Consumer willingness to accept product substitutions in online orders in grocery retail: implications for fulfilment operations

Rui Sousa*, Elliot Rabinovich, Ricardo Ribeiro

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

Many omnichannel grocery retailers fulfill online orders from store inventory, facing challenges from post-purchase stockouts. To address this, retailers often offer product substitutions from available inventory. This paper identifies drivers of consumers’ willingness to accept such substitutions. Using data from a field study, we find that willingness is shaped by consumer-level factors (e.g., purchasing power) and order-level characteristics (e.g., share of heavy products in the order). We offer implications for the research and practice of online fulfilment operations.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages6
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2025
EventEurOMA 2025: 32nd International Annual Conference of the European Operations Management Association: Operations Management opening to multi-disciplinarity in a time of grand challenges - University Politecnico of Milan, Milan, Italy
Duration: 13 Jun 202518 Jun 2025
Conference number: 32

Conference

ConferenceEurOMA 2025: 32nd International Annual Conference of the European Operations Management Association
Abbreviated titleEurOMA 2025
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityMilan
Period13/06/2518/06/25

Keywords

  • Retail operations
  • Service operations
  • Online fulfilment

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