This paper defines a unique type of product or service offering, termed probabilistic goods, and analyzes a novel selling strategy, termed probabilistic selling (PS). A probabilistic good is not a concrete product or service but an offer involving a probability of getting any one of a set of...

Determination of the merchandise assortment is an important decision for retailers since the composition and depth of the product mix greatly impact both unit sales and costs. This paper considers how Probabilistic Selling (PS), an emerging marketing strategy, impacts the type and number of...

Managing inventories is difficult for a seller who faces uncertainty about future demand for its products. Unexpectedly low demand for a product leads to wasted investment in inventory and subsequent markdowns. Conversely, unexpectedly high demand leads to stockouts and the resulting opportunity...

Social media provide an unparalleled platform for consumers to publicize their personal evaluations of purchased products and thus facilitate word-of-mouth communication. This paper examines relationships between consumer posting behavior and marketing variables - such as product price and...

Although Advance Selling and Probabilistic Selling differ in both motivation and implementation, we argue that they share a common characteristic - both offer consumers a choice involving buyer uncertainty. We develop a formal model to examine the general economics of purchase options that...