Business & Entrepreneurship

Even before COVID-19 and resulting shutdowns created gridlock for some global supply chains, the assortment at many neighborhood supermarkets was dwindling. The cause was not a lack of supply, though, but rather a lack of demand created by a widening income gap in the U.S., according to a new study involving a Washington University in St. Louis researcher.

The economy and coronavirus pandemic were two of the top issues for voters in the 2020 election, according to exit poll surveys. Notably, 52% of voters said controlling the pandemic was more important, even if it hurts the economy. But what if we didn’t have to choose?

New Olin Business School research suggests that if consumers view a vaccine more like a curative to the epidemic, rather than as a preventative for the self, they will be more receptive toward it.

New research shows marketers could win more customers by offering financial incentives to customers’ friends — providing a reputational boost to customers — than “selfish” financial incentives to customers. A Washington University in St. Louis marketing professor was a co-author on the study.

The U.S. sports blackout because of the pandemic has left at least a $12 billion crater in the national economy. And even if stadiums and arenas light up anew soon, they won’t look the same. A sports business expert from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis doesn’t expect the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball to welcome fans if/when they return in 2020, for example.

In business, simple loyalty programs can strongly increase customer retention, Washington University in St. Louis researchers have found. These Olin Business School scientists studied a loyalty program at a chain of men’s hair salons, collecting data on more than 5,500 customers. Under the program, for every $100 a customer spends, he gets a $5-off coupon.

As a social psychologist who studies marketing in general and gift-giving in particular, I’ve seen both the joys and the distresses of gift giving firsthand. The pressures involved can be so intense that I’ve even found that about 70% of American adults have at least one relationship in which they’ve intentionally stopped exchanging gifts at all.

Song Yao, associate professor of marketing in Olin Business School, and researchers from UCLA and Northwestern studied the effects of Philadelphia’s soda tax, which took effect in January 2017.

‘Tis the season to shop, and who better to offer advice than a scientist who has studied gift-giving? With the holiday shopping season in full swing, Olin Business School marketing expert Elanor Williams offers four suggestions to keep in mind when buying gifts.

The fifth annual Olin Sports Business Summit convenes Oct. 18 in Knight Hall’s Emerson Auditorium. The 2019 lineup features numerous presentations from industry executives at professional basketball, football and soccer teams.