DP704 Competition When Consumers Have Switching Costs: An Overview

Author(s):	Paul Klemperer
Publication Date:	July 1992
Keyword(s):	Brand Loyalty, Lock-In, Switching Costs
JEL(s):	D43, E30, F12, F31, L13, L16, M21
Programme Areas:	Applied Macroeconomics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=704

This paper surveys recent work on competition in markets in which consumers face costs to switching between competing firms' products, even when all firms' products are functionally identical. I address issues in macroeconomics, international trade and industrial organization: In a market with switching costs (or `brand loyalty'), a firm's current market share is an important determinant of its future profitability. I examine how the firm's choice between setting a low price to capture market share, and setting a high price to harvest profits by exploiting its current locked-in customers, is affected by the threat of new entry, interest rates, exchange rate expectations, the state of the business cycle, etc. I also discuss the causes of switching costs, explain introductory offers and price wars, and examine industry profits, firms' product choices, and implications for multi-product competition.