Virtual Competition

In this book Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke take a hard look at today's app-assisted digital shopping. While consumers reap many benefits from online purchasing, the sophisticated algorithms and data crunching that make browsing so convenient are also changing the nature of market competition, and not always for the better. Computers colluding is one danger. Although longstanding laws prevent companies from fixing prices, data-driven algorithms can now quickly monitor competitors' prices and adjust their own prices accordingly. So what is seemingly beneficial--increased price…