Consumers will pay more for physical products, even when digital ones better meet their needs
E-books are lighter and more portable than physical ones. They allow you to hold an entire library in the palm of your hand, and are easier to read in low light. A waterproof e-reader can even withstand an unexpected soaking during a day at the beach.
And though many consumers recognize these advantages, they are not willing to pay as much for e-books as they are for hardcovers and paperbacks. This is a behaviour that holds true across multiple product categories. Click to read more |
Are consumers spoiled for choice, or too overwhelmed to choose?
Is bigger actually better when it comes to product lines? Today’s consumers demand and expect a wealth of choices in everything from sneakers to potato chips, but while large product lines provide abundance and variety, they don’t always result in sales—and can even take away from a company’s bottom line.
In new research, Demetrios Vakratsas explores how consumers respond to certain types of product options more than they do to others. Click here to read more |
Fairness constraints for algorithms could help eliminate price discrimination
In Chicago, ride-share companies Uber and Lyft were charge more where most residents are not white. Though it is illegal to charge different prices on the basis of race in the United States, and Uber and Lyft’s pricing algorithms do not directly consider a rider’s race, many of those neighbourhoods are predominantly African American. Considering the intricacies of pricing algorithms, is it possible that the companies were not aware that their algorithms were having this effect?
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