管理科学与工程系学术论坛第九十讲

主 题：Product Description and Consumer Reviews in Omni-channel Retailing

主讲人: 方心 （新加坡管理大学）

时 间：2019-05-08 12:00

地 点：明德商学楼406室

语 言：中、英文

This paper studies how a retailer strategically provides product information in its offline and online channels. The two channels are operated either separately (dual-channel) or collectively (omni-channel). We consider two types of information: product description, which helps consumers identify whether the product fits their tastes, and consumer review, which is generated by the consumers who make the purchase. We find that, without consumer review, the omni-channel strategy leads to a higher profit than the dual channel strategy if and only if the information limit of the offline channel is low and consumers' valuation of the product is small. However, with consumer review, even if the information limit of the offline channel is high, the omni-channel strategy can still lead to a higher profit. Furthermore, consumer review can reduce the retailer's profit if consumers' valuation is sufficiently large.