arXiv subjects

Yasuyuki Kusuda

Publications and source records attributed to Yasuyuki Kusuda.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Trial and Return Option Strategy in Omnichannel Retailing

This study examines the dynamics of customer behavior with trial and return options in omnichannel retailing, where retailers face challenges in integrating physical and online stores. Recently, major retailers have begun offering customers the option of trying eligible items for a set period and returning unwanted products free of charge. However, existing research has not fully explored the temporal dynamics of customer return behaviors. This study investigates how temporal dynamics affect customer return behaviors and decision-making during trial periods. Using a theoretical game structure framework, this study explores customer decision patterns regarding store visits, product trials, and returns, while examining the strategic role of store clerks in encouraging product trials. The findings suggest that retailers can maximize profit through trial and return options when product fit probability is low, emphasizing the importance of maintaining complementary physical and online channels. We also found that store clerks play a critical role in encouraging customers to try misfit products. The results further reveal that return cost coverage policies may not significantly impact customer behavior or retailer profit.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2021

Price and Fulfillment Strategies in Omnichannel Retailing

Omnichannel retailing, a new form of distribution system, seamlessly integrates the Internet and physical stores. This study considers the pricing and fulfillment strategies of a retailer that has two sales channels: online and one physical store. The retailer offers consumers three purchasing options: delivery from the fulfillment center, buy online and pick up in-store (BOPS), and purchasing at the store. Consumers choose one of these options to maximize their utility, dividing them into several segments. Given the retailer can induce consumers to the profitable segment by adjusting the online and store prices, our analysis shows that it has three optimal strategies: (1) The retailer excludes consumers far from the physical store from the market and lets the others choose BOPS or purchasing at the store. (2) It lets consumers far from the physical store choose delivery from the fulfillment center and the others choose BOPS or purchasing at the store. (3) It lets all consumers choose delivery from the fulfillment center. Finally, we present simple dynamic simulations that considers how the retailer's optimal strategy changes as consumers' subjective probability of believing the product is in stock decreases. The results show that the retailer should offer BOPS in later periods of the selling season to maximize its profit as the subjective probability decreases.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2019

Buy-Online-and-Pick-up-in-Store in Omnichannel Retailing

In this paper, we extend the model of Gao and Su (2016) and consider an omnichannel strategy in which inventory can be replenished when a retailer sells only in physical stores. With "buy-online-and-pick-up-in-store" (BOPS) having been introduced, consumers can choose to buy directly online, buy from a retailer using BOPS, or go directly to a store to make purchases without using BOPS. The retailer is able to select the inventory level to maximize the probability of inventory availability at the store. Furthermore, the retailer can incur an additional cost to reduce the BOPS ordering lead time, which results in a lowered hassle cost for consumers who use BOPS. In conclusion, we found that there are two types of equilibrium: that in which all consumers go directly to the store without using BOPS and that in which all consumers use BOPS.

econ.GN↗