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Quality considerations in the zero-price economy

 

Over the course of a single day, most consumers will come into contact with at least one product that is offered to them at a price of zero. Business models centred around the zero-price provision of products are not new. However, in the digital economy, new zero-price markets have arisen with their own unique characteristics and vast scope.

The OECD held a discussion in November 2018 to cover several particular challenges associated with quality in zero-price markets, including:

  • Identifying what constitutes a dimension of quality competition in a zero price market. These can, depending on the market, include privacy, exposure to advertising content, or ease of switching.

  • Overcoming the challenges associated with competition analysis in the zero price economy. Competition authorities may have to adapt their analytical tools in the absence of monetary prices.

  • Addressing demand-side concerns in the zero-price economy. These range from the potential for deceptive or unfair contract terms, to information asymmetries causing market failures, to consumer biases in decision-making. Cooperation between competition, consumer protection and data protection authorities, as well as sector regulators, will be needed to diagnose demand-side problems and develop procompetitive, consumer welfare-enhancing solutions.

The discussion was held during a joint meeting of the OECD Consumer Protection and Competition committees.

All related materials for the discussion are available on this page.

 

SEE ALSO

OECD best practice roundtables on competition

OECD Handbook on Competition Policy in the Digital Age

2019 Session on non-price competition in digital markets, 2019 OECD Competition Open Day 

 

INVITED SPEAKER

Marco BOTTA Bio  
Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Germany

OECD Competition Youtube channel

WATCH ALSO

Replay of 2019 Session on non-price competition in digital markets, 2019 OECD Competition Open Day

 

KEY DOCUMENTS

quality-considerations-in-zero-price-markets-cover

OECD Background note • Note de référence de l'OCDE 

Executive summary with key findings • Synthèse des points clés de la discussion

Detailed summary of discussion • Compte rendu détaillé

CONTRIBUTIONS

Summaries of contributions

EU

Germany

Hungary 

Japan

Israel 

Italy

Mexico

Russian Federation 

Spain 

United Kingdom 

United States 

BEUC 

BIAC

PRESENTATIONS

 

RELATED BEST PRACTICE ROUNDTABLES

OECD Handbook on Competition Policy in the Digital Age

Market Power in the Digital Economy and Competition Policy, 2022

Non-price effects of mergers, 2018

Big Data: Bringing competition policy to the digital era, 2018

Rethinking Antitrust Tools for Multi-Sided Platforms, 2018

Consumer-facing remedies, 2018

Access full list of OECD best practice roundtables on competition

RELATED TOPICS

Mergers

Abuse of dominance

Competition enforcement practices

Procompetitive policy reforms

Digital Economy and Innovation 

 

Documents connexes

 

Also AvailableEgalement disponible(s)