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Sources of Limited Consideration and Market Power in E-Commerce

Michael Rolland Sullivan

American Economic Journal: Microeconomics2026https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.20230200article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

This article develops techniques for the empirical analysis of repeated sequential search over unordered alternatives using data on consumer search processes. I use these techniques to assess why consumers conduct little search in e-commerce and often pay significantly above the minimum available price for a product. Search costs could explain these facts, as could pre-search seller differentiation: Consumers with low search costs may not visit stores they dislike based on information known before search. I find that seller differentiation is primarily responsible for limited consideration and market power. (JEL D11, D21, D43, D83, L81)

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.20230200

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@article{michael2026,
  title        = {{Sources of Limited Consideration and Market Power in E-Commerce}},
  author       = {Michael Rolland Sullivan},
  journal      = {American Economic Journal: Microeconomics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.20230200},
}

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Sources of Limited Consideration and Market Power in E-Commerce

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.