Some characterizations of stockpiling behavior under uncertainty

The objective of this note is to gain new theoretical insights into stockpiling phenomena. The model used to derive our results envisions consumers as responding optimally to uncertainties in the promotion environment. We show that, all else being equal, consumers will stockpile a promoted product more intensely: (i) the lower the availability of deal opportunities, (ii) the smaller the expected deal discount, and (iii) the lower the uncertainty about the deal/regular price, provided that dealing occurs with high/low frequency.