91�� News - Vivek Astvansh

Canadian boycotts tied to tariffs fuel decline in U.S. tourism

webfull — Wed, 13 May 2026 14:10:51 +0000

Canadian travel to major U.S. cities has fallen sharply, with a new University of Toronto report finding a 42% decline in visits and drops of up to 65% in some destinations. The downturn follows new U.S. tariffs and escalating rhetoric toward Canada, which sparked widespread boycotts by Canadian travelers and consumers.

Published: 13 May 2026

After Supreme Court ruling, Trump administration will find alternative ways to impose tariffs

webfull — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:50:15 +0000

In a ruling on February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was illegal. The ruling could be good news for companies that paid tariffs over the past year, but consumers who paid higher prices for tariffed products aren’t likely to get any money back, according to Vivek Astvansh, an Associate Professor at 91�� Desautels.

Published: 3 March 2026

Black Friday and Boxing Day sales have become a months-long discount season

webfull — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:58:25 +0000

Black Friday and Boxing Day are marketed as single‑day events with dramatic price drops, yet the reality is that these sales now stretch well beyond one day. These events have slowly transformed from a one-day bargain bonanza into a long season of discounted prices.

Published: 14 January 2026

Monopolistic ticket selling and a lack of reseller regulation is pushing up ticket prices

webfull — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 19:14:39 +0000

Concertgoers are increasingly facing a seemingly impossible battle for tickets, often losing out to resellers who quickly inflate prices. Marketing and analytics professor Vivek Astvansh argues this stems from a structural failure making live entertainment unaffordable for the average fan. Astvansh attributes the sharp price increase to three factors: demand significantly outpacing supply; the ticketing market being a near-monopoly, with Ticketmaster (owned by Live Nation) controlling 70% of sales; and the absence of laws regulati

Published: 27 November 2025

Extended Black Friday sales signal changing consumer habits

webfull — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 21:09:25 +0000

Black Friday is no longer just a single day, and Windsor, Ontario retailers are feeling the shift. Devonshire Mall has already seen a jump in foot traffic as stores roll out discounts well ahead of the traditional shopping event. Marketing and analytics professor Vivek Astvansh says the change reflects a broader trend in consumer behavior.

Published: 25 November 2025

Federal budget’s deficit spending is lower than some projections

webfull — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:00:25 +0000

Canada’s economy has faced a challenging year. Growth projections are down, yet the federal government’s 2025 budget commits billions to offset U.S. tariffs and adapt to shifting global trade dynamics.

The deficit for this fiscal year is expected to exceed $78 billion—but it could have been worse. “I was expecting that the deficit would move into 100 billions of dollars,” says Vivek Astvansh a Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics at 91�� Desautels.

Published: 14 November 2025

Customer service chatbots are everywhere, but people prefer human agents to deal with some issues

webfull — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:32:26 +0000

The use of customer service chatbots has grown rapidly. Maybe a little too rapidly, according to Vivek Astvansh, an Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics at 91�� Desautels. The worldwide chatbot market has expanded from US$370 million in 2017 to US$2.2 billion last year, but customers are not always satisfied with the service they provide. “When shoppers want sensitive or precise information, they seek human agents, not chatbots,”says Astvansh.

Published: 17 September 2025

Independent fashion designers likely to lose out in SSENSE bankruptcy

webfull — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 17:07:09 +0000

In a bankruptcy filing in late August, the Montreal-based luxury retailer SSENSE cited a liquidity crisis brought on partly by the unpredictable tariff regime in the United States. At the time of the filing, some independent designers who work with the company said they were owed tens of thousands of dollars, but hadn’t been paid in months. But Vivek Astvansh wouldn’t recommend taking legal action.

Published: 10 September 2025

Buy now, pay later loans promise to boost purchasing power—but can come with strings

webfull — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 19:00:31 +0000

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) programs allow consumers to pay for items in instalments. And the market for these financial products has been growing at a 12% annual rate, and is projected to reach $7.5 billion in 2025. Fintech companies like Afterpay, Flexiti and Sezzle allow users to break down major purchases into more manageeable monthly or quarterly payments.

Published: 4 September 2025

Despite rapid rise of AI chatbots in customer service, customers prefer human agents

webfull — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:48:10 +0000

If it feels like customer service chatbots are everywhere, it’s because they are. The worldwide chatbot market has grown from US$370 million in 2017 to about US$2.2 billion in 2024. But customers trust human customer service representatives more than they trust AI chatbots, writes Vivek Astvansh, an Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics at 91�� Desautels.

Published: 29 August 2025

91������ News - Vivek Astvansh