The question addressed by this study is whether consumers remember past prices correctly. We test Italian citizens’ memory for cinema prices with questionnaires distributed to moviegoers. The analysis concentrates on the memory of pre-euro prices, but the recall for a more recent period is also investigated. The results show that only a small percentage of respondents recalled the correct price, and that the average prices recalled were much lower than the actual pre-euro prices and dated back to years before the changeover. Price recall is less accurate for the respondents who perceive higher and more persistent inflation; it is also worse for the older respondents and for the less frequent movie-goers.
Published in 2008 in: P. Del Giovane e R. Sabbatini (eds.), The Euro Inflation and Consumers’ Perceptions. Lessons from Italy, Berlin-Heidelberg, Springer
