Sequence Matters: Shelf-Space Allocation under Dynamic Customer-Driven Substitution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gilland, Wendell G.; Heese, H. Sebastian
• 署名单位: University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Indiana University System; IU Kelley School of Business; Indiana University Bloomington
• 刊物名称: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1059-1478
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1937-5956.2012.01389.x
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 875-887
• 关键词: product substitution; dynamic customer arrivals; shelf-space allocation; retail sales

摘要

Customers who face a stockout situation often decide to purchase a different product in the same category. We analyze the resulting dynamic substitution problem in a retail environment, where customers serve themselves from the store shelves, such that the sequence of customer arrivals affects how scarce products are allocated to customers. We consider a setting with constrained shelf space, and we study how a retailer should optimally allocate such space between substitute products. We characterize environments where the sequence of customer arrivals can have a substantial impact on profitability.