2024-10-18
This analysis focuses on the yearly transition of algorithmic pricing retailers for different categories of products. The analysis draws on data from two distinct periods: historical data spanning 2012-2017 and recent data covering 2021-2022. These datasets are integrated to form a unified dataset, consolidating overlapping categories and computing proportions, alongside tabulating the number of retailers involved.
The variables of interest are the following:
Proportion: The percentage of retailers whose
interquartile range (IQR) exceeds 2 in both persistence and frequency of
price changes, indicating algorithmic pricing retailers.
Number of retailers: The quantity of retailers
exhibiting an Interquartile Range (IQR) exceeding 2 in both persistence
and frequency of price changes, thereby indicating the number of
retailers engaged in algorithmic pricing.
Category: The product categories, such as
“Dishwashers” and “Headphones” are noted. It’s important to mention that
for the 2021 data, the categories “Fridges” and “Freezers” have been
merged into a single category termed “Fridges/Freezers” as they were
distinct in previous legacy data. The proportions are averaged and the
total number of retailers is summed up, providing a rough
estimate.
Year: The dataset begins each year on January 1st
and concludes on December 31st of the subsequent year. The legacy data
spans from May 2012 to February 2017, while the 2021 data, referenced
here, ranges from July 2021 to December 2022.
Table 1 presents a summary of algorithmic pricing among retailers categorized by year. It outlines the percentage of retailers with an interquartile range (IQR) exceeding 2, along with the count of such retailers across each category and year.
| Category | 2012 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dishwashers | 0 (7) | 0 (12) | 0 (19) | 0 (49) | 3.3 (61) |
| Headphones | 4.9 (122) | 4.7 (193) | 4.4 (293) | 5.9 (494) | 5.8 (600) |
| Fridges/Freezers | 0 (8) | 0 (12) | 4 (25) | 0 (58) | 4.55 (168) |
| Portable Speakers | 6 (50) | 3.6 (111) | 3 (198) | 2.9 (339) | 4.4 (454) |
| Mobile Phones | 0 (9) | 4.5 (22) | 1.5 (65) | 3.3 (153) | 7 (243) |
| PC Games | 0 (23) | 0 (29) | 0 (48) | 4.5 (66) | 7 (115) |
| PS4 Games | 0 (4) | 0 (15) | 0 (31) | 0 (57) | 5.9 (118) |
| Game Consoles | 0 (2) | 0 (6) | 0 (27) | 2.4 (82) | 1.6 (128) |
| Tablets | 0 (12) | 3.1 (32) | 5.6 (71) | 9.7 (165) | 9 (155) |
| TVs | 0 (4) | 0 (14) | 3.6 (55) | 3 (133) | 4.3 (138) |
| Tumble Dryers | 0 (4) | 0 (6) | 0 (15) | 0 (41) | 0 (50) |
| Washing Machines | 0 (4) | 0 (10) | 0 (16) | 0 (43) | 2.3 (44) |
| Xbox One Games | 0 (4) | 0 (14) | 2.8 (36) | 0 (62) | 4.3 (93) |
Figure 1 depicts the distribution of retailers based on the Interquartile Range (IQR) exceeding 2, categorized annually. The horizontal axis denotes the number of retailers, while the vertical axis represents the proportion of retailers. Each data point is color-coded by category, with point size indicating retailer count. The x-axis is displayed logarithmically. The plot includes a timeline frame for year-wise comparison. A slider allows interactive exploration of data by year, and a ‘Play’ button animates the temporal transition.