Does it pay to withdraw marketing metrics disclosure? An empirical study of retailers’ cessation of monthly comparable-store sales

Abstract

The marketing literature shows the necessity of an increased disclosure of marketing metrics. However, very few studies have examined its importance from a reverse lens—the result of withdrawing disclosure is scant. This study provides a new perspective by examining whether and when the withdrawal of marketing metrics affects the shareholder value of a focal firm. We center on one voluntarily disclosed marketing metric: monthly comparable store sales (CSS) in the retail industry. We conduct an event study to analyze the monthly CSS cessation announcements of 94 chain retailers. The empirical results show that withdrawal events do not necessarily decrease retailers’ abnormal returns. The decrease or increase in abnormal returns depends on external and internal factors. Retailers facing lower industry competition and higher forecast errors experience lower abnormal returns. However, those with less diversified customer bases, better retailing outcomes, and fewer intangible resources experience higher abnormal returns for withdrawal decisions.