Abstract

The paper analyses the relationship between the average quantity of a good demanded by a consumer in a single act of purchase and the price setting behaviour of firms, in the presence of consumers' uncertainty about prices. A decrease of the average quantity purchased leads consumers to reduce the collection of information and increases the room for larger mark-up set by firms, with a consequent higher average price and higher variance of prices. An empirical analysis on the data about hotel stays in Italian seaside resorts in the period 1988-1997 is consistent with this point.