Do Internet platforms increase consumers’ stated willingness to pay? Evidence from a multiple price list survey in China’s local service markets

This paper uses an online multiple price list (MPL) survey of 2,524 respondents in China to estimate stated willingness to pay (WTP) for platform attributes in restaurant search, food delivery, and urban transportation. The survey varies merchant information, user reviews, delivery access, and ride-hailing features within fixed scenarios. Block-specific logit models with individual controls and age-gender weights yield WTP of 8.24 yuan (US$1.22) for merchant information, 9.17 yuan (US$1.35) for user reviews, 10.28 yuan (US$1.52) for full information, 3.14 yuan (US$0.46) for food delivery, 4.13 yuan (US$0.61) for street hailing, and 15.81 yuan (US$2.33) for ride hailing. The ride-hailing premium over street hailing is 11.68 yuan (US$1.72). Nonparametric switching-point estimates are also positive, but their magnitudes are sensitive to how multiple switching is resolved. The findings indicate that consumers assign monetary value to platform-provided information, convenience, and transaction certainty.