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Influence of Soldout Products on Consumer Choice

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  • Ge, Xin
  • Messinger, Paul R.
  • Li, Jin

Abstract

Consumers often face situations in which information about soldout products is still present in the decision context. This paper demonstrates that the presence of soldout products in the decision environment can prompt consumers to purchase available options and decrease choice deferral. This effect can be explained by two underlying decision processes. First, soldout products may create a sense of urgency for consumers to expedite their purchases, which the authors call an immediacy effect. Second, soldout products may enhance the perceived attractiveness of products similar to the soldout products, which the authors refer to as an informational cascades effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Ge, Xin & Messinger, Paul R. & Li, Jin, 2009. "Influence of Soldout Products on Consumer Choice," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 274-287.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:85:y:2009:i:3:p:274-287
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2009.05.009
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    8. Ram Rao & Ozge Turut, 2019. "New Product Preannouncement: Phantom Products and the Osborne Effect," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(8), pages 3776-3799, August.
    9. Hübner, Alexander H. & Kuhn, Heinrich, 2012. "Retail category management: State-of-the-art review of quantitative research and software applications in assortment and shelf space management," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 199-209, April.
    10. Henkel, Laura & Toporowski, Waldemar, 2021. "Hurry up! The effect of pop-up stores’ ephemerality on consumers’ intention to visit," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    11. Marcel Lichters & Marko Sarstedt & Bodo Vogt, 2015. "On the practical relevance of the attraction effect: A cautionary note and guidelines for context effect experiments," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, June.
    12. Yunhui Huang & Kai H. Lim & Zhijie Lin & Shunping Han, 2019. "Large Online Product Catalog Space Indicates High Store Price: Understanding Customers’ Overgeneralization and Illogical Inference," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 963-979, September.
    13. Bianchi-Aguiar, Teresa & Hübner, Alexander & Carravilla, Maria Antónia & Oliveira, José Fernando, 2021. "Retail shelf space planning problems: A comprehensive review and classification framework," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 289(1), pages 1-16.
    14. William M. Hedgcock & Raghunath Singh Rao & Haipeng (Allan) Chen, 2016. "Choosing to Choose: The Effects of Decoys and Prior Choice on Deferral," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(10), pages 2952-2976, October.
    15. Tian, Jing & Chen, Rong & Xu, Xiaobing, 2022. "A good way to boost sales? Effects of the proportion of sold-out options on purchase behavior," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 156-169.
    16. Das, Gopal & Mukherjee, Amaradri & Smith, Ronn J., 2018. "The Perfect Fit: The Moderating Role of Selling Cues on Hedonic and Utilitarian Product Types," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 203-216.
    17. Hsuan-Hsuan Ku & Chien-Chih Kuo & Wei-Luen Fang & Ya-Wen Yu, 2014. "The impact of retail out-of-stock options on preferences: The role of consumers’ desire for assimilation versus differentiation," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 53-66, March.
    18. Hoang, Dong & Breugelmans, Els, 2023. "“Sorry, the product you ordered is out of stock”: Effects of substitution policy in online grocery retailing," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 26-45.
    19. Marcel Lichters & Marko Sarstedt & Bodo Vogt, 2015. "On the practical relevance of the attraction effect: A cautionary note and guidelines for context effect experiments," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, June.
    20. Kirk, Colleen P. & Rifkin, Laura S., 2020. "I'll trade you diamonds for toilet paper: Consumer reacting, coping and adapting behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 124-131.
    21. Huang, Yunhui & Zhang, Y. Charles, 2016. "The Out-of-Stock (OOS) Effect on Choice Shares of Available Options," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 13-24.
    22. Diels, Jana Luisa & Wiebach, Nicole & Hildebrandt, Lutz, 2013. "The impact of promotions on consumer choices and preferences in out-of-stock situations," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 587-598.
    23. Guney, Begum & Richter, Michael, 2015. "An experiment on aspiration-based choice," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 512-526.
    24. Ezhil Kumar, Madhumitha & Sharma, Dheeraj P. & Tapar, Archit V., 2021. "Out-of-stock justifications and consumers’ behavioral outcomes– exploring the role of product type and sales level information in out-of-stock situations," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    25. Islam, Tahir & Pitafi, Abdul Hameed & Arya, Vikas & Wang, Ying & Akhtar, Naeem & Mubarik, Shujaat & Xiaobei, Liang, 2021. "Panic buying in the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country examination," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

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