Randomized Pricing and Demand

Last registered on August 27, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Randomized Pricing and Demand
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019491
Initial registration date
August 24, 2026

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 27, 2026, 12:24 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Ariel Goldszmidt
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
John A List
PI Affiliation
PI Name
Ian Muir
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-08-30
End date
2022-11-01
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
Industrial Organization, Pricing, Demand
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This is a field experiment in which a large U.S. retailer randomly varied prices for ~1,900 product lines across ~2,200 store clusters. Prices were randomly increased, decreased, or held constant (typically by no more than 15%) beginning in late 2022 and held for approximately nine weeks. The primary data consist of price and quantity sold at the store-week-product level. The research questions are: (1) What is the causal effect of a randomized retail price change on the quantity sold of the affected product and related products? (2) How does this effect vary by product type, initial price level, and the size and direction of the price change?
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Goldszmidt, Ariel, John A List and Ian Muir. 2026. "Randomized Pricing and Demand." AEA RCT Registry. August 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19491-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-08-30
Intervention End Date
2022-11-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Quantity sold at the store-product level.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Prices were randomly increased, decreased, or kept constant at the store cluster-product level. Prices were then held for approximately nine weeks.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by computer.
Randomization Unit
Store cluster-product level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2,310,218 store cluster-products.
Sample size: planned number of observations
4,587,117 store-products.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,697, 97, and 90 products assigned to three-, four-, and five-point price variation, respectively. For each product, store clusters carrying that product are evenly divided between each price variant.
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

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
November 01, 2022, 12:00 AM +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
November 01, 2022, 12:00 AM +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
2,310,218 store cluster-products.
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
4,587,117 store-products.
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
1,697, 97, and 90 products assigned to three-, four-, and five-point price variation, respectively. For each product, store clusters carrying that product are evenly divided between each price variant.
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials