Breaking Down the Supply Chain Breakdown

Here’s Why Your Xbox Might Not Come in Time for the Holidays

Rescuing Christmas from the supply-chain Grinch won’t be easy. To make it happen, policymakers and business leaders need to take an expansive approach, paying attention to logistics beyond our nation’s clogged-up harbors.

Take what’s happening in Southern California: On October 19, 100 container ships were scattered along the shoreline for at least 20 miles as they waited to unload at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

It was an unprecedented logjam. A single ship carrying 19,100 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containers can haul 156 million pairs of shoes or …

by Christopher S. Tang | November 4, 2021

Could COVID-19 Force Us to Confront Our Consumption Problem?

The Pandemic Changed Us—And We Don’t Have to Return to Old Shopping Habits

by J.B. MacKinnon | June 28, 2021

It never seems to be the right time to talk about our consumption problem. When the economy is strong, we’re told that slowing our ever-expanding appetite for goods, services, and …

Why Are Credit Card Bills So Incomprehensible?

Attention Holiday Shoppers: Even a Marketing Professor Has Trouble Figuring Out the Optimal Amount to Pay

By Hal Hershfield | December 16, 2015

As we head into the holidays, chances are you’ll be using your credit card a lot more than normal. Americans love their plastic—but not the monthly bills that come with.

The …

Why the Supermarket Was Born in Los Angeles

The City Has Long Been a Diverse Laboratory Where Retailers Study Consumer Behavior

By Benjamin Davison | November 17, 2015

In 1926, Los Angeles grocer George Ralphs opened the first supermarket. His property diverted from many of standards of the time, offering off-street parking, a selection of fresh meats and …

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