Technical Note: Should an Online Seller Post Inventory Scarcity Messages?
研究了在线卖家发布库存稀缺信息对销售的影响，发现仅对零售利润率极高或极低的产品有利，对中等利润率产品则因额外库存成本超过利润而不利。
ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that the sales rate of a product would increase immediately after a seller posts a “scarcity message” to alert potential consumers that there are only a few units left in inventory. Knowing this effect, should an online seller post scarcity messages? In this technical note, we develop and analyze a variant of the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model to capture this effect in an environment involving the sale of slow moving items. Our result suggests that, in general, posting scarcity messages is beneficial only for products with high or low retail margins. Scarcity messages will not be beneficial for products with moderate retail margins because the resulting extra ordering/inventory cost per unit of time outweighs the resulting extra gross profit per unit of time for these products.