Wednesday, December 4, 2013

REPOST: Consult an economist before buying a wedding dress



When Stephanie (her name has been changed to avoid embarrassment) went shopping for a wedding and bridesmaid dresses, she found valuable advice from an unusual source, Chapter 23 of her favorite economics text.  And it was not about sleeve options, figure flattery, or bustles.
She was puzzled that over half of the stores that sell wedding dresses do not permit photos, and do not have tags in the dresses that would identify the manufacturer and style type.  
These retail stores want to prevent customers from "free riding" on their fitting and display services:
I just spoke with someone who had all her bridesmaids sized in the store only to go online and buy them from a discount site. I would assume many of the brides are doing this as well.

Note that this is not just a problem for the store, but also a problem for the dress manufacturer: if stores cannot prevent free-riding, they will invest less in point-of-sales fitting services, and dress sales will suffer.  See our earlier post about golf club manufacturer PING, who faced a similar problem,
The discount retailers were advising consumers to visit a full-service retailer to request a custom-fitting session, and then bring the specifications for custom-made clubs back to the discounter. PING could control this kind of opportunistic behavior only by dropping dealers, a very costly option.

PING wanted to set a minimum retail price (called "retail price maintenance") to address the problem.  The minimum price meant that discount retailers could not undercut full service retailers.  The antitrust laws prevented this until the Supreme Court changed the case law.

For the wedding dresses, the no-photos policy created a problem for Stephanie because she wanted to photograph her bridesmaids in each of the dresses to make sure that they choose the best dresses for the wedding. So she chose to purchase from a large retail chain, like J. Crew, BCBG, Ann Taylor, or Nordstrom’s because they had solved the free riding problem, using exclusives, where only one chain carries the style.

For an economic analysis of resale price maintenance, see the amicii brief of 24 antitrust economists (I am one of the 24.)

UPDATE:  Amazon just made free riding a lot easier.

11 comments:

  1. Coincidentally, http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/the-wedding-markup/?_r=0

    ReplyDelete
  2. A different situation but when I was my best friend's Maid of Honor, the bridal party all looked at the dresses online first through the designer's website and ordered through the same boutique (which gave us a discount for doing so).

    ReplyDelete
  3. what about the case that people go to book store, try to briefly read the book and figure out whether they like it. Finally they end up with buying the desired book with cheaper rate on Amazon or Ebay. Is this case similar to the above case? I still a little bit confuse why all bookstore still let people do that

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, I agree marriage dress is most important for all brides on her special day, but what happens when your most superb wedding day is over? You know, now you can sell your wedding dress online?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Acetech IT consulting Company in Delhi offer the technical knowledge and can help your business get the most out of your technology. Why are Acetech IT consulting services truly the best? Visit Us to find out more.

    ReplyDelete
  6. really very great information,you can also try the blog for making your shopping very easy,

    ReplyDelete
  7. thats weird that you cant take photos of the dress. i guess most brides wants to hear opinion from the wedding planner or their bridesmaid.
    Phuket Wedding Planner has great contacts for wedding dresses that can allow you to take photos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome blog! i love all the great tips you shared, you have definitely make the cut for a great travel blog writer, There are a lot of great things to do in Phuket and i am really glad to read your take on it. thank you for sharing this awesome experience with us. reading the rest of your blog now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Every women like fashion. Who doesn’t? If you also love fashion then you should search for a shopping companion who can give a amazing idea about fashion. Or you can also suggest your friend or family for hire a shopping companion.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Checkout Yostor latest collection of women clothing. Shop for Women Dresses like Sarees, Salwar Suits, Kurtis Online.We create outfits, we make the best memories. We offer a range, which is exclusive and extensive, not only for the bride but for every special woman who is going to be a part of the festivities. Explore and be stunned.Shop Now!!

    Party Wear Dresses For Womens
    Party Wear Dresses For Ladies
    Bridal Dresses Online
    Bridal Dresses Online Shopping 
    Bridal Suit Online Shopping

    ReplyDelete