Abstract

We explore how Internet browsing behavior varies between mobile phones and personal computers. Using data on user behavior at a microblogging service (similar to Twitter), we exploit randomization in the ranking mechanism for the microblog posting feeds as a natural experiment to identify user search costs. We estimate a hierarchical Bayesian framework to better control for heterogeneity and show: (1) Search costs are higher on mobile phones: While links that appear at the top of the screen are always more likely to be clicked, this effect is much stronger on mobile phones; (2) The benefit of searching for geographically close matches is higher on mobile phones: Stores located in close proximity to a user are much more likely to be clicked on mobile phones. In this way, the mobile Internet is somewhat less “Internet-like”: search costs are higher and distance matters more.

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How is the Mobile Internet Different: Search Costs and Local Activities

We explore how Internet browsing behavior varies between mobile phones and personal computers. Using data on user behavior at a microblogging service (similar to Twitter), we exploit randomization in the ranking mechanism for the microblog posting feeds as a natural experiment to identify user search costs. We estimate a hierarchical Bayesian framework to better control for heterogeneity and show: (1) Search costs are higher on mobile phones: While links that appear at the top of the screen are always more likely to be clicked, this effect is much stronger on mobile phones; (2) The benefit of searching for geographically close matches is higher on mobile phones: Stores located in close proximity to a user are much more likely to be clicked on mobile phones. In this way, the mobile Internet is somewhat less “Internet-like”: search costs are higher and distance matters more.