The Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics and Political Science will research consumer behavior in online auctions. The study will explore how the design and format of Internet commerce models affect the outcome of any transactions.
Some questions the study hopes to answer are:
- What attracts someone to use an auction?
- Why do people like to bid at the last minute before an auction closes?
- Why do people use different types of auctions?
- How does the number of people entering a bid affect the auction?
- Do certain objects sell better at auctions than others?
- What would be the ideal auction model?
The research will determine the most efficient online commerce strategies and establish which auction models will become dominant. The study will be undertaken with the help of FairMarket's technology.