Many companies collect substantial information about their interactions with their customers.Yet information about their customers' transactions with competing firms is often sparse or nonexistent. As a result, firms are often compelled to manage customer relationships from an inward view of...

All types of consumer expenditures ultimately vie for the same pool of limited resources — the consumer's discretionary income. Consequently, consumers' spending in a particular industry can be better understood in relation to their expenditures in others. Although marketers may believe that...

In this study, we attempt to understand how household budget allocations across various expenditure categories change when the economy is in recession or expansion. The common assumption is that a household’s tastes would not change as a function of economic conditions and therefore any...