Demand information and consumer valuation uncertainty of new products have significant impacts on both consumers’ purchasing behavior and retail operations. To address the information transparency for new products launching, this study examines the profitability of omni-channel pre-ordering (i.e., compared to traditional online pre-ordering), a new advance selling strategy for retailers whereby consumers can solve product value uncertainty first and then decide whether to purchase in advance. Our analysis finds that advance selling is not always an appropriate choice for the retailer, but is contingent on related costs (e.g., losses from the costs of returns for retailers and consumers and the hassle cost of solving uncertain value for consumers). Specifically, only when the retailer’s return cost is relatively low and the hassle cost of solving uncertain value is relatively high should the retailer adopt the traditional online pre-ordering strategy. However, when the hassle cost of solving uncertain value is relatively low, the omni-channel pre-ordering strategy is more profitable for the retailer. By contrast, advance selling should not be offered when the retailer’s return cost and the hassle cost of solving uncertain value are both high. Next, we derive the optimal advance selling price and ordering quantity for the regular season for different strategies. Our results reveal that the optimal price varies along with the costs involved in the consumer’s purchasing choice. Finally, we find that the retailer is more likely to order a smaller quantity when the traditional online pre-ordering option is used.

中文翻译：

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为全渠道零售商提供信息的最佳提前​​销售策略

新产品的需求信息和消费者估值的不确定性对消费者的购买行为和零售经营都有显着影响。为了解决新产品发布的信息透明度问题，本研究考察了全渠道预购（即与传统在线预购相比）的盈利能力，这是一种针对零售商的新提前销售策略，消费者可以首先解决产品价值的不确定性，然后然后决定是否提前购买。我们的分析发现，提前销售并不总是零售商的合适选择，而是取决于相关成本（例如，零售商和消费者的退货成本损失以及为消费者解决不确定价值的麻烦成本）。具体来说，只有当零售商的退货成本较低且解决不确定值的麻烦成本较高时，零售商才应采用传统的在线预购策略。然而，当解决不确定价值的麻烦成本相对较低时，全渠道预购策略对零售商来说更有利可图。相比之下，当零售商的退货成本和解决不确定价值的麻烦成本都很高时，不应提供提前销售。接下来，我们推导出不同策略下常规赛的最优预售价格和订货量。我们的结果表明，最优价格随着消费者购买选择所涉及的成本而变化。最后，