Select a B2C, B2B and an infomediary to discuss how they can be used to increase and decrease

market competition.

B2C such as Amazon decrease market competition by lowering search costs. For example,
Amazon creates product catelog and detailed product information to shorter the time for
customers to make decisions. By lowering search costs, Amazon can decrease market
competition.
However, providing detailed product information on B2C platform will decrease information
asymmetry, which will also lead to increasing market competition. For example, customers will
have the way to compare the price between different platforms; too much information will also
create complexity for customers.
Infomediary such as Google search engine is a way for seller to decrease market competition by
lowering search costs. For example, seller can buy advertisements to promote their products;
however, sellers will need to pay for advertisement.
B2C can also decrease market competition by lowering contracting costs. B2C such as Amazon
displays reviews and feedback from previous buyers, which can be used to help customers
evaluate the alternatives. However, fake reviews can also be reducing the trust between buyers
and sellers on B2C platforms.
B2C can also reduce control and regulation costs by providing a guaranteed payment method. By
providing a good payment method, seller can reduce control costs, thus decreasing market
competition.
B2C can also decrease market competition by providing a warranty to reduce the uncertainty for
buyers. Good policy will reduce control cost because it reduces the uncertainty. For example,
Amazon guarantees customers refunding if anything was wrong.