(Concise) EARIE Exclusive: How Pricing Algorithms Are Changing the Competitive Landscape (in German Language)
#ZEWPodcast // 2026
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#ZEWPodcast (Concise) EARIE Exclusive: How Pricing Algorithms Are Changing the Competitive Landscape (in German Language)
Online retailers often adjust their prices automatically. To do so, they use repricing tools in which algorithms respond to competitors’ prices. A new experimental study shows that even small elements of the user interface—such as warnings, preset strategies, or AI recommendations—can influence the choice of pricing strategies and lead to higher prices. Prices rose particularly sharply when a cooperative strategy could be adopted with just one click. Autonomous language models also achieved market outcomes that were similarly coordinated to those of humans.
What does this mean for consumers? When does smart pricing become a competition problem? Podcast host Pascal Ausäderer discusses this with Professor Dr. Adrian Hillenbrand in the latest episode of the ZEW podcast “Wirklich Wirtschaft.”