Working Paper: NBER ID: w17895
Authors: Bruce Ian Carlin; Florian Ederer
Abstract: Consumer search is not only costly but also tiring. We characterize the intertemporal effects that search fatigue has on oligopoly prices, product proliferation, and the provision of consumer assistance (i.e., advice). These effects vary based on whether search is all-or-nothing or sequential in nature, whether learning takes place, and whether consumers exhibit brand loyalty. We perform welfare analysis and highlight the novel empirical implications that our analysis generates.
Keywords: search fatigue; oligopoly; consumer behavior; product proliferation
JEL Codes: D43; D83
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Search fatigue (D83) | future search behavior (D84) |
| Search fatigue (D83) | time-varying prices (P22) |
| Search fatigue (D83) | consumer assistance (G52) |
| Search method (C69) | product proliferation (L15) |
| Consumer learning (D18) | product strategy (L15) |
| Brand loyalty (M37) | pricing distributions (L11) |