Selling goods & services using a Dutch auction model via mobile devices

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the use of the Dutch or Price Decreasing auction, a type of auction which has historically been used mainly for the sale of perishable goods, as in the case of the Dutch flower auctions from which this mechanism gets its name. In this dissertation the Dutch auction is an intrinsic part of a solution which gives suppliers of perishable goods and services the opportunity to sell their goods quickly before the expiry date. While various industries were considered within which the solution can be used, from research conducted it is very evident that the solution lends itself particularly well to the sale of tourism-related and leisure products. This is mainly due to the fact that many times such products involve low marginal cost and therefore offer more leeway within which supplier and customer can find the right price which offers value to both of them. Moreover tourism and leisure products have a "where" element to them and the solution therefore utilises location-aware technology through an Android application to make the solution more effective in the situation being put to use. In order to test the extent to which the solution will be accepted and used by potential users, as well as to provide a basis on which a decision to launch the solution commercially can be based, a number of methods are suggested within the New product Development framework from the Marketing literature. These methods include questionnaires based on models which seek to predict behaviour by measuring attitude and other constructs, concept testing, and focus groups, which is the method used in this dissertation to obtain feedback from potential customers