Advertising · Observational marketplace study with controls for sellers’ self-selection into sponsored search/social endorsement.
An Empirical Analysis of Seller Advertising Strategies in an Online Marketplace
Information Systems Research · 2020
Summary
Both tools increased traffic; only sponsored search significantly increased sales. Sponsored search worked better for low-reputation traffic and high-reputation sales; endorsement sales effects appeared only for high-reputation sellers.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Use it to shape a local channel or message test; account for audience, timing and attribution limits before reallocating budget.
Reported result
What the study found
Both tools increased traffic; only sponsored search significantly increased sales. Sponsored search worked better for low-reputation traffic and high-reputation sales; endorsement sales effects appeared only for high-reputation sellers.
Research question
What the authors investigated
How do sponsored search and social-media endorsement affect seller traffic and sales, and how does reputation moderate effects?
Design
Observational marketplace study with controls for sellers’ self-selection into sponsored search/social endorsement.
Sample and setting
Sellers at a retail e-commerce platform; traffic, sales, advertising tools, and seller reputation.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Results are from one retail e-commerce platform and nonrandom strategy choices, although the analysis controls for self-selection; transferability to other marketplaces is not established.
Research sources
Publisher abstract explicitly says the study analyzes two advertising tools, controls self-selection, and reports traffic/sales and reputation heterogeneity. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; this profile uses publisher metadata/abstract and does not claim independent review of unavailable full text.