ECB 200 - Consumer Choice: Brands, Algorithms, and Policies (SYS) (1)

This course explores the world of consumer decision-making in competitive markets. Drawing from research in consumer psychology, we investigate the problem of choice overload and identify practical ways firms and households attempt to improve the choosing experience. We develop the concept of brand and brand architecture and introduce ways to measure the value of brands. We next introduce marketing analytics methods for segmenting and targeting consumers groups and for making personalized product recommendations. Platforms such as Google, Amazon and Facebook structure consumer choice in ways that raise profound questions of free will and specific policy concerns related to consumer privacy and market competition. Does the old mantra “The customer is king” still hold in today’s digital marketplaces? Only open to sophomores.
(Sophomore Year Seminar (SYS)) (Social Science)