1848. Spoiling a Surprise to Reduce Spoilage? The Impact of Partial Disclosure of Surprise Bags Contents
Invited abstract in session TB-47: Avoiding Food Waste, stream Retail Operations.
Tuesday, 10:30-12:00Room: Parkinson B08
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Ilgin Efe Senyuva
|
| Operations Planning & Accounting Control, Eindhoven University of Technology | |
| 2. | Bram De Moor
|
| Research Center for Operations Management, KU Leuven | |
| 3. | Zumbul Atan
|
| Technical University of Eindhoven |
Abstract
Surprise bags — opaque bundles of perishable products sold at a fraction of their regular price — are widely used by retailers to generate revenue from near-expired items and reduce spoilage. Traditionally, retailers only disclose the discounted price and the original retail value of these bags, leaving consumers unaware of the specific contents. The composition of surpise bags may significantly influence consumer satisfaction. A well-balanced bag with complementary items may be preferred over a higher-value bag that contains a single product or substitutes. Dissatisfied consumers may ultimately discard undesired items, transferring store waste to households and reducing long-term customer retention. To maintain sustainable revenue streams and effectively minimize waste, retailers must ensure consumer satisfaction. If the consumer does not make a completely blind choice, and has an idea about the contents of the bag, the informed choice will lead to a higher satisfaction and a better match between the consumer and the retailer. This study explores the impact of disclosing partial information about the contents of surprise bags, thereby improving the match between consumer preferences and available products. We compare retailer profitability and waste reduction against a scenario where no information is revealed and analyze the conditions under which disclosure is beneficial — or not.
Keywords
- Inventory
- OR in Sustainability
Status: accepted
Back to the list of papers