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Digital lead generation platforms: Rightsizing the seller base

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  • Vaid, Shashank
  • Feinberg, Fred M.

Abstract

This article introduces Digital Lead Generation Platforms (DLGPs), an increasingly popular way to allow users to explore products from multiple retailers. Despite their growing influence, little is known about how DLGPs can manage their effectiveness or profitability. Here, we discuss their distinctive and salient aspects relative to other types of digital retailing, and explore data-centric methods to better manage the size of their seller base. Specifically, using a rich proprietary dataset, we examine drivers of user click propensity (UCP), focusing on a key issue for platform managers: is consumer response better when there are “endless aisles,” or should the number of sellers active at a given time (the “base of sellers”) be somehow limited in a category-specific manner?

Suggested Citation

  • Vaid, Shashank & Feinberg, Fred M., 2025. "Digital lead generation platforms: Rightsizing the seller base," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 101(4), pages 679-699.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:101:y:2025:i:4:p:679-699
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2025.06.007
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