An Empirical Study of Holiday Season Discounts

A Comparison Between Third-Party Marketplace Sellers and Fulfilled by Walmart Sellers

Bibliographic Data

ID3281928
AuthorsYa-Ling Chiu (0000-0002-0573-6979, Shaoxing University), Yuan-Teng Hsu (0000-0001-8805-3964, Shanghai Business School, corresponding author), Xiaoyu Mao (Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications), Jying-Nan Wang (0000-0002-2315-2520, Shaoxing University)
Year2021
Volume11
Issue2
Publication date2021-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/21582440211024179
OpenAlexW3171471764
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited32

When online retailers allow third-party sellers to place certain products on their platforms, these sellers become not only collaborators but also competitors. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in price discounts between Third-Party Marketplace (3PM) sellers and Fulfilled by Walmart (FBW) sellers on Walmart.com over time. The results, based on data collected in the form of the daily prices of 54,162 products offered by Walmart during the holiday season, show that the average discount for 3PM sellers is significantly lower than that for FBW sellers. In addition, across product categories, FBW sellers had significantly higher average discounts than 3PM sellers in the electronics, housewares, and toys categories. Furthermore, the level of discount began to increase in early November and peaked around Christmas. Our findings may help retailers manage their dealings with these third-party sellers while also helping consumers to optimize their purchasing decisions

Advertising · Business · Commerce · Competitor analysis · Internet privacy · Purchasing · Third party · Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing · Consumer Retail Behavior Studies · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Marketing

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Open DOIOpen Access