“电商造节”中的微观价格行为及竞争效应

The Pricing Behavior and Competition Effect in E-Commerce Shopping Festivals

本文分析了电商自营商品促销定价的行为机制及销售竞争带来的影响,并采用京东、苏宁和国美三大电商4000多项家电产品连续一年内的价格变化数据进行实证检验。结果表明,这些电商总体上都采取了在集中促销期降价、在平时提价的做法,并以高低交错的调价方式提升促销效果。销售竞争增大了集中促销期商品的降价幅度,但也使相应商品在平时的价格上调幅度更高。其原因在于,竞争给高低交错调价中的价格回调带来了风险,进一步增大调价频率的应对方式妨碍了其影响顾客购买预期的促销作用,因而需要以平时更大幅度的抬价作为弥补。可见,"电商造节"作为基于顾客预期引导的集中化价格竞争,并不意味着消费者能够获得真正的实惠。从行业长远发展考虑,未来应减少诱导投机性消费的促销行为,将竞争焦点由价格转向提升品质、服务创新等方面。

This paper analyzes the behavioral mechanism of pricing in sales promotion and the impact of competition among e-commerce enterprises.And empirical tests with price adjustment data about more than 4000 home appliances sold on the three online shops of JD,SUNING and GOME are conducted.The results show that,in order to enhance the effect of concentrated promotion,these e-commerce companies always cut prices in shopping festivals and raise prices otherwise,and adopt a staggered high-low price adjustment method.The products involved in the competition among multiple e-commerce companies generally see a bigger price reduction in the concentrated promotion period,but the prices of these goods will be raised to a higher level than those of the goods sold without competition in non-shopping festival period.The reason is that competition brings risk to the upwards price adjustment of the staggered method,and increasing the frequency of price adjustment will adversely affect its function of affecting customers purchasing psychology,so the prices of products involved in competition are raised by a relatively wide margin in non-shopping festival period.It can be seen that the E-commerce Shopping Festival is essentially the centralization of price competition based on customer psychology guidance,but does not mean that consumers can get real benefits.Considering the long-term development of the industry,efforts should be made in reducing the activities that induce speculative consumption,and shifting the focus from price competition to the aspects such as improving quality and assisting innovation.