Demand Effects of Product Availability Information

Last registered on January 25, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Demand Effects of Product Availability Information
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014219
Initial registration date
August 20, 2024

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
August 28, 2024, 2:58 PM EDT

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

Last updated
January 25, 2025, 9:47 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Rhys Williams
Affiliation
University of Cambridge
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Christos Genakos
PI Affiliation
University of Cambridge
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Kamiar Mohaddes
PI Affiliation
University of Cambridge
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-02-09
End date
2025-10-02
Keywords
Behavior, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
Information, Demand, Industrial Organisation
JEL code(s)
L2
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Information on product availability is generally expected to increase demand but such effects have yet to be empirically tested. We conduct a randomised experiment in a UK Higher Education Institution to test whether information on the availability of canteen food increases or reduces demand both in terms of number of visits to the canteen as well as quantity/value purchased.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Genakos, Christos, Kamiar Mohaddes and Rhys Williams. 2025. "Demand Effects of Product Availability Information." AEA RCT Registry. January 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14219-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention is conducted in collaboration with a UK Higher Education Institution which has agreed to participate. We will filter the level of information provided to a subset of students, providing the treatment group with information on product availability and test whether their demand response differs from the control group of students who do not receive this baseline information.
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-09
Intervention End Date
2025-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Total Quantity Purchased (daily basis); Total Value Purchased (daily basis); Total Number of Visits
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Data provided from HEI records.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomised Controlled Trial – the randomisation unit is individuals; treatment arms are informed and uninformed (control); randomisation conducted by computer.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation completed in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individuals are randomised by subject grouping (e.g. MBAs vs Management Studies Tripos)
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
6
Sample size: planned number of observations
800 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
~400 students in treatment, 400 in control. This will be split by cluster.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Cambridge Judge Business School
IRB Approval Date
2025-01-20
IRB Approval Number
24-14
Analysis Plan