*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. Introduction 1. Polls are one of the factors that competition authorities may take into account in their decisions, particularly in merger control. They are likely to provide reliable indications on the economic functioning of a market and in particular on its demand. 2. Thus, in Decision No 16-DCC-111 of 27 July 2016 on the acquisition of sole control of Darty by Fnac, the Competition Authority states that it based itself in particular on two surveys [1], one of which had been carried out jointly by the notifying party and the investigation services. The purpose of this survey was to "evaluate the demand deferrals (ʻratios of diversion' )" [2]in several
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LAW & ECONOMY: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS – SURVEY – COMPETITION AUTHORITY - OFFER - DEMANDE - MARKET DEFINITION
Surveys in competition analyses
Surveys are increasingly used by competition authorities as objective and reliable pieces of evidence. This article discusses the principle and the main applications in competitive analyses of a particular type of survey called, "conjoint analysis". Conjoint analysis is a valuation technique of consumers or businesses’ willingness to pay for the different components of a product. It combines survey and econometric techniques of demand estimation. Unlike conventional surveys which provide evidence only about the individuals’ stated preferences in a limited number of specific situations, conjoint analysis aims at estimating the structure of their demand which allows to examine their purchasing behaviour in many observed or hypothetical situations. In addition, the survey data used in a conjoint analysis are collected in conditions close to a real purchase situation which limits the risk that their responses are not in line with their real purchasing behaviour. Conjoint analyses have thus a wide range of applications that are presented in this article to assess a merger or an anti-competitive practice from an economic point.
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