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Chinese Journal of Management Science ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (8): 195-209.doi: 10.16381/j.cnki.issn1003-207x.2024.1677

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Comparison of Probabilistic Sales and Quick Response under Demand Uncertainty

Mingyang Zhang1,2, Lan Deng3(), Juliang Zhang4, Jiantao Guo5   

  1. 1.School of Economics and Management,Beijing Forestry University,Beijing 100083,China
    2.National Research Center for Educational Materials (Ecological Civilization Educational Materials),Beijing 100083,China
    3.Business School,Beijing Technology and Business University,Beijing 100048,China
    4.School of Economics and Management,Beijing Jiaotong University,Beijing 100044,China
    5.School of Management,Zhejiang University of Technology,Hangzhou 310023,China
  • Received:2024-09-20 Revised:2025-10-25 Online:2026-08-25 Published:2026-07-14
  • Contact: Lan Deng E-mail:landeng@bjtu.edu.cn

Abstract:

With the rapid development of the digital economy and consumers' growing pursuit of personalization, consumer demand has become more uncertain. To help retailers make inventory management and pricing strategies better, three ways to address this challenge are analyzed, that is, probabilistic selling, quick response, and a hybrid mode combining the two. The probabilistic selling mode refers to the retailer combining normally sold products into probabilistic products and offering consumers the opportunity to obtain one of them at a lower price. The quick response mode involves timely replenishment of out-of-stock products after the retailer observes the actual market demand. The two-stage sales model is constructed and the impact of different selling modes on retailers' decisions (e.g., order quantity and pricing) and profits is explored in traditional and strategic consumer markets, respectively. Firstly, the performance of the three modes in different market environments is compared. Secondly, the effects of strategic consumers on the retailer's optimal strategies are analyzed. The research shows that the probabilistic selling and hybrid mode generate more profits for retailers than the quick response mode in most cases. The hybrid mode outperforms when the quick response cost is low and the ordering cost is high; otherwise, the probabilistic selling mode is more advantageous. Moreover, the relative advantage of the probabilistic selling mode increases as market demand uncertainty rises under the high quick response cost.

Key words: probability selling, quick response, strategic consumers, uncertain demand, hotelling model

CLC Number: