Effects of price information provision on consumer decision-making

Last registered on December 20, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effects of price information provision on consumer decision-making
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012279
Initial registration date
December 11, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 20, 2023, 9:49 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Santiago Sautua
Affiliation
Tecnológico de Monterrey
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jorge Flórez
PI Affiliation
Central Bank of Colombia
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PI Name
Paula Zamora
PI Affiliation
Texas A&M University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-12-13
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Welfare
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Using a natural field experiment conducted in collaboration with a large supermarket chain, we will study how customers’ demand is affected by tagging the product with the lowest regular unit price on the shelf within a category. Regular prices of products are defined as modal prices over the previous year. Our intervention will involve several stores and product categories and will last several weeks.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Flórez, Jorge , Santiago Sautua and Paula Zamora. 2023. "Effects of price information provision on consumer decision-making." AEA RCT Registry. December 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12279-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Our intervention takes place in a supermarket chain's stores. It consists of tagging the product with the lowest regular unit price on the shelf within a category.
Intervention Start Date
2023-12-13
Intervention End Date
2024-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. The quantity sold of the product with the lowest regular unit price within a category.
2. The quantity sold of other products within the same category.
3. The total quantity sold in the relevant category.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
35 supermarket stores will be randomly assigned to either a treatment group, a placebo group, or a control group.

Stores assigned to the control group will not undergo any intervention. By contrast, in both the treatment and placebo groups, the supermarket will attach a tag to the product with the lowest regular unit price on the shelf within a test category. (Regular prices of products are defined as modal prices over the previous year.) In the placebo group, the tag displays only the product’s description and brand. In the treatment group, in addition to showing that information, the tag (1) mentions that the product has the lowest regular unit price within its category and (2) briefly explains how regular prices were calculated.

Our intervention will involve several test categories and will last several weeks.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
A computer performed the randomization of stores into experimental conditions.
Randomization Unit
Store.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
35 stores.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Essential data including only tagged products: 7,595 store-product-week observations (35 stores x 31 product categories x 7 weeks). We may extend the duration of the experiment if our partner allows us to do so.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment group: 13 stores.
Placebo group: 11 stores.
Control group: 11 stores.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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