Product Assortment Research Articles

The substantiation of market opportunities for domestic manufacturers in the segment of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheummatic medicines

Goal is an analysis of the assortment of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic medicines presented on the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine, and substantiation of market opportunities for domestic manufacturers. Materials and methods. The research materials are data from the State Register of Medicines of Ukraine and the online directory of medicines Compendium, publications of scientific and practically-oriented medical and pharmaceutical publications. The methods of office marketing research, comparative analysis, logical summarization of results, and the graphic method were used for achieving the goal. Results of the research. During the study, the structure of the assortment of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic medicines and the characteristic trends for the registration of new medicines on the domestic pharmaceutical market were determined. It has been established that in 2022, 463 trade names will be registered on the domestic pharmaceutical market. The assortment of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic medicines was analyzed by active substance, release form, producing countries, and the possibility of use in pediatrics. Prospective directions for updating the product assortment of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic medicines of domestic production have been determined. Conclusions. According to the results of the study, it was found that the group of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic medicines is represented by a wide assortment, however, the market is characterized by import dependence, which has a negative impact on the medical supply of certain categories of consumers. Prospective segments on the market of anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic medicines for domestic manufacturers have been established.

Data-driven personalized assortment optimization by considering customers’ value and their risk of churning: Case of online grocery shopping

Online shopping has enabled customers (shoppers) to access a wide variety of products from different online retailers (e-tailers). While beneficial to customers, it puts an extra burden on e-tailers to accurately predict the demand and optimize their inventory. Failure to do so will result in the e-tailer having an imbalanced inventory which could result in customer dissatisfaction and churn. In this paper, we propose a solution to this problem by using the notion of an e-tailer using personalized assortment planning to manage expected customer demand. Our proposed method (termed as Customized Assortment by considering customer Churn – CA&C) assists the e-tailer to identify customers who are at risk of churning, determine the assortment of products they need, and if these products are low in stock, then prevent them from being shown to the regular customers. Doing so, ensures that the assortment which is in limited stock is available for high valued at-risk customers since they could not replenish during the selling periods. CA&C uses mixed multinomial logit (MNL), survival analysis and dynamic programming (DP) techniques to estimate customer preferences, determine the risk of customer churn, the value of each customer and personalized assortment planning, respectively. Customers are grouped based on demographic information. In this study, we discuss how to use Customized Assortment as a lever not only to increase the revenue but also to maintain customers who are at risk of churning. We demonstrate the superiority of the CA&C policy, in saving at-risk customers while maintaining profitability compared to the two other policies, namely, the customized assortment (CA) and myopic decision policy by using a real-world data set.

Digitizing local search: An empirical analysis of mobile search behavior in offline shopping

Mobile devices have become increasingly prevalent in the context of consumers' offline search and shopping behavior by acting as personal decision support tools. This paper investigates the relationship between consumers' real-time location and their search behavior when shopping offline. We develop two location-specific measures based on mobile device usage to analyze the association between a consumer's real-time location and their search behavior: Present store distance and present store density. We apply these measures to a unique dataset from a leading mobile product information app that includes >13 million search sessions from 2.5 million consumers searching for 1.8 million different products. Our findings show that store distance and store density significantly influence consumers' mobile search behavior: detailed searches for product-specific attributes (search depth) increase as store distance decreases and store density increases, while the number of jointly searched products within the same category (search breadth) increases as store distance and density increase. We also find that durable products weaken the main effects of store distance and density on search depth but strengthen it for search breadth. These results provide insights for offline retailers to better understand location-specific consumer demands and improve their mobile in-app targeting and product assortment decisions.

중국 신선식품 신유통 플랫폼의 서비스 품질 속성이 이용의도에 미치는 영향

This study investigated the relationship between service quality, service-platform fit, relative advantage, complexity, attitude toward Chinese fresh food e-commerce platform, and behavioral intention, applying task-technology fit theory and innovation diffusion theory. To this end, an online survey was conducted in November 2022, a total of 435 responses were used for structural equation model analysis. The results were as follows. First, the service quality attributes of the Chinese fresh food e-commerce platform information―information quality, price, product assortment, delivery quality, and convenience―had positive effects on service-platform fit. Second, service-platform fit had a positive effect on relative advantage, but a negative effect on complexity. Third, relative advantage had a positive effect on attitude, and complexity had a negative effect on attitude. Finally, it was found that attitude toward fresh food e-commerce platform significantly affected behavioral intention. Based on these results, academic and practical implications were derived.

Organoleptic Analysis of Round Sponge Cake with the Addition of Protein-Containing Raw Materials

Topicality. A promising direction for improving the quality of existing flour confectionery technologies and attracting a large number of consumers to the restaurant industry establishments is the introduction of innovative products into their menu content. In order to increase the biological and nutritional value, as well as to improve the organoleptic properties of flour confectionery, the employees of enterprises usually use ordinary raw materials. This research offers the use of new raw materials in the technology of cooking flour confectionery products that contain proteins in their composition, and allow to increase the nutritional and biological value of the finished product. The aim of the article. The aim of this study is the creation of innovative products for hotel and restaurant complexes, made using protein-containing raw materials, the analysis of organoleptic properties of new raw materials and the finished product with its addition. Research methods. The method of compiling an organoleptic profile and a descriptive analysis of finished products was chosen for the organoleptic assessment of semi-finished sponge cakes with the addition of high protein content raw materials (from DSTU (National Standards of Ukraine ) ISO 6658). Results. Based on the results of research, the possibility of using plant raw materials (spirulina powder) and insect processing products (cricket flour) was established; organoleptic indicators of finished products quality and the concentration of adding raw materials to the sponge cake recipe were determined. Conclusions and discussion. The obtained research data showed that when using spirulina powder and cricket flour in the technology of the round sponge cake, it is advisable to add them in the amount of 10.0% for increasing the nutritional and biological value of dinished products. The practical significance of the obtained results consists in expanding the assortment of flour confectionery products with increased nutritional and biological value, which can be sold both in the trade network and in the restaurant business establishments, and presented by cakes, pastries, desserts.

Multi-Location Assortment Optimization with Drone and Human Courier Joint Delivery

This paper studies the constrained multi-location assortment optimization problem under joint delivery by drone and human courier. To maximize the revenue of the retailer, product assortment and last-mile delivery methods are configured simultaneously. To handle the joint delivery problem with product assortment, a mixed multinomial logit model is established to depict the customer purchase behavior. We also take into account the load capacity of drones and the delivery distance limit of drones and human couriers. To the best of our knowledge, the present paper is the first to study the assortment optimization problem considering joint delivery by drone and human courier. The problem is first formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model, which is then transformed into a conic quadratic mixed-integer model with McCormick inequalities (Conic + MC). In the numerical study, it is demonstrated that Conic + MC outperforms MILP as Conic + MC finds the optimal solution within 300 s, while MILP needs more than 600 s. Furthermore, several management insights are revealed for retailers regarding assortment planning when facing different kinds of product revenue structures, and advice is provided for online ordering platforms in terms of setting delivery limits.

Leisure or work? Shopping behavior in neighborhood stores in a pandemic context

Purpose This study aims to understand customer’s assessments of neighborhood stores during the COVID-19 pandemic through the influence of in-store environmental factors on patronage intention. Design/methodology/approach Online survey with 528 participants about the last shopping trip in neighborhood retail. The authors performed data analysis using structural equation modeling techniques. Findings High-perceived spatial crowding negatively influences shopping experience value perceptions, while human crowding influences patronage intentions through increased perceived hedonic value. Research limitations/implications Results suggest that purchase experience at well-known neighborhood stores during a sanitary crisis is becoming less convenience-oriented and a substitute for leisure activities due to social distancing. Practical implications The findings elucidate the social function of neighborhood convenience retailing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results emphasize that a pleasant shopping experience arising from a good relationship with shopkeepers and other customers is more influential on patronage intention than a good product assortment and store layout. Social implications This paper contributes to the survival of small neighborhood businesses during the financial crisis installed due to Covid-19 by helping businesses become more attractive to their consumers and competitive in the new context. Originality/value The combined context of the health crisis due to COVID-19 and neighborhood retail of an emerging country raises the need for tests to better understand established marketing theories. Based on this rationale, this work intends to replicate and extend selected previous findings to the new environment dictated by the pandemic.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF FOOD PROVISION FOR THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE

The modern development of Ukraine’s economy in the conditions of russia's military aggression, concerning the food market, which ensures the material and technical organization of food provision and the food products delivery, depends proportionally on the growth rates of food and fuel prices, the implementation of financial provisions by the State, inflation in the country, the need to follow clear planning methods and strategic forecasting to ensure quality food provision for the military men.
 To ensure high-quality nutrition of the military for the normal functioning of the body of servicemen, to increase the level of adaptation capabilities, there is the need to develop an assortment of new food products with a functional purpose. It will allow adjusting the intake of food substances and will contribute to the health preservation and increasing fighting capacity of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
 The socio-economic aspect of the organization of food provision for the military men in the updated food provision system is in the importance of providing each deployment point with food, drinking water, and material and technical support in a form close to NATO standards.

Nutritional, Antioxidant and Sensory Characteristics of Bread Enriched with Wholemeal Flour from Slovakian Black Oat Varieties

This paper is a report on the nutritional composition (dry matter, total protein, fat, crude fibre, ash, β-glucan content, and selected mineral compounds), antioxidant (antioxidant activity with the DPPH method and total anthocyanin content), physical properties, and sensory profiles of prepared bread enriched with black oat flours (variety Norik and Hucul) in amounts of 3, 6, and 9%. In the enriched breads (especially with 9% addition), there was a significantly higher (p < 0.05) content of protein (~13.00%), fat (~1.35%), crude fibre (~0.55%), ash (~1.25%), and β-glucan (~0.17%) with comparison to the control bread (12.01%; 0.87%; 0.47%; 0.92%; 0.07%, respectively). Among mineral compounds, the amount of manganese (~73.00 mg/100 g), iron (~45.00 mg/100 g), and calcium (~40.00 mg/100 g) were the highest in enriched breads with 9% of oat flours. In the case of antioxidant potential and total anthocyanin content, the same tendency was observed, and the values obtained were the highest in the case of 9% addition, especially with the Hucul variety (1.98 mg TEAC/g; 21.01 µg/g). The sensory properties of the prepared enriched breads were overall evaluated as good with the best score in smell, taste, colour, and properties of bread crumb (soft and flexible) compared to the control sample. Consumption of enriched breads with black oat can also increase the assortment of bakery products in markets, which is now popular for consumers.

Using of nontraditional raw materials in beer production

Given the highly competitive environment of brewing industry today, businesses need to constantly develop new products of high quality and nutritional value that meet consumer and sanitary requirements. Therefore, the production of beer-based mixed beverages using nontraditional raw plant materials is gaining popularity. It is quite possible to produce these types of beverages at brewing facilities of Almaty and the Almaty region since it presents a favorable climate to develop agricultural businesses producing fruits and berries and has a large potential for using wild crops. Using of these plants will keep the enterprise economically viable by expanding the assortment of products and increasing the share of low-alcohol beverages in total production. In this study, the purpose is to select the optimum method for the production of special beer based on apple and grape juice. The choice of these particular types of raw plant materials was due to their wide availability and suitability for juice processing. The methods of introducing juice into young beer after the post-fermentation stage, as well as the introduction of fermented juice into young beer, were applied in the production of a mixed beverage. The organoleptic, physicochemical properties of the finished beer made using two methods have been studied. As a result, the optimal beer to juice ratio of 70:30 was selected according to the first method. This method resulted in the most balanced combination in terms of organoleptic characteristics, but colloidal instability was observed. For the second method of special beer production, the Oettinger Pils yeast race was used for fermentation of the juice base that was introduced into young beer after the post-fermentation stage. The resulting beverage at the 50:50 ratio of beer to juice was highly stable and had the highest organoleptic and physicochemical qualities.

Managing Customer Search: Assortment Planning for a Subscription Box Service

Problem definition: This paper focuses on subscription box services in which a provider selects the assortment of products to include in the box by taking into account the customer’s preferences. Customers interested in purchasing a product choose between engaging in active search (i.e., visit physical stores) or subscribing to a box delivery service. We study the subscription box company’s problem of selecting the optimal contents of the box to maximize expected revenue (by driving demand from customers). Methodology/results: Because a product may be both available at a store and included in the box, the assortment in a box affects the set of stores that a customer would visit under active search and, therefore, the customer’s subscription decision. We model such interaction by applying a cross-nested logit framework that correlates the contents in the box with the products available at the stores. We find that the box should include a collection of popular subsets of the store products for customers that experience a relatively low or relatively high search cost. If a preview of the box is available, we find that, for customers with intermediate values of the search cost, it may be optimal to include a so-called utility loss leader, that is, a product with relatively low valuation, to entice customers to subscribe to the box delivery service and therefore increase the likelihood of a sale. We use rational expectations to model a setting in which a preview of the box is not available. In such cases, it is never optimal to include a utility loss leader in the box. Managerial implications: Our model captures the impact of product overlap across different shopping channels on customer choice and the subscription box company assortment decision. We derive insights on how the subscription service provider should determine the contents of the box in anticipation of the customer’s search behavior. We also examine the decision of offering exclusive products in addition to branded items. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2023.1204 .

Investigation of the biochemical activity of starter compositions enriched with propionic acid bacteria on various raw materials

Currently, there is a need to develop an assortment of low-lactose or lactose-free dairy products and plant-based products due to an increase in the number of consumers with lactase deficiency, allergic to cow's milk components, cholesterol problems, etc. For the development of plant and lactose-free bioproducts, it is possible to use various starter cultures enriched with probiotics. Various starter cultures were used in the work, propionic acid bacteria were used as a probiotic. The objects were lactose-free milk and vegetable bases: rice milk, oat milk and coconut milk; the control was selected milk. A comparative analysis of the fermentation process of various compositions of starter cultures enriched with propionic acid bacteria on various raw materials was carried out. The duration of fermentation of vegetable raw materials is 8-10 hours, the acid-forming activity of combined starter cultures is quite high. The number of viable cells of lactic acid and propionic acid bacteria in the obtained bioproducts has a high value and amounts to 107-108 K.O.E. /cm3. This confirms that the nutrient medium for the cultivation of selected starter compositions is favorable, the microflora of the starter composition develops harmoniously. Lactic acid microorganisms and propionic acid bacteria make it possible to obtain fermented biological products with a variety of taste characteristics inherent in a certain type of raw material. According to the results of the research, the developed starter compositions meet the requirements for starter cultures, have valuable technological properties that allow expanding the range of plant and lactose-free biological products.

INFLUENCE OF THE ASSORTMENT POLICY ON THE FORMATION OF THE FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE ENTERPRISE

In the course of the conducted research, an integral model was proposed that can be used to form an optimal assortment policy aimed at achieving the planned financial results of the enterprise. The integrated model allows for dynamic analysis of the relationship between the range of products, the volume of production, operating leverage and the financial results of the enterprise obtained from the sale of each type of manufactured product. Stimulating measures for the sale of products and management of receivables are proposed, which are developed on the basis of individual flexible pricing for the company's products. Price discounts to stimulate product sales have been determined and measures have been proposed to shorten the repayment terms of receivables, the expediency of attracting loan funds to expand the financing of operational activities based on the use of financial leverage has been analyzed. The use of financial leverage as a management tool provides an opportunity to form an effective capital structure for a certain range of products. A mechanism for forming the optimal assortment of products is proposed, which allows taking into account the influence of internal and external factors on the financial results of the enterprise. Such a mechanism involves conducting research using the method of successive approximations, by choosing the optimal combination of selected factors to obtain the planned financial result in the future. The created mechanism involves the use of an integral model that allows establishing the necessary relationships between the structural divisions of the enterprise. The integrated model includes the modules necessary for the implementation and functioning of the mechanism by which the optimal assortment of the company's products is formed. Thus, the defined set of external and internal factors in combination with organizational production planning provides an opportunity to form the most acceptable range of products for the enterprise and allows to forecast the financial results of the enterprise and control their dynamics under the influence of these factors in the planning period.

A tractable online learning algorithm for the multinomial logit contextual bandit

In this paper, we consider the contextual variant of the MNL-Bandit problem. More specifically, we consider a dynamic set optimization problem, where a decision-maker offers a subset (assortment) of products to a consumer and observes the response in every round. Consumers purchase products to maximize their utility. We assume that a set of attributes describe the products, and the mean utility of a product is linear in the values of these attributes. We model consumer choice behavior using the widely used Multinomial Logit (MNL) model and consider the decision makers problem of dynamically learning the model parameters while optimizing cumulative revenue over the selling horizon T. Though this problem has recently attracted considerable attention, many existing methods often involve solving an intractable non-convex optimization problem. Their theoretical performance guarantees depend on a problem-dependent parameter which could be prohibitively large. In particular, current algorithms for this problem have regret bounded by O(κdT), where κ is a problem-dependent constant that may have an exponential dependency on the number of attributes, d. In this paper, we propose an optimistic algorithm and show that the regret is bounded by O(dT+κ), significantly improving the performance over existing methods. Further, we propose a convex relaxation of the optimization step, which allows for tractable decision-making while retaining the favorable regret guarantee. We also demonstrate that our algorithm has robust performance for varying κ values through numerical experiments.

The pharmaceutical market of medicines containing retinoids for the treatment of psoriasis in Ukraine, Poland and Kazakhstan

The aim of the work is to analyze the use of medicines containing retinoids for the treatment of psoriasis on the example of Ukraine, Poland and Kazakhstan.
 Materials and methods. The object of the study was antipsoriatic drugs, which are used for the treatment of psoriasis of local and systemic action, and are included in the official register of drugs of the studied countries. Regulatory documents of the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine were involved in the analysis of the use of medicines for the treatment of psoriasis in Ukraine.
 The analysis of the availability of the considered medicines on pharmaceutical markets was carried out according to the data of the official websites of the State Register of Medicines (Ukraine), the Register of Medicines of Poland (Republic of Poland), data of the National Center for Expertise of Medicines and Medical Devices of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Republic of Kazakhstan).
 The following methods of logical and meaningful formulation of the problem, office marketing research, content analysis of publications in scientific and practically oriented medical and pharmaceutical publications, comparative analysis, tabular and graphic means of visual presentation of the obtained data were used in the work.
 The results. According to the results of the obtained data, an assortment of medicinal products containing retinoids of the studied countries, used for the treatment of psoriasis, was determined. The fate of domestic production in the countries was analyzed, the main active components from the group of retinoids used for the treatment of psoriasis in preparations of systemic and local action were updated.
 Conclusions. The role of retinoids in the treatment of psoriasis in Ukraine, Poland and Kazakhstan and the need to develop modern domestic medicines containing retinoids for the treatment of psoriasis have been determined

A Missing Site of Black Beauty History: The Black Beauty Supply Store

With(in) retail spaces, Black Americans operate in a space with historical ties to inequality, dehumanization, and exclusion. This qualitative study situates the Black beauty supply store within these political and culturally relevant histories. Millennial perceptions of beauty, relationship to their hair, and the history of Black beauty supply stores are briefly covered in the literature review. Black feminist thought and Black feminist geographies informed the data analysis of interview transcripts from 20 millennial Black women. The findings reveal that millennial Black women shop at the Black beauty supply store due to convenience and the variety in product assortment. Yet, the in-store surveillance and assumptions of criminality affect their psyche, resulting in disengagement from the store. Participants realized that fully satisfying beauty retail experiences do not exist for Black women. Despite this, millennial Black women continue to return to the store where they embrace and cultivate Black stylistic and beauty innovations.

Advancing the marketing‐operations interface in omnichannel retail

Advancing the marketing‐operations interface in omnichannel retail

The range of semi-finished fish products and the assortment policy of retail trade enterprises in Moscow for this commodity subcategory

The purpose of this article is to determine the indicators of the commercial assortment of fi sh semi-finished products and to identify the main directions of the assortment policy. It has been established that the assortment of semi-fi nished fi sh products in the examined stores is characterized as developed with a moderate degree of rationality at METRO and low at Perekrestok and Lenta. It has been found that the assortment of METRO semi-finished fi sh products is distinguished by the greatest completeness, depth, stability, and rationality. The values of these assortment indicators in Perekrestok and Lenta are much lower.

Trade‐offs between operational performance and sales in a retail environment: The simultaneous impact of product variety on inventory levels, product availability, and sales

AbstractLarger product assortments have been found to have both positive and negative impacts on firms that offer them. More product variety allows firms to increase sales by either selling to a larger customer base or by encouraging current customers to purchase more frequently and in greater quantities. However, more product variety is also associated with lower operational performance. In this research, we investigate the impact of product variety on firm performance in a retail setting. Using data gathered from a large retailer over a 32‐week period for 12 product categories, we develop a multiple stage regression model and find that the effects of product variety on inventory levels, stockout rates and sales differ across more hedonic and more utilitarian product categories. Furthermore, we find that the product variety decision itself is moderated by the hedonic or utilitarian nature of the product category. Implications of the findings for theory and retail management are discussed.

Assortment policy of retail trade organizations in Moscow in the "Semi-finished products" product category

The article presents the results of a survey of the commercial assortment of semi-finished products in the stores of three retail chains in Moscow: Auchan, Dixy, and Perekrestok. The following assortment indicators are presented and analyzed: the completeness and basic depth, actual and corresponding coefficients, the coefficients of stability, novelty, rationality, and harmony, as well as the structure of the type and brand assortment. It has been established that the assortment of semi-finished products of the surveyed stores can be classified as expanded with a moderate degree of rationality. The highest indicators of the range of semi-finished products are found in the Auchan hypermarket.