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Article: Growing online sales could lower prices, but also trim choices.(Report)
- Article from:
- NewsRx Health & Science
- Article date:
- November 22, 2009
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Shoppers could see lower prices but less variety to choose from as more manufacturers sell directly to consumers through the Internet, according to new research led by a University of Illinois business professor.
Yunchuan "Frank" Liu says bypassing retailers eliminates the middleman's price markup, but also may curb manufacturers' incentive to provide long and varied product lines.
"We should cautiously celebrate the price benefits of buying through the Internet because there's a tradeoff that some consumers might not like," Liu said of the findings, which will appear in Marketing Science. "There's some good news - low price. But there's also some bad ...