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- All HBS Web
(682)
- People (4)
- News (161)
- Research (376)
- Events (4)
- Multimedia (9)
- Faculty Publications (338)
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- 19 Nov 2018
- Sharpening Your Skills
E-Santa: Is Retail Ready for Digital Christmas?
Is Amazon's growing retail power capable of breaking the "wheel of retailing" theory? Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive? E-commerce is about to deal severe blows to many familiar store-based brands. How to... View Details
- May–June 2023
- Article
Need for Speed: The Impact of In-Process Delays on Customer Behavior in Online Retail
By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno
The impact of delays has been widely studied in various offline services. The focus of this study is online services, and we explore the impact of in-process delays—measured by website speed—on customer behavior. We leverage novel retail and website speed data to... View Details
Keywords: Online Retail; Quasi-experiments; Abandonment; Synthetic Control; E-commerce; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Policy; Retail Industry
Gallino, Santiago, Nil Karacaoglu, and Antonio Moreno. "Need for Speed: The Impact of In-Process Delays on Customer Behavior in Online Retail." Operations Research 71, no. 3 (May–June 2023): 876–894.
- March–April 2020
- Article
Pricing Policies that Protect your Brand
By: Ayelet Israeli and Eugene F. Zelek Jr.
When customers seek out online deals, it seems like a win for everybody: Brands, retailers, dealers, and distributors sell more goods, and buyers get a bargain. What's not to like? Here's the problem: Lured by rock-bottom online prices, customers often end up dealing... View Details
Israeli, Ayelet, and Eugene F. Zelek Jr. "Pricing Policies that Protect your Brand." Harvard Business Review 98, no. 2 (March–April 2020): 76–83.
- December 2016
- Case
thredUP: Think Secondhand First
By: Thomas Eisenmann, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga
In the fall of 2016, the management team at thredUP, the largest U.S. online retailer of second hand clothing, is deciding whether to expand into international markets. Over the past 12 months the 7-year-old startup, which had raised over $130 million in venture... View Details
Keywords: Scaling Start-ups; International Expansion; Online Consignment; Apparel; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Business Startups; E-commerce; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; San Francisco
Eisenmann, Thomas, Allison Ciechanover, and Jeff Huizinga. "thredUP: Think Secondhand First." Harvard Business School Case 817-083, December 2016.
- 17 Nov 2020
- In Practice
How Retailers Can Thrive in a Shopping Season Like No Other
their wares on e-commerce platforms, marketing through social media channels, and finding new ways to reach customers. In this environment, Americans should remember to shop small and support their local businesses, many of which are... View Details
- November 2013
- Article
Adding Bricks to Clicks: On the Role of Physical Stores in a World of Online Shopping
By: Jill Avery, Thomas Steenburgh, John A. Deighton and Mary Caravella
Buying a product has never been easier. Consumers can shop online, over the phone or via mail order, from home or on the go, and if they want to experience touch and feel, they can also visit a "real" store. Often, one and the same retailer offers several of these... View Details
Keywords: Channel Management; Retailing; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; United States
Avery, Jill, Thomas Steenburgh, John A. Deighton, and Mary Caravella. "Adding Bricks to Clicks: On the Role of Physical Stores in a World of Online Shopping." GfK Marketing Intelligence Review 5, no. 2 (November 2013).
- February 2021 (Revised February 2021)
- Background Note
eGrocery and the Role of Data for CPG Firms
By: Ayelet Israeli, Fedor (Ted) Lisitsyn and Mark A. Irwin
This notes provides information about the eGrocery industry and how traditional CPG companies handle this channel and potential data. It is recommended to use together with a series of exercises entitled: "E-Commerce Analytics for CPG Firms (A), (B), and (C)." View Details
Keywords: Data; Data Analysis; Data Analytics; Data Sharing; CPG; Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG); Delivery Planning; Customer Lifetime Value; Online Channel; Retail; Retail Analytics; Retailing Industry; Ecommerce; Grocery; Optimization; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Customer Value and Value Chain; Marketing Channels; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States
Israeli, Ayelet, Fedor (Ted) Lisitsyn, and Mark A. Irwin. "eGrocery and the Role of Data for CPG Firms." Harvard Business School Background Note 521-077, February 2021. (Revised February 2021.)
- June 2020 (Revised August 2020)
- Case
Majid Al Futtaim Retail Geographic Expansion: Brick or Click?
By: Juan Alcácer and Alpana Thapar
This case illustrates the challenges that retailers face when they aggressively pursue geographical growth by expanding both their physical store network and their online presence. It features Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Retail, a franchisee of Carrefour hypermarkets in the... View Details
Keywords: Stores; Ecommerce; Strategy; Expansion; Geographic Location; Decision Making; Internet and the Web; Digital Transformation; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Middle East
Alcácer, Juan, and Alpana Thapar. "Majid Al Futtaim Retail Geographic Expansion: Brick or Click?" Harvard Business School Case 720-482, June 2020. (Revised August 2020.)
- January 2017
- Case
Expanding Ecommerce at Technos
By: Thales Teixeira, Rohit Deshpandé, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi
Technos was the market leader in the Brazilian watch market. Its CEO had made a firm commitment to evolve the company’s marketing and commercial practices by focusing less on pushing product to retail clients and more on branding to end consumers to pull watches from... View Details
Keywords: Technos; Watch; Wristwatch; Ecommerce; Online Shopping; Distribution; Website; Marketing; Brazil; Latin America; Branding; Trade; Marketplace; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Brazil
Teixeira, Thales, Rohit Deshpandé, Ruth Costas, and Priscilla Zogbi. "Expanding Ecommerce at Technos." Harvard Business School Case 517-078, January 2017.
- August 2018 (Revised February 2019)
- Case
Shindigz
By: Frank Cespedes
Shindigz provides party and celebratory items for various occasions and events through its branded online channel, through third-party retail and wholesale channels, and external online marketplaces. The case focuses on pricing challenges facing a venture with an... View Details
Keywords: Ecommerce; Pricing; Price; Strategy; Decision Making; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry
Cespedes, Frank. "Shindigz." Harvard Business School Case 819-010, August 2018. (Revised February 2019.)
- June 2021 (Revised November 2024)
- Case
MicroStrategy: Accounting for Cryptocurrency
By: Jonas Heese and Annelena Lobb
On February 15, 2021, Alina Moss, an analyst who covered the technology company MicroStrategy, pondered a rise in MicroStrategy’s share price. Moss had dialed into the company earnings call. When it ended, Moss had more questions than answers. MicroStrategy had... View Details
Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Share Price; Electronic Commerce; Intangible Assets; Assets; Accounting; Financial Statements; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Analytics and Data Science; E-commerce
Heese, Jonas, and Annelena Lobb. "MicroStrategy: Accounting for Cryptocurrency." Harvard Business School Case 121-066, June 2021. (Revised November 2024.)
- May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
- Case
Lowe's: Improving the Total Home Strategy
By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Alicia Dadlani
In 2023, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s, contemplated enhancements to the company’s Total Home Strategy to accelerate performance and grow market share. In the last five years since becoming CEO, Ellison had championed a turnaround of the company, completing a... View Details
Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Competition; Brands and Branding; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; North Carolina
Ofek, Elie, K. Shelette Stewart, and Alicia Dadlani. "Lowe's: Improving the Total Home Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 524-054, May 2024. (Revised February 2025.)
- May–June 2025
- Article
Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces
By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno
Most online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online... View Details
Keywords: Algorithms; Marketplaces; Marketplace Matching; E-commerce; Demand and Consumers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Market Participation; Technology Adoption
Gallino, Santiago, Nil Karacaoglu, and Antonio Moreno. "Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 27, no. 3 (May–June 2025): 917–934.
- February 2024
- Module Note
Data-Driven Marketing in Retail Markets
By: Ayelet Israeli
This note describes an eight-class sessions module on data-driven marketing in retail markets. The module aims to familiarize students with core concepts of data-driven marketing in retail, including exploring the opportunities and challenges, adopting best practices,... View Details
Keywords: Data; Data Analytics; Retail; Retail Analytics; Data Science; Business Analytics; "Marketing Analytics"; Omnichannel; Omnichannel Retailing; Omnichannel Retail; DTC; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Ethical Decision Making; Algorithmic Bias; Privacy; A/B Testing; Descriptive Analytics; Prescriptive Analytics; Predictive Analytics; Analytics and Data Science; E-commerce; Marketing Channels; Demand and Consumers; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry
Israeli, Ayelet. "Data-Driven Marketing in Retail Markets." Harvard Business School Module Note 524-062, February 2024.
- 09 Mar 2020
- Research & Ideas
Warring Algorithms Could Be Driving Up Consumer Prices
to all personal care products sold online by the five firms implies that customers spent an additional $300 million annually as a result of pricing algorithms, out of a total of about $6 billion in e-commerce revenue for the category.... View Details
- November–December 2021
- Article
Does Gender Matter? The Effect of Management Responses on Reviewing Behavior
By: Davide Proserpio, Isamar Troncoso and Francesca Valsesia
We study the effect of management responses on the reviewing behavior of self-identified female and male reviewers. Using data from Tripadvisor, we show that after hotels begin to respond to reviews, the probability that a negative review comes from a self-identified... View Details
Keywords: Word Of Mouth; Online Reviews; Management Responses; E-commerce; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Digital Platforms; Customers
Proserpio, Davide, Isamar Troncoso, and Francesca Valsesia. "Does Gender Matter? The Effect of Management Responses on Reviewing Behavior." Marketing Science 40, no. 6 (November–December 2021): 1199–1213.
- November 2014
- Supplement
The Grommet - Video Supplement
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Karen Gordon Mills, Lena G. Goldberg and Annelena Lobb
Keywords: Retail; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; E-commerce; Retail Industry
Applegate, Lynda M., Karen Gordon Mills, Lena G. Goldberg, and Annelena Lobb. "The Grommet - Video Supplement." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 815-703, November 2014.
- July 2019 (Revised November 2019)
- Case
Osaro: Picking the Best Path
By: William R. Kerr, James Palano and Bastiane Huang
The founder of Osaro saw the potential of deep reinforcement learning to allow robots to be applied to new applications. Osaro targeted warehousing, already a dynamic industry for robotics and automation, for its initial product—a system which would allow robotic arms... View Details
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Robotics; Robots; Ecommerce; Fulfillment; Warehousing; AI; Startup; Technology Commercialization; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Logistics; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Information Technology; Commercialization; Learning; Complexity; Competition; E-commerce
Kerr, William R., James Palano, and Bastiane Huang. "Osaro: Picking the Best Path." Harvard Business School Case 820-012, July 2019. (Revised November 2019.)
- 04 Jun 2001
- Research & Ideas
Why dot.coms Will Rise Again
McFarlan's high-spirited session, called "Global Internet and E-Commerce Strategies in the 21st Century," stressed the creative approaches four companies—Li & Fung, Cisco Systems, Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., and Merrill... View Details
Keywords: by Martha Lagace
- May 2019 (Revised July 2019)
- Case
Walmart's Workforce of the Future
By: William R. Kerr and Jordan Bach-Lombardo
Faced with intense competition from Amazon, Walmart began a transformation of its operations and workforce in 2015. The goal was to create an omnichannel retail experience for customers that seamlessly joined online and offline shopping. This case explores Walmart's... View Details
Keywords: Walmart; Managing The Future Of Work; Workforce; Automation; Ecommerce; Omnichannel Retail; Operations; Transformation; Employees; Training; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Disruption; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Information Infrastructure; Retail Industry
Kerr, William R., and Jordan Bach-Lombardo. "Walmart's Workforce of the Future." Harvard Business School Case 819-042, May 2019. (Revised July 2019.)