A Choice-Based Dynamic Programming Approach for Setting Opaque Prices
A Choice-Based Dynamic Programming Approach for Setting Opaque Prices
复制标题
DOI：
10.1111/j.1937-5956.2011.01293.x
复制
发表时间：
2012-05
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
C. Anderson;Xiaoqing Xie
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
C. Anderson;Xiaoqing Xie
不透明定价是一种定价形式，其中产品或服务的某些特征在购买后才向消费者隐藏。从本质上讲，不透明销售将差异化商品转变为商品。不透明定价在服务定价中变得很流行，因为它允许公司以更高的价格向常规品牌忠诚客户销售差异化产品，同时以折扣价向非品牌忠诚客户销售。我们使用嵌套 Logit 模型结合逻辑回归和动态规划来说明服务公司如何在不透明的销售渠道上优化定价。选择模型允许描述消费者在购买不透明产品时的权衡，而动态规划方法则允许将最优定价策略描述为库存和剩余时间的函数。当动态定价仅限于每日价格变化时，我们会比较最优价格和预期收入。我们使用来自不透明销售机制 (Hotwire.com) 和华盛顿特区酒店的数据提供了一个说明性示例。
Opaque pricing is a form of pricing where certain characteristics of the product or service are hidden from the consumer until after purchase. In essence, opaque selling transforms a differentiated good into a commodity. Opaque pricing has become popular in service pricing as it allows firms to sell their differentiated product at higher prices to regular brand loyal customers while simultaneously selling to non‐brand loyal customers at discounted prices. We use a nested logit model in combination with logistic regression and dynamic programming to illustrate how a service firm can optimally set prices on an opaque sales channel. The choice model allows the characterization of consumer trade‐offs when purchasing opaque products while the dynamic programming approach allows the characterization of the optimal pricing policy as a function of inventory and time remaining. We compare optimal prices and expected revenues when dynamic pricing is restricted to daily price changes. We provide an illustrative example using data from an opaque selling mechanism (Hotwire.com) and a Washington DC‐based hotel.