Consumer Behavior
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- 30 May 2023
- Research & Ideas
Can AI Predict Whether Shoppers Would Pick Crest Over Colgate?
Is it the end of customer surveys? Definitely not, but research by Ayelet Israeli sheds light on the potential for generative AI to improve market research. But first, businesses will need to learn to harness the technology.

- 25 Apr 2023
- Op-Ed
How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model
The platforms SHEIN and Temu match consumer demand and factory output, bringing Chinese production to the rest of the world. The companies have remade fast fashion, but their pioneering approach has the potential to go far beyond retail, says John Deighton.

- 21 Apr 2023
- Research & Ideas
The $15 Billion Question: Have Loot Boxes Turned Video Gaming into Gambling?
Critics say loot boxes—major revenue streams for video game companies—entice young players to overspend. Can regulators protect consumers without dampening the thrill of the game? Research by Tomomichi Amano and colleague.

- 06 Dec 2022
- Research & Ideas
Latest Isn’t Always Greatest: Why Product Updates Capture Consumers
Consumers can't pass up a product update—even if there's no improvement. Research by Leslie John, Michael Norton, and Ximena Garcia-Rada illustrates the powerful allure of change. Are we really that naïve?

- 04 Oct 2022
- What Do You Think?
Have Managers Underestimated the Need for Face-to-Face Contact?
COVID-19 made remote work and instant delivery mainstays of life for many people, but will the need for community erode these concepts after the pandemic ends? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 26 Jul 2022
- Research & Ideas
Burgers with Bugs? What Happens When Restaurants Ignore Online Reviews
Negative Yelp reviews hold more sway with consumers than restaurateurs might think. A machine learning study by Chiara Farronato reveals how online platforms amplify the customer voice, and why business owners should listen.

- 17 May 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
Delivering a Personalized Shopping Experience with AI
THE YES, a shopping app for fashion brands, uses a sophisticated algorithm to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on her style preferences, size, and budget. After launching the app in 2020, the founders had to decide whether to continue developing the algorithm to deliver on the company’s customer value proposition or to focus their resources on new customer acquisition, with the idea that more users on the app would improve the algorithm's performance. Senior Lecturer Jill Avery and The YES co-founder and CEO Julie Bornstein discuss this make-or-break dilemma in the case, The YES: Reimagining the Future of e-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI). This episode was recorded live at Harvard Business School on March 30, 2022 as part of our Case Method 100 celebration.

- 05 May 2022
- Research & Ideas
Why Companies Raise Their Prices: Because They Can
Markups on household items started climbing years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies have realized just how much consumers will pay for the brands they love, says research by Alexander MacKay. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

- 12 Oct 2021
- Research & Ideas
What Actually Draws Sports Fans to Games? It's Not Star Athletes.
Team owners think they need marquee names or slick stadiums to prosper, but research by Karim Lakhani and Patrick Ferguson suggests that fans want something far simpler: suspense. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 15 Jun 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
IKEA Navigates the Future While Staying True to its Culture
After years of success in providing quality furniture at affordable prices, Swedish furniture maker IKEA is challenged by the rise of online shopping and changing consumer behavior, plus the arrival of a new leader. The company's top executives know they had to step out of their comfort zones and embrace new strategic initiatives to stay relevant. But which initiatives will best enable IKEA to evolve while staying true to the company’s core values? Harvard Business School professors Juan Alcacer and Cynthia Montgomery discuss navigating a new future while preserving the company’s culture and identity in their case, “Which IKEA Do We Want?” Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 17 Mar 2021
- Research & Ideas
Beyond Pajamas: Sizing Up the Pandemic Shopper
COVID-19 forced many shoppers to make their first online purchases. But will these customers stick around? Research by Ayelet Israeli, Eva Ascarza, and colleague. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 19 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Value of Descriptive Analytics: Evidence from Online Retailers
Analytics are descriptive when they describe what happened. Descriptive-analytics solutions are popular among marketers and retailers. This paper provides a benchmark for the benefits of using a descriptive dashboard and illustrates how to potentially extract these benefits.

- 06 Dec 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
'Repayment-by-Purchase' Helps Consumers to Reduce Credit Card Debt
Many consumers fail to pay off credit card debt each month and suffer financial consequences. Repayment-by-purchase, allocating payment toward specific purchases on a credit card bill, helps consumers gain a sense of progress and control over credit card debt.

- 24 Nov 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Accounting for Product Impact in the Consumer Finance Industry
A framework and method for measuring and monetizing product impact across industries, applying it to two competitors in the consumer finance space.

- 17 Nov 2020
- In Practice
How Retailers Can Thrive in a Shopping Season Like No Other
Is it the end of Black Friday as we know it? Harvard Business School faculty members share what retailers can expect from a holiday shopping season without precedent. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 28 Sep 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
What Can Economics Say About Alzheimer's Disease?
This essay discusses the role of market frictions and "missing medicines" in drug innovation and highlights how frameworks and toolkits of economists can help our understanding of the determinants and effects of Alzheimer's disease on health.

- 30 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Consumers Punish Firms that Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19
In the wake of COVID-19, firms announced both employee furloughs and (typically small) CEO wage cuts. This research shows that firms’ treatment of employees matters far more to consumers than executive pay cuts.

- 18 Jun 2020
- Research & Ideas
What Is an "Essential" Purchase for a Low-Income Family?
Phone or flour? People with lower incomes are judged more harshly for what they choose to buy, say Serena F. Hagerty and Kate Barasz. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

- 16 Jun 2020
- Research & Ideas
Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.
The coronavirus makes your customers less able and less willing to spend than before. How should you re-engage with them? Advice from Rohit Deshpandé and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
With Predictive Analytics, Companies Can Tap the Ultimate Opportunity: Customers’ Routines
Armed with more data than ever, many companies know what key customers need. But how many know exactly when they need it? An analysis of 2,000 ridesharing commuters by Eva Ascarza and colleagues shows what's possible for companies that can anticipate a customer's routine.