Study Finds Only One Type of Consumer Dictates Price

hubie writes:

Researchers compare multiple categories of shoppers and find the linchpin:

It's commonly assumed that the supply-and-demand economics of the consumer marketplace dictates price. If you are one of few retailers that sells a product consumers want, you can charge more. Or, if supplies of that product are more scarce, again, prices will likely be higher. On the flip side, if supplies are plentiful for a product that is in less demand, prices for that product are likely to be lower.

But researchers have found it's not always that simple. Thanks to the internet and e-commerce, more consumers have taken advantage of going to a physical store to inspect items before purchase, leaving that store, and then purchasing the product at a lower price elsewhere. This is called "showrooming."

This has led to several assumptions in the retail industry, from the thought that showrooming will put brick-and-mortar retailers out of business, to the notion that the showrooming trend has driven prices down across the board. A new study has found these may both be false.

[...] "Showroomers do their research in advance," says Bar-Isaac. "They know what they want, they already know what that retailer may charge, and they go to stores with more limited or shallow selections in search of a better price."

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