Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach

We present an optimization approach for jointly learning the demand as a functionof price, and dynamically setting prices of products in an oligopoly environment in order to maximize expected revenue. The models we consider do not assume that the demand as a function of price is known in advance, bu...

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Main Authors: Bertsimas, Dimitris J., Perakis, Georgia
Format: Working Paper
Language:en_US
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Operations Research Center 2004
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/5314
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author Bertsimas, Dimitris J.
Perakis, Georgia
author_facet Bertsimas, Dimitris J.
Perakis, Georgia
author_sort Bertsimas, Dimitris J.
collection MIT
description We present an optimization approach for jointly learning the demand as a functionof price, and dynamically setting prices of products in an oligopoly environment in order to maximize expected revenue. The models we consider do not assume that the demand as a function of price is known in advance, but rather assume parametric families of demand functions that are learned over time. We first consider the noncompetitive case and present dynamic programming algorithms of increasing computational intensity with incomplete state information for jointly estimating the demand and setting prices as time evolves. Our computational results suggest that dynamic programming based methods outperform myopic policies often significantly. We then extend our analysis in a competitive environment with two firms. We introduce a more sophisticated model of demand learning, in which the price elasticities are slowly varying functions of time, and allows for increased flexibility in the modeling of the demand. We propose methods based on optimization for jointly estimating the Firm's own demand, its competitor's demand, and setting prices. In preliminary computational work, we found that optimization based pricing methods offer increased expected revenue for a firm independently of the policy the competitor firm is following.
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spelling mit-1721.1/53142019-04-12T08:07:38Z Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach Bertsimas, Dimitris J. Perakis, Georgia We present an optimization approach for jointly learning the demand as a functionof price, and dynamically setting prices of products in an oligopoly environment in order to maximize expected revenue. The models we consider do not assume that the demand as a function of price is known in advance, but rather assume parametric families of demand functions that are learned over time. We first consider the noncompetitive case and present dynamic programming algorithms of increasing computational intensity with incomplete state information for jointly estimating the demand and setting prices as time evolves. Our computational results suggest that dynamic programming based methods outperform myopic policies often significantly. We then extend our analysis in a competitive environment with two firms. We introduce a more sophisticated model of demand learning, in which the price elasticities are slowly varying functions of time, and allows for increased flexibility in the modeling of the demand. We propose methods based on optimization for jointly estimating the Firm's own demand, its competitor's demand, and setting prices. In preliminary computational work, we found that optimization based pricing methods offer increased expected revenue for a firm independently of the policy the competitor firm is following. 2004-05-28T19:33:13Z 2004-05-28T19:33:13Z 2001-08 Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/5314 en_US Operations Research Center Working Paper;OR 355-01 1517379 bytes application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Operations Research Center
spellingShingle Bertsimas, Dimitris J.
Perakis, Georgia
Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach
title Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach
title_full Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach
title_fullStr Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach
title_full_unstemmed Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach
title_short Dynamic Pricing: A learning Approach
title_sort dynamic pricing a learning approach
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/5314
work_keys_str_mv AT bertsimasdimitrisj dynamicpricingalearningapproach
AT perakisgeorgia dynamicpricingalearningapproach