UNIFORM PRICING IN US RETAIL CHAINS
UNIFORM PRICING IN US RETAIL CHAINS
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DOI：
10.1093/qje/qjz019
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发表时间：
2019-11-01
影响因子：
13.7
通讯作者：
Gentzkow, Matthew
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
DellaVigna, Stefano;Gentzkow, Matthew
我们发现，尽管消费者人口统计和竞争存在很大差异，但大多数美国食品，药店和大众商品连锁店在商店之间收取几乎统一的价格。需求估计揭示了价格弹性的链内变化，并表明，相对于最佳价格的基准，中位链牺牲了1600万美元的年利润。相比之下，连锁店之间的平均价格差异与最佳基准大致一致。我们讨论了几乎统一定价的一系列解释，强调管理惯性和品牌形象的关注，作为行业参与者经常提到的机制。相对于我们的最优基准，统一定价可能会显着增加贫困家庭相对于富人支付的价格，抑制价格对当地经济冲击的反应，改变反垄断合并的分析，并转移国际贸易成本的发生率。JEL代码：D9、L1、L2、M31。
We show that most U.S. food, drugstore, and mass-merchandise chains charge nearly uniform prices across stores, despite wide variation in consumer demographics and competition. Demand estimates reveal substantial within-chain variation in price elasticities and suggest that the median chain sacrifices $16 million of annual profit relative to a benchmark of optimal prices. In contrast, differences in average prices between chains are broadly consistent with the optimal benchmark. We discuss a range of explanations for nearly uniform pricing, highlighting managerial inertia and brand image concerns as mechanisms frequently mentioned by industry participants. Relative to our optimal benchmark, uniform pricing may significantly increase the prices paid by poorer households relative to the rich, dampen the response of prices to local economic shocks, alter the analysis of mergers in antitrust, and shift the incidence of intranational trade costs. JEL Codes: D9, L1, L2, M31.