Fabio Ancarani

Price Levels and Price Dispersion Within and Across Multiple Retailer Types: Further Evidence and Extension

In this article, the authors develop hypotheses on how prices and price dispersion compare among pure-play Internet, bricks-and-mortar (traditional), and bricks-and-clicks (multichannel) retailers and test them through an empirical analysis of data on the book and compact disc categories in Italy during 2002. Their results, based on an analysis of 13,720 prkce quotes, show that when posted prices are considered, traditional retailers have the highest prices, followed by multichannel retailers, and pure-play e-tailers, in that order. However, when shipping costs are included, multichannel retailers have the highest prices, followed by pure-play e-tailers and traditional retailers, in that order. With regard to price dispersion, pure-play e-tailers have the highest range of prices, but the lowest standard deviation. Multichannel retailers have the highest standard deviation in prices with or without shipping costs. These findings suggest that online markets offer opportunities for retailers to differentiate within and across the retailer types.

Exploiting the opportunities of Internet and multi‐channel pricing: an exploratory research

Smart firms are not worried about the impact of the Internet on pricing, but realise that they have the unique opportunity to exploit new options and improve their marketing performance. Multi‐channel pricing is one of the most interesting opportunities firms can exploit in the digital economy. Reviews the existing literature on pricing on the Internet and on multi‐channel pricing. Presents the results of an exploratory research on price opportunities perceived by firms. Offers a picture of the possible multi‐channel options available to firms and highlights the importance of the value for and of the customer.

The Drivers of E-tailers' Price Levels

One of the most important topics in online pricing is understanding the drivers of online price levels for different types of retailers, in order to better understand competition across retail channels. We developed a conceptual framework and conducted an empirical analysis on price levels in the books category among different e-tailers (pure play and multichannel) in Italy and obtained a dataset comprising 5,400 price quotes during 2002. We ran a correlation analysis that showed that e-tailer graphics, branding and trust, and shipping services are highly correlated to price levels. Moreover, we developed a regression analysis that showed that first impact attributes like graphics and navigability are the most important drivers of online price levels. We identify some areas of future research and offer some managerial insights.

Cross‐country analysis of price levels and dispersion in online and offline environments: an empirical analysis in France and Germany

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to take into consideration the country effect in online and offline environments and compares price levels and dispersion online v. offline across the two largest Continental European markets, thus adding a new dimension in price comparisons and multichannel pricing strategies.Design/methodology/approach – Based on an empirical analysis of data collected in one product category (CDs), our findings for France and Germany show that price levels ‐including shipping costs – are always higher online than offline in each country and price dispersion is persistent across markets. Calculating mean prices for the two countries, ANOVA tests reveal significant differences among the two sets of data. Using standard deviation as the measurement for price dispersion, Levene statistics reveal a higher degree of online price dispersion than offline and statistically significant differences between the two sample countries.Findings – Even if our approach need to be extended to mor...

Customer Value Metrics

This paper focuses on customer value analysis and measurement, framing customer value management as one of the main antecedents of the company value-creation process. The paper builds on three main pillars. First, the paper highlights the critical role of customer value in business-to-business markets, focusing on the links between the companys ability to manage customer value-creation processes and the positive financial and economic outcomes generated by loyalty effects. Secondly, the paper develops key analytical stages for an understanding of customer value. The focus is on the customer value-chain concept, including consideration of the customer information and acquisition process and its decision rules. Third, the paper illustrates the measurement process, offering an organizational framework for selecting the most suitable method for measuring perceived customer value. The methodological alternatives range from desk measures (e.g., technical computation of the total cost of ownership (TCO)) to field analysis, like those considered under both compositional and the decomposition approaches (e.g., conjoint analysis). The paper concludes with remarks on the managerial implications of these measures, as well as offering suggestions for further research on value for the customer.