ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Price dispersion

Price dispersion means that the same item, like a toy or a shirt, can have different prices at different stores or online shops.

Imagine you want to buy your favorite toy, a teddy bear. You go to one store and see the price is $10. Then, you go to another store and see the same teddy bear is $12. This is price dispersion!

Now, why does price dispersion happen? Well, every store or online shop has different ways of buying and selling that teddy bear. Maybe one store buys more teddy bears at once, so they can get a better price from the supplier. Or, maybe one store has higher expenses, like rent for their building, so they need to charge more money for the teddy bear to cover those costs.

The good news is that price dispersion can help you save money! If you compare prices at different stores, you might find one store that has a lower price for something you want. That way, you can pay less money for the same item!
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