Work

Consumer attention and market concentration in e-commerce: an agent-based perspective

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study explores how limited consumer attention influences market concentration in e-commerce. Consumer attention, a scarce resource amidst abundant product information, plays a crucial role in shaping market dynamics. Despite its importance, the effect of limited consumer attention on e-commerce market concentration has not been extensively studied. Using agent-based modeling, we examine the interplay of consumer behaviors, bounded rationality, and social interactions in complex markets. Our results reveal that e-commerce market concentration persists even without product differentiation among sellers. Notably, a negative correlation emerges between consumer attention and market concentration, consistent across different market sizes and social connection densities. These findings provide theoretical insights into market concentration patterns in the Internet economy and contribute to the broader understanding of market structure dynamics.

Source: Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination

DOI: 10.1007/s11403-025-00443-5

Authors: Teng Li, Shaoni Wang, Deyi Zhou, Amar Razzaq

Institutions: University of Groningen, Huazhong Agricultural University, Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology, Huanggang Normal University

Language: English

Topic: Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing

Subfield: Marketing

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,090

Funders: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Università di Bologna, Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education of China