Publications

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive?

In this three-part series, we start with an overview of why retail experts Rajiv Lal, José B. Alvarez, and Dan Greenberg believe retail is at an inflection point. In Part Two, coming next week, they identify... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

May 2023
Article

Gentrification and Retail Churn: Theory and Evidence

By: Edward L. Glaeser, Michael Luca and Erica Moszkowski

How does gentrification transform neighborhood retail amenities? This paper presents a model in which gentrification harms incumbent residents by increasing rental costs and by eliminating distinctive local stores. While rising rents can be offset with targeted... View Details

Keywords: Gentrification; Neighborhoods; Impact; Local Range; Transition; Civil Society or Community; Welfare; Economic Growth

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2018
Working Paper

Opportunistic Returns and Dynamic Pricing: Empirical Evidence from Online Retailing in Emerging Markets

By: Chaithanya Bandi, Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and Zhiji Xu

We investigate how dynamic pricing can lead to more product returns in the online retail industry. Using detailed sales data of more than two million transactions from the Indian online retail market, where price promotions are very common, we document two types of... View Details

Keywords: Cash On Delivery; Dynamic Pricing; Online Retail; Payment Methods; Strategic Customer Behavior; Opportunistic Returns; Price; Policy; Consumer Behavior; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry

SSRN

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25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

It's a much believed assumption in the retail world: If you're going to compete on the basis of low cost, then you can't afford to invest in your employees. Extensive training—who has the time to give? Regularly scheduled hours?—way too... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

August 1993
Background Note

Glossary of Retail Terms

By: David E. Bell and Dinny Starr

Keywords: Retail Industry

October 1979
Background Note

Note on Retailing Institutions

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Keywords: Retail Industry

19 Nov 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

E-Santa: Is Retail Ready for Digital Christmas?

carlballou Most industries are in major digital upheaval, but retail particularly seems in some kind of disruptive spin-cycle. As the retail season eneters its most crucial time of year, we take a deep... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

Research Summary

The Role of Suggested Pricing in Retail

Does a $100 shirt seem more valuable when its price tag shows a 50 discount off an original price of $200? Pricing information in retail settings often has three components: an original price, a percent discount, and the final price. Little empirical evidence exists... View Details

May 2003
Background Note

How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?

By: V.G. Narayanan

Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution; Alignment; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

Educators

04 Sep 2019
News

From Retail to Real Estate

(Drake Real Estate Partners LLC) (Drake Real Estate Partners LLC) When Nicolas Ibañez’s (MBA 2011) grandfather opened the doors of a grocery store in the 1950s, it was Chile’s first supermarket and an immediate success. Over time the business expanded into Distribución... View Details

10 Mar 2014
News

Retail Woes: The Impact Of Online Shopping

July 2005 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Tanpin Kanri: Retail Practice at Seven-Eleven Japan

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

Toshifumi Suzuki, chairman and CEO of Seven and I Holding Co., was widely credited as the mastermind behind Seven-Eleven Japan's spectacular rise. Although Seven-Eleven Japan began as a small licensee of U.S. convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Inc. (then Southland... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Demand and Consumers; Distribution; Logistics; Technology; Retail Industry; Japan

Educators

Article

Regulation and UK Retailing Productivity: Evidence from Microdata

By: Jonathan Haskel and Raffaella Sadun

We explore the effects of planning regulation on the UK retail sector between 1997 and 2003 using micro-data from the UK census. We document a shift to smaller shops following a 1996 regulatory change that increased the costs of opening large stores. Our analysis... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance Productivity; Growth and Development; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Change; Cost; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

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07 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Online Retailers Should Hide Their Best Discounts

New advice for online retailers suggests bargain items should not be too easy for shoppers to find. (Matjaz Slanic) Retailers have long known where to put the bargain bin—in the back of the store, where... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

March 2017 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Flashion: Art vs. Science in Fashion Retailing

By: Kris Ferreira and Karim R. Lakhani

Kate Wilson, retail analytics manager at Flashion, a fashion flash-sale site, is tasked with developing analytics to optimize pricing for first-exposure products on the site. Many in the industry have relied on years of experience and intuition to determine pricing—can... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Pricing; Data; Service Operations; Forecasting and Prediction; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Mathematical Methods; Decision Making; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Educators