与返利网站合作的商家定价策略研究

Research on Pricing Strategy of Merchant Cooperating with Cashback Website

随着电子商务的发展,零售商有两种渠道向消费者提供产品,一种是传统的直销渠道,一种是通过返利平台销售产品的返利渠道。基于消费者效用理论和博弈理论,研究分别在集中式决策系统和分散式决策系统下返利平台和商家的最优定价策略,分散式决策系统下分别研究了以零售商为主导的返利模式和以返利平台为主导的返利模式。返利模式的最优决策与返利网站的知名度,网站的营销努力成本和消费者对返利渠道的折价系数有关系。研究结果表明:(1)返利模式是商家进行价格差异化的手段,引入了该模式可以拓宽市场,提高收益。(2)返利渠道给了商家一个机会制造价格陷阱,即先提价后降价,且这种现象在集中式决策系统和分散式决策系统下都会出现。(3)消费者对返利渠道产品估值的折价系数对商家利润的影响不是一定的,而是受环境因素的影响,与平台努力成本和折价系数相关。(4)相比于集中式决策系统,分散的决策系统会降低商家在传统直销渠道的定价,这对忠诚于直销渠道的消费者有利。

With the development of e-commerce,retailers provide consumers with products through two channels:one is the traditional direct sale channel,and the other one is the rebate channel offered by cashback website.Based on consumer utility theory and game theory,the optimal pricing strategy of rebate platform and the merchant was analyzed under centralized decision-making system and decentralized decision-making system.Under the decentralized decision-making system,retailer-lead rebate model and cashback website-lead rebate model were studied.The optimal strategies were related to the popularity of the cashback website,the marketing effort cost of the cashback website and the discount coefficient of the consumer towards to rebate channel.The results indicate that:(1) Rebate mode is the means by the merchant to implement price differentiation strategy and broaden the market and increase profit.(2) Rebate channel creates merchant a chance to set up aprice trap,that is,the price decreases after increasing the price.And this phenomenon appears in both of the centralized system and decentralized decision-making system.(3) The effect of the discount coefficient of rebate channel on the profit of the merchant is not certain.It is influenced by the cashback platform effort cost and the discount coefficient.(4) Compared to a centralized decision system,the price of traditional direct sales channel will decrease in the decentralized decision-making system,which is beneficial to consumers who are loyal to direct sales channel.