Topic: Sales

Aisle with merchandise at a hardware store. Research Brief / Retail

Website Search Data Suggests Profitably Reconfiguring In-Store Product Placement

Lots of web searches for laminate flooring? Move it closer to the storefront

A pop-up that allows a user to turn off tracking on an app. Research Brief / Advertising

Barred From Stalking Us Across the Internet, Returns for Some Advertisers Plummet

Small businesses hit particularly hard when Apple made it easy to opt out of app tracking

A full aisle in a supermarket. Research Brief / Pricing

How an Accounting Change Hit Store Prices

Consumer goods got costlier as manufacturers moved to avoid new revenue recognition rules

A woman shops in the shoe aisle at a department store in New York City Research Brief / Supply Chain

If Shoe Shoppers Will Accept a Half-Size Difference, How Should Merchants Adjust Inventory?

Carrying fewer pairs of some sizes could be a potential profit booster for boutiques

A graph of the U.S. dollar index Research Brief / Currencies

When Exchange Rates Move, U.S. Companies Feel It — Even More Than Previously Thought

Firm-specific export data enables researchers to potentially solve a puzzle in economics

Illustration of a hand holding a bidding panel and a house. Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

People Pay for the Right to Bid — and Then Overbid

Bidders sacrifice a better price to avoid ending up with nothing

Search results of three different types of pink slippers Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

As Few as Three Options Can Be Too Many for Online Shoppers 

A large field experiment suggests two items is the sweet spot for converting motivated lookers into buyers

Handmade leather sandals, isolated on white background. Research Brief / E-commerce

How Many Pairs of Sandals Would You Look at Online?

On your phone, about 20. How retailers can best harvest sales from those glances

A dark blue maze with a white arrow that shows the way out all against a light blue background. Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

Proposed: Give Consumers on Amazon a Direct Line to Small Business Products

Third-party sellers would gain; consumers might pay more but increase control of products display

A woman with long hair hangs up a for sale sign Research Question / Real Estate

Middlemen: Matchmakers or Sources of Strategic Information?

Probing that question using a database of for-sale-by-owner home listings

Split screen of fake lemon on the left and real lemon on the right. Research Brief / E-commerce

To Spot Fake Online Reviews, Target the Reviewers

A test was 93% accurate; more efficient than analyzing reviews

A pile of glittery gold stars on the left of the frame and in the center a yellow star Research Brief / Sales

Online Reviews: Should Sellers Show All or a Subset Relevant to You?

Most sellers do one or the other, but giving shoppers both might lift sales

Shopping cart with digital display. Research Brief / Sales

How Loyalty Programs Might Become More Profitable

Target customers with easy access to a competitor?

A man tests a phone from a display in a store Research Brief / Supply Chain

Offering Free Upgrades Early to Manage Inventory and Boost Profit

Waiting until one product model runs out can be a costly mistake

Research Brief / Supply Chain

Dealers Might Not Profit from Soaring Used-Car Prices

Lenders and private-party sellers constrain a seeming windfall

Research Brief / Competition

Quantifying the Benefits of Legally Cooperating with Competitors

Sales forecasting improves markedly as firms participate in standard setting organizations