Delegated pricing on platforms

Last registered on February 25, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Delegated pricing on platforms
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015435
Initial registration date
February 24, 2025

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
February 25, 2025, 10:46 AM EST

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

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Clement Minaudier
Affiliation
City, University of London
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Juha Tolvanen
PI Affiliation
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-02-16
End date
2025-05-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
Digital platforms, pricing
JEL code(s)
L11, L13, L15, L86, D12, D22
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study analyses the effect on consumer behaviour of delegating pricing decisions to sellers on an online platform.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Minaudier, Clement and Juha Tolvanen. 2025. "Delegated pricing on platforms." AEA RCT Registry. February 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15435-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention will allow sellers on a digital platform to set their own prices instead of following the uniform price imposed by the platform.
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-25
Intervention End Date
2025-04-27

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Purchasing decision (extensive margin): a binary dummy variable that takes value 1 if a buyer made any purchase on the platform.

2. Number of sessions purchased (intensive margin): a continuous variable equal to the number of sessions purchased by the buyer.

3. Revenue per buyer: a continuous variable equal to the number of sessions purchased by the buyer times the price per session.

4. Refunds per buyer: a continuous variable equal to the number of sessions refunded to the buyer times the price per hour, and a corresponding dummy if the buyer was issued any refund at all.

5. Revenue net of refunds per buyer: the difference between the previous two variables.

6. Quality of seller selected by customers: the publicly observable quality of each seller.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Quality of sellers will be measured using the following variables (captured before the intervention): (1) the number of sessions they have previously completed, (2) their average customer rating, (3) the reviews they have received, and (4) the companies they previously worked for. An index will be created for each seller using these variables and the seller's position in the distribution of the ability index across sellers will provide the main outcome variable.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment consists of a between-subject design, with two conditions randomised at the buyer level.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
The randomisation will be carried out automatically by a third party platform, VWO, specialised in A/B testing.
Randomization Unit
Randomisation will be done at the visitor level for each visitor who reaches the website via one of the landing pages.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The trial will last for 61 days and the sample size will be the number of unique visitors over this time period. The sample size will therefore depend on business conditions. We estimate that over this time period, the sample will include 33,500 unique visitors.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The trial will last for 61 days and the sample size will be the number of unique visitors over this time period. The sample size will therefore depend on business conditions. We estimate that over this time period, the sample will include 33,500 unique visitors.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
16,750 unique visitors in each treatment arm.
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

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information