Menu Pricing and Learning
Author(s)
Bonatti, Alessandro
Date Issued
August 2011
Journal
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Bonatti, Alessandro 2011. "Menu Pricing and Learning." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 3(3): 124–63.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We analyze the design of dynamic menus to sell experience goods. The quality of the product is initially unknown, and the total quantity sold in each period determines the amount of information in the market. We characterize the optimum menu as a function of consumers' beliefs, and the dynamic adjustments resulting from the diffusion of information. The firm faces a dynamic trade-off between gains from trade, information production, and information rents. It initially charges lower prices, sacrificing short-term revenue to increase sales. As more information is revealed, prices increase, and low-valuation buyers are excluded, even when the product's quality is high.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.3.3.124
