This paper is concerned with how retailers, supermarkets in particular, communicate price discounts and use unadvertised specials. A common practice for supermarkets is to communicate price deals on some products through newspaper advertisements, while communicating discounts on other products...

Increased sales due to promotions could be at the expense of competitors: such sales come from consumers with relatively weak brand preferences. However, increased sales from brand loyal consumers could well cannibalize sales of the promoted brand. An unintended consequence of promotions is that...

Firms that must choose capacity in advance of observing uncertain or time varying demand sometimes have more inventory than their full price customers will consume. By pricing a limited quantity at below market clearing rates, “rationed promotions” allow sellers to recruit enough excess...