May 2 (2.00 PM CET), Anthony Dukes (USC Marshall)  

ASSESSING THE ANTITRUST LIABILITY OF VERTICAL RESTRAINTS

This research assesses the antitrust liability for marketing managers employing vertical restraints in channels of distribution. We consider five vertical restraints: Min RPM, Max RPM, Primary-Line and Secondary-Line Price Discrimination, and Territorial Restraints. Using data from cases decided in U.S. Federal courts since 1980, we empirically demonstrate that over time, two of the restraints have become significantly less likely to be subject to litigation. For the other three restraints, our analysis indicates a more judicious interpretation by the courts. Using the theory of case selection, we posit that five landmark rulings over the past 40 years have established a legal regime that gives marketers more flexibility in implementing efficient, pro-consumer practices yet still protects the market against anticompetitive conduct. We derive insights for marketers who operate in marketing channels through a detailed analysis of individual cases, with specific connections to the U.K./E.U. context. For managers assessing the legal risk associated with vertical restraints, we conclude that they be guided by the principle of customer value creation.

March 7 (2.00 PM CET), Paulo Albuquerque (INSEAD)

DOES FMRI DATA IMPROVE PREDICTIONS OF PRODUCT ADOPTION BY STORE MANAGERS AND SALES TO CONSUMERS FOR CONSUMER-PACKAGED GOODS?

This paper investigates the value of adding functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to predict success of consumer-packaged goods, as captured in (1) store manager adoption and (2) store sales. Our approach combines fMRI data from a relatively small sample of individuals with in-house observable market data such as price and promotional level, customer attitudes based on a representative survey, and incentive-aligned purchasing behavior. Using a regression tree model, we show that fMRI data can significantly enhance predictions of consumer choice as captured in sales per store. We also show that the fMRI data is the most valuable to predict sales of more innovative products. However, more traditional measures such as representative surveys are more valuable in improving forecasts of product adoption rates by store managers. We quantified the benefits of the improved predictive power of each data type and compared it with its costs. Our findings help managers to evaluate the benefits of collecting fMRI data, beyond traditional data sources, to predict the future market success of their products.

November 16, 14:00 Kristopher Keller  (UNC)

THE DARK SIDE OF BOTTLE BILLS: HOW PRICE INCREASES, RATHER THAN BOTTLE DEPOSITS, GENERATE SALES LOSSES FOR RETAILERS

Paper

Plastic waste has doubled in the past two decades, and less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled. “Bottle bills” are legislation to combat plastic waste by increasing recycling rates, by adding a per bottle deposit that gets refunded to consumers who return empty containers. To clarify the implications of such legislation, the current study uses a difference-in-differences approach to investigate how New York’s 2009 law, targeting bottled water, affected consumers and retailers in terms of whether (1) prices of bottled beverages changed, (2) the bottle bill affected sales of bottled beverages, and (3) any part of sales changes can be attributed to policy effects versus price changes. The results reveal that retailers increased prices of items covered by the bottle bill by 10% while also reducing the prices of other items, outside the bottle bill’s scope, by 3%. Volume sales in the water category decreased by 3.2%. By disentangling the effects of price changes and the bottle bill on sales, this study establishes that bottle bills lead to higher sales (+7%), but those benefits do not materialize, due to the price adjustments.

June 1 (2.00 PM CET), Kusum Ailawadi (Tuck School of Business)

Title:  "Drivers of Private Label Supply by National Brand Manufacturers and Outcomes for their National Brands: A Generalizable Empirical Analysis"

Authors:  Yu Ma (McGill University), Kusum L. Ailawadi (Tuck School at Dartmouth), Mercedes Martos-Partal (University of Salamanca) & Óscar González-Benito (University of Salamanca)

Abstract: 

This paper is the first generalizable empirical analysis of dual branding, i.e., supply of private label (PL) by national brand (NB) manufacturers. We compile a unique dataset that combines the identity of PL suppliers in over 260 packaged good categories with multiple years of scanner purchase data for all products in the Spanish grocery market. First, we provide new descriptive insights, e.g., on the prevalence of dual branding in categories where the manufacturer does and does not have NBs, the longevity of PL supply arrangements, and the differences in PL sourcing patterns across retailers. Second, we integrate prior literature to identify the major drivers of PL supply and test the association of easily observable measures of those drivers with PL supply. The results reveal a more nuanced empirical reality than is evident from prior research regarding the role of multi-category scope, fighter brands, NB differentiation, and the attractiveness of the retailer’s PL business. Third, we conduct a difference-in-difference analysis with endogeneity correction and find that starting (terminating) PL supply in a category to a retailer significantly benefits (hurts) a dual brander’s NB distribution depth at that retailer but not its market share. 

April 6 (2.00 PM CET), Sam Hui (University of Houston)

Title:  “Understanding Shoppers’ Attention to Price Information at the Point of Consideration using In-Store Ambulatory Eye-Tracking”

By: Sam Hui (University of Houston) 

Abstract:

Retailers are interested in understanding the amount of attention grocery shoppers paid to price information at the point of purchase, as price attention is an important determinant of price perception and purchase behavior. Prior studies, however, are generally limited to self-reported attention measures and/or econometric modeling of secondary data. We utilize novel in-store ambulatory eye-tracking devices to directly measure the extent to which shoppers’ pay attention to price information, by studying the path of a shoppers’ visual fixations during a consideration. We find that shoppers pay attention to price information in roughly 62% of their considerations. Next, older shoppers are more likely to pay more attention to price information. In addition, the presence of price promotion and larger number of price tags are associated with higher level of price attention. Quite surprisingly, intertemporal and within-category price variations are not associated with the degree of price attention.

December 8, 2022 at 14:00 (CET): Santiago Gallino (The Wharton School) 

Title:  “Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces”

By: Santiago Gallino (University of Pennsylvania),  Nil Karacaoglu (The Ohio State University) & Antonio Moreno (Harvard University)

Abstract:

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 marketplaces adopt algorithmic tools to curate how the different listings for a product are presented to customers. This paper focuses on one such tool, the Buybox, that algorithmically chooses one option to be presented prominently to customers as a default option. We leveraged the staggered introduction of the Buybox within a prominent product category in a leading online marketplace to study how the Buybox impacts marketplace dynamics. Our findings indicate that adopting Buybox results in a substantial increase in marketplace orders and visits. Implementing Buybox reduces the frictions customers and sellers face. On the customer side, we find a reduction of search frictions, evidenced by an increase in conversion rates and a higher impact of Buybox on the mobile channel, which has significantly higher search frictions than desktop channel. On the seller side, the number of sellers offering a product increases following the implementation of Buybox. Customers benefit from lower prices and higher average quality levels when competition in Buyboxes is high. After the introduction of the Buybox, the marketplace also becomes more concentrated. Our paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on the role of algorithms in platforms by examining how algorithmic curation impacts the participants of the marketplace as well as the marketplace dynamics.

October 27, 2022 at 12:00 (CET): Harald van Heerde (UNSW) 

Title: "Vulture Marketing: How Competitor Brands Can Capitalize on Brand Delistings"

By: Harald van Heerde (University of New South Wales) and Kristopher Keller (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Abstract:

Many world-leading brand agglomerates such as Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, and Coca-Cola continuously prune their brand portfolio by delisting brands, i.e., taking them from the market. While the marketing literature offers plenty of guidance for new brand launches, very little is known on how competitor brands can fill the void left behind by another brand's delisting. This paper studies how the delisting of a national brand affects the sales of sister national brands, competitor national brands, and private labels. It also documents how these three types of brands can engage in "Vulture Marketing", and use their marketing mix to take advantage of the delisted brand's departure from the market. The research is based on an econometric analysis of US Nielsen scanner data of more than 550 competitor brands, which are in the same category as 33 delisted brands across 150 designated market areas and 10 years, resulting in almost 10,000 competitor brand-market pairs. The analysis uses a synthetic control approach combined with a Heckman selection model for the delisting decision and instrumental variables to account for marketing mix endogeneity. We will present this work in progress and seek feedback.

The retailing landscape is changing. The emergence of online shopping has metaphorically left physical retailers high and dry. Yet, many retailers are investigating physical stores as an important aspect of their physical presence and multi-channel strategy. Hence, physical stores are not dead; but they are changing or need to change. The special issue of the Journal of Retailing, “Re-Imagining the Physical Store” (volume 99, issue 4), offers insights and guidelines for retailers on five strategic levers that retailers can utilize to re-imagine their physical stores: curation, social, experience, frictionless, and fulfillment. The Special Interest Group (SIG) Retailing organizes two sessions discussing research on these strategic levers. The first session covers three papers focusing on how physical retailers can offer curation, include social elements, and provide an excellent experience. The second session focuses on research showing how retailers can implement frictionless and fulfillment levers to re-imaging physical stores.

SIG RETAILING SESSION I

Friday, 31st of May

Re-Imagining the Physical Store through Curation, Social and Experience Strategic Levers (13:00 - 14:30)

Talks: 

• Intro: Re-Imagining the Physical Store through the Strategic Levers Curation, Social and Experience 

Els Breugelmans (KU Leuven)

• Leveraging In-Store Technology and AI: Increasing Customer and Employee Efficiency and Enhancing their Experiences

Dhruv Grewal (Babson College, University of Bath and Tecnológico de Monterrey), Sabine Benoit (University of Surrey and Australian National University), Stephanie Noble (University of Bath and University of Tennessee), Abhijit Guha (University of South Carolina), Carl-Philip Ahlbom (University of Bath), and Jens Nordfält, (University of Bath)

• Retailing Groundedness: How to Improve Customer Experience, Brand Perceptions, and Customer Loyalty through Feelings of Groundedness

Gianna Bruckberger (University of Vienna), Christoph Fuchs (University of Vienna), Martin Schreier (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business), Stijn van Osselaer (Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University)

• The Future of Physical Stores: Creating Reasons for Customers to Visit

Els Breugelmans (KU Leuven), Lina Altenburg (KU Leuven), Felix Lehmkuhle (University of Münster), Manfred Krafft (University of Münster and University of Auckland), Lien Lamey (KU Leuven), and Anne Roggeveen (Babson College)

SIG RETAILING SESSION II

Re-imagining the physical store through frictionless and fulfillment strategic levers (15:00 - 16:30)

• Intro: Re-Imagining the Physical Store through the Strategic Levers Curation, Social and Experience 

Els Breugelmans (KU Leuven)

• Dynamic Pricing: Definition, Implications for Managers, and Future Research Directions

Praveen K. Kopalle (Dartmouth College), Koen Pauwels (Northeastern University), Laxminarayana Yashaswy Akella (Dartmouth College), and Manish Gangwar (Indian School of Business)

• Proximity-store introductions: A new route to big-box retailer success?

Marnik Dekimpe (Tilburg University and KU Leuven), Els Gijsbrechts, (Tilburg University), Katrijn Gielens, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) 

• Innovations in Retail Delivery: Current Trends and Future Directions

Brian Ratchford (Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas), Dinesh K. Gauri (Walmart Chair Sam M. Walton College of Business University of Arkansas), Rupinder P. Jindal (Milgard School of Business, University of Washington Tacoma), and Aidin Namin, (College of Business Administration Loyola Marymount University)

The papers stemming from last year's EMAC SIG Session on "(New) Data Sources in Retailing: Opportunities and Challenges" are now available in print in the Journal of Retailing. We encourage you to explore them!

Editorial “(New) Data Sources in Retailing: Opportunities and Challenges” (Katrijn Gielens & Lien Lamey)

“Household and retail panel data in retailing research: Time for a renaissance?” (Harald J. van Heerde & Marnik G. Dekimpe)

“Consumer search: What can we learn from pre-purchase data? ” (Elisabeth Honka, Stephan Seiler & Raluca Ursu)

“Unlocking the Potential of Web Data for Retailing Research” (Jonne Y. Guyt, Hannes Datta & Johannes Boegershausen)

“Utilising eye-tracking data in retailing field research: A practical guide” (Jens Nordfält & Carl-Philip Ahlbom)

Title: (New) Data Sources in Retailing: Opportunities and Challenges

Talks: 

• Intro: Data Sources in Retailing: Opportunities and Challenges (Katrijn Gielens, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US)

• Web Scraping in a Retailing Environment: What Data can be Collected? (Jonne Guyt University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) (Hannes Datta, Tilburg University, the Netherlands)

Slides.pdf

• Understanding Consumer Search: What can we Learn from Pre-purchase Data? (Stephan Seiler, Imperial College Business School, UK)

Slides.pdf

• Eye-Tracking Methods in Retailing Field Studies: Opportunities and Challenges (Carl-Philip Ahlbom & Jens Nordfält, University of Bath, UK)

Slides.pdf