The authors discuss methods such as conjoint surveys and regression analysis in the ABA’s A Practitioner’s Guide to Class Actions.
In consumer class actions, plaintiffs typically claim that the defendant misrepresented the true characteristics of the products at issue and therefore plaintiffs either overpaid for the products they purchased and/or the purchased products diminished in value following disclosures of the alleged misrepresentations. Several analytical methods from different fields such as economics, marketing, and consumer behavior have been proposed in these matters to assess issues relating to exposure, reliance, materiality, impact, and damages.
Authors Mark Campbell and Britta Stamps Todd of Shook, Hardy & Bacon and Samid Hussain, Vildan Altuglu, and Matteo Li Bergolis of Cornerstone Research describe the strengths and weaknesses of some of the most common empirical tools recently employed by economics, marketing, and consumer behavior experts in consumer class actions, including:
- Conjoint analysis
- Regression methods
- Content Analysis
- Surveys relating to consumer behavior and purchase decisions
- Surveys relating to contested marketing communications
This chapter was originally published in A Practitioner’s Guide to Class Actions by the American Bar Association in November 2021.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.
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