269 K

摘要

This paper tests various implications of quality-based price discrimination theory in the context of internet book retailers鈥?shipping menus. Many internet retailers create quality variants of a homogeneous good by bundling it with several shipping options that differ by delivery time. This practice can allow retailers to extract further surplus from consumers through quality-based price discrimination. We find that the design of shipping menus offered by large retailers is consistent with main implications of quality-based price discrimination theory. Fringe sellers, however, do not appear to engage in price discrimination based on quality.