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  4. May 2018
  5. Estimating Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences for Restaurants and Travel Time Using Mobile Location Data

Estimating Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences for Restaurants and Travel Time Using Mobile Location Data

  • Susan Athey
  • David Blei
  • Robert Donnelly
  • Francisco Ruiz
  • Tobias Schmidt
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 108, May 2018
(pp. 64-67)
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Abstract

We estimate a model of consumer choices over restaurants using data from several thousand anonymous mobile phone users. Restaurants have latent characteristics (whose distribution may depend on restaurant observables) that affect consumers' mean utility as well as willingness to travel to the restaurant, while each user has distinct preferences for these latent characteristics. We analyze how consumers reallocate their demand after a restaurant closes to nearby restaurants versus more distant restaurants, comparing our predictions to actual outcomes. We also address counterfactual questions such as what type of restaurant would attract the most consumers in a given location.

Citation

Athey, Susan, David Blei, Robert Donnelly, Francisco Ruiz, and Tobias Schmidt. 2018. "Estimating Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences for Restaurants and Travel Time Using Mobile Location Data." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 108: 64-67. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181031

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • C44 Operations Research; Statistical Decision Theory
  • C51 Model Construction and Estimation
  • D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • L83 Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism