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Retail

See the latest research, articles, and faculty on the Retail Area of Expertise at Columbia Business School.

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Latest on Retail

Artificial Intelligence, Data and Business Analytics, Data/Big Data, AI and Transformative Tech, Digital IQ, Marketing, Technology
Date
April 08, 2025
A woman shopping in a grocery store
Artificial Intelligence, Data and Business Analytics, Data/Big Data, AI and Transformative Tech, Digital IQ, Marketing, Technology

How Gen AI Is Transforming Market Research

Generative AI is revolutionizing market research by offering unprecedented ways to understand customers, assess competitors, and extend data-driven decision-making organizationally. Research with pioneering companies reveals four key opportunities: gen AI supports existing practices by making them faster and more scalable; replaces traditional methods with synthetic data that can match conventional results with greater accuracy; fills insight gaps by providing evidence for decisions previously based on intuition; and creates innovative applications like digital twins for testing customer interactions. Survey data shows 45% of market researchers already use gen AI, with most employing it to analyze transcripts and data. While acknowledging limitations around bias and representativeness, this framework helps business leaders navigate gen AI's transformative potential in gathering customer and market insights more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
  • Read more about How Gen AI Is Transforming Market Research about How Gen AI Is Transforming Market Research
Distinguished Speaker Series
Date
April 07, 2025
Randy Garutti, left, with Jorge Guzman, Gantcher Associate Professor of Business at CBS.
Distinguished Speaker Series

Randy Garutti on Leading Shake Shack: Scale Smart, Stay Authentic

During an event hosted by the School’s Distinguished Speaker Series, the former CEO shared how Shake Shack grew from a single hot dog cart into a global brand — without compromising quality, culture, or community.
  • Read more about Randy Garutti on Leading Shake Shack: Scale Smart, Stay Authentic about Randy Garutti on Leading Shake Shack: Scale Smart, Stay Authentic

Retail Faculty

Columbia Business School

Nicole DeHoratius

Professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of Business
Decision, Risk, and Operations Division

CBS Faculty Research on Retail

Functional Alibi

Authors
Anat Keinan, Ran Kivetz, and Oded Netzer
Date
October 1, 2016
Format
Journal Article
Journal
Journal of Academy of Consumer Research
Spending money on hedonic luxuries often seems wasteful, irrational, and even immoral. We propose that adding a small utilitarian feature to a luxury product can serve as a <em>functional alibi</em>, justifying the indulgent purchase and reducing indulgence guilt. We demonstrate that consumers tend to inflate the value, and usage frequency, of utilitarian features when they are attached to hedonic luxuries.
Read More about Functional Alibi

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