GovWire

Consumer psychology, and how it influences consumer decision making, can be central to firms anticompetitive or unfair practices. Yet estimating the impact of firms practices on consumer decision making can be difficult: how can we separate the impact of the practices from other factors or changes in the environment?

Experiments are research methodologies designed to do exactly that. They are therefore increasingly being used by governments and regulatory agencies around the world to explore how business practices may harm consumers, and to evaluate the effectiveness of remedies. This document sets out high-level principles as to when the CMA will use field and online experiments, and best practice as to how they can be conducted.

The CMAs Behavioural Hub sits within the Data, Technology and Analytics (DaTA) Unit which also has functions covering data science and engineering, algorithmic systems insights and wider technology insights.

If you are interested in receiving updates on forthcoming events, including a webinar on the role of experiments by regulatory agencies, please contact behavioural.hub@cma.gov.uk.