Most retailers today sell products through an online channel in addition to traditional physical stores. We investigate how such a multi-channel or omni-channel retailer should decide the number and size of physical stores. We show that a higher return rate for online purchases can incentivize...

Unlike traditional retailers, which use inventory speculation for all their merchandise, Internet book retailers selectively use inventory postponement for specific merchandise items to lower their inventory costs. We develop and test hypotheses that describe merchandise determinants of...