Pablo Marshall

Purchasing power at the bottom of the pyramid: differences across geographic regions and income tiers

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the purchasing power at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), i.e. of low‐income consumers.Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze secondary data on income, population, and expenditure at the BOP from different countries, and apply the buying power index (BPI) methodology to assess the purchasing power of low‐income consumers.Findings – In developing countries, more than 50 percent of the purchasing power resides in the BOP segment. Asia is the region with the greatest purchasing power, relative to Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and Caribbean. On average, the greatest BPI is in the lowest income tier, and consumption concentrates mainly in food, housing, and household goods.Practical implications – The article provides useful information to companies interested in reaching low‐income consumers about the relative purchasing power at the BOP across geographic regions, income tiers, and product categories (or industries).Originality/value – ...

Inter-fuel substitution, technical change and the demand for energy in the UK economy

A model for energy demand, based on a translog cost function is formulated. Unlike previous studies, technical progress is modelled by means of stochastic, as opposed to deterministic, trend components. The model is estimated using quarterly UK data for four economic sectors, and forecasts of the future level of demand are made.

Estimating Time-Dependent Means in Dynamic Models for Cross-sections of Time Series

This paper considers a dynamic extension of the classical error components model based on the ideas of structural time series models. The study concentrates on the mean square error estimation of time-dependent means by using the Kalman filter, and on the relative efficiency of these estimators as a function of both the number of observations across units and time.

Combining Mystery Shopping and Customer Satisfaction Surveys in Small-Area Estimation

Many companies relate to their customers through sales or service locations. It is not unusual for them to use both a mystery shopping study and a satisfaction survey as part of their information system. Mystery shopping is a type of study where researchers become customers that experience and evaluate the quality of service delivered. Transactional surveys, on the other hand, measure customer satisfaction of customers following a service encounter.

The Effective Price in State-Sponsored Lottery Games: Opportunities for Marketing Actions That Support Revenue Generation for Public Policy Making

Lotteries are used in many countries to raise money for public policy making. Pricing strategies in this product category are unique, because although the game’s nominal price is relevant for revenue earning, its effective price – which includes the expected value of a lottery ticket - determines purchasing decisions.

Dynamic Models for RFM Variables: A Forward Looking Approach

On the database marketing literature, it is common practice to summarize customers’ past behavior in terms of their Recency, Frequency and Monetary Value (RFM) characteristics. Recency is the time of most recent purchase, Frequency is the number of past purchases and Monetary Value is the average purchased amount per transaction. RFM variables constitute basic ingredients for the estimation of customer lifetime value. The traditional approach to the analysis of RFM variables considers a descriptive statistical analysis while, in scoring models, these variables enter as fixed regressors.

Segmentation in Low-Penetration and Low-Involvement Categories: An Application to Lottery Games

Market segmentation is accepted as a fundamental concept in marketing and several authors have recently proposed a segmentation model where personal and environmental variables intersect with each other to form motivating conditions that drive behavior and preferences. This model of segmentation has been applied to packaged goods. This paper extends this literature by proposing a segmentation model for low-penetration and low involvement (LP-LI) products. An application to the lottery games in Chile supports the proposed model. The results of the study show that in this type of products (LP-LI), the attitude towards the product category is the most important factor that distinguishes consumers from non consumers, and heavy users from light users, and consequently, a critical segmentation variable. In addition, a cluster analysis shows the existence of three segments: (1) the impulsive dreamers, who believe in chance, and in that lottery games can change their life, (2) the skeptical, that do not believe in chance, nor in that lottery games can change their life and (3) the willing, who value the benefits of playing.