Supermarkets and Gasoline: An Empirical Study of Bundled Discounts

Abstract

Many supermarkets offer grocery-gasoline bundled discounts, whereby a supermarket customer whose grocery purchase exceeds a certain dollar amount is offered a gasoline price discount. I use the difference-in-differences method and an ideal gasoline price data set to study such programs’ effects on retail gasoline competition in a specific market. A program’s effect on a gasoline station depends on the features of the program, whether the site is operated by a supermarket, its distance from the nearest supermarket, and the time horizon. How the estimated effects vary with program features and station characteristics helps explain why such programs are offered.

Keywords: bundled discount, supermarkets, gasoline, competition, advertising

JEL Classification: K21, L4