To be present online is seen, in recent time, as a necessity for fashion companies in order to sustain on the market. Since online shopping lack the opportunity for customers to try on purchased products it entails a risk of experiencing dissatisfaction when orders are received. Through this, customers demand determinants that ensure safety within the purchase. Different kinds of customers might, however, possess various motivations for purchasing, stressing the requirements for variety in service value deliverance. Therefore, purchase and return policies comprise a significant importance in order to create attractiveness towards customers. The problem, though, consists of the balance between offering lenient purchase and return policies, to create competitiveness, but still considering excessive purchasing and depreciation of product value. There are several determinants affecting the shopping experience online. These were combined, with components of an online purchase, in a theoretical model to empirically test the key conceptual ideas embedded in the consumption system perspective. Further, primary data was conducted through company interviews and focus group interviews, with the aim to explore customer behavior online. Findings, from interviews compared with secondary data, analyzed through the theoretical model, indicates that the right of withdrawal and its additional components such as charges, time and inconvenience is interpreted differently by different customers. Further, it is up to e-tailers to discover the benefits and drawbacks of different policies in order to detect the most suited policy for them and their customers.

This thesis studies issues in auctions and contests. The seller of an object and the organizer of a contest have many instruments to improve the revenue of the auction or the efficiency of the contest. The three essays in this dissertation shed light on these issues. Chapter 2 investigates how a refund policy affects a buyer's strategic behavior by characterizing the equilibria of a second-price auction with a linear refund policy. I find that a generous refund policy induces buyers to bid aggressively. I also examine the optimal mechanism design problem when buyers only have private initial estimates of their valuations and may privately learn of shocks that affect their valuations later. When all buyers are \emph{ex-ante} symmetric, this optimal selling mechanism can be implemented by a first-price or second-price auction with a refund policy. Chapter 3 investigates how information revelation rules affect the existence and the efficiency of equilibria in two-round elimination contests. I establish that there exists no symmetric separating equilibrium under the full revelation rule and find that the non-existence result is very robust. I then characterize a partially efficient separating equilibrium under the partial revelation rule when players' valuations are uniformly distributed. I finally investigate the no revelation rule and find that it is both most efficient and optimal in maximizing the total efforts from the contestants. Within my framework, more information revelation leads to less efficient outcomes. Chapter 4 analyzes the signaling effect of bidding in a two-round elimination contest. Before the final round, bids in the preliminary round are revealed and act as signals of the contestants' private valuations. Compared to the benchmark model, in which private valuations are revealed automatically before the final round and thus no signaling of bids takes place, I find that strong contestants bluff and weak contestants sandbag. In a separating equilibrium, bids in the preliminary round fully reveal the contestants' private valuations. However, this signaling effect makes the equilibrium bidding strategy in the preliminary round steeper for high valuations and flatter for low valuations compared to the benchmark model. / Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2010-04-20 21:34:12.295

Abstract Date:                         2020 June 08 Level:                        Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution:                School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                   David Kuwa                                   Sajjad Ahmed                                  (87/01/12)                                      (88/01/03) Title:                         Return it or not?                                  How informed e-commerce customers are in relation to environmental effects caused by e-purchase returns. Tutor:                       DAVID FREUND Keywords:                E-commerce, Returns and return policies, Customer behaviour, Environmental factors Research question:                   How informed are e-commerce customers regarding negative environmental impacts of e-commerce returned goods? Aim & Purpose:        To understand the environmental effects caused by E-commerce purchase returns and research on how informed the E-commerce consumers in Sweden are on these effects in subject to their buying and returning behaviour. Method:         Qualitative research method approach is used where focus groups are organized and discuss with the help of semi-structured discussion questions   Conclusion:   Online buyers concentrate more on the return policy a company gives, and many will utilize the free policies to order goods impulsively, just to later make returns of the extra goods that they do not require. They found using e-commerce to return goods to be very beneficial. This is as a result of little knowledge of the environmental effects caused by goods returns. Given ample information by retailers, (which many consumers suggest is necessary), customer could practice more caution in making order returns.

This thesis investigates the role of return policies in fostering customer loyalty within the Scandinavian interior design e-commerce sector. An inductive approach, including focus group interviews and analysis of company return policies. The findings highlight the importance of transparent, accessible, and customer-friendly return policies in building trust and loyalty. Additionally, the study examines return policies' social, ethical, and sustainable implications, providing insights for retail managers on co-creating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and balancing with suppliers. The research concludes that profitability, transparency, inclusiveness, and sustainability are essential for long-term business success in e-commerce. The study also recommends future research directions, including incorporating expert interviews to explore these dynamics further.

Background: E-commerce has grown rapidly since the introduction of the Internet, changing consumer behavior and transaction patterns all over the world. Due to that, there has been an increase in CO2 emissions caused by both delivery of products and returns. Some organizations have tried to minimize their emissions by employing different types of policies that have not been perceived well by their customers.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to identify the impact of different return policies on consumer willingness concerning online purchases. Additionally, we also investigated consumers’ perceptions of AI-driven initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable return practices.Method: This study was based on a qualitative research approach. We followed an inductive research approach. The reason for this is that we wanted to understand the connections between different return policies and consumer willingness regarding online purchases. As well as the connections between consumers and their perceptions regarding AI-driven initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable return practices. The data was gathered through nine semi-structured interviews.Conclusion: Consumers are increasingly prioritizing convenience, transparency, and environmentally conscious practices. Retailers who can adapt their return policies to align with these evolving preferences, while effectively communicating their terms and conditions, stand to gain a competitive edge.

Den svenska e-handeln har under de senaste åren rapporterat en markant ökning av returer som en följd av den växande onlinemarknaden där allt från kläder, accessoarer och skor går att beställa hem med några enstaka knapptryck. Syftet med denna studie var att utreda hur kunderna ställer sig till de nuvarande köpvillkoren i e-handelsbranschen, samt hur villkoren påverkar kundens köpprocess. För att uppfylla vårt syfte har tretton semistrukturerade intervjuer undersökt unga vuxna kvinnliga konsumenters uppfattningar och inställningar till mode e-handelns aktuella köpvillkor. Resultatet tyder på att märkbara ändringar i köpvillkor har skett oannonserat i form av tillkomna avgifter och kortare tidsram för retur, vilket har inverkan på faktorer som kundvärde och kundnöjdhet. Aspekterna är viktiga ur företagens konkurrenssynpunkt, som ger dem fördelar gentemot andra företag i branschen. Kundens köpprocess grundas till stor del på bekvämlighet vilket gör att beställningar av kläder sker rutinmässigt och det belyser vikten av att företag skapar relation till kunderna för att uppnå ökade köptillfällen. Företagen behöver hitta en balans mellan att möta kundens förväntningar samtidigt som de förhåller sig till den rådande situationen på e-handelsmarknaden som uppstått av kunders sätt att konsumera och returnera. Uppsatsen är skriven på svenska. / In recent years, Swedish e-commerce has reported a noticeable increase in returns as a result of the growing online market, where everything from clothes, accessories and shoes can be ordered home with a few clicks of a button. The purpose of this study was to investigate how customers feel about the current purchase conditions within the fashion industry, as well as how these conditions affect the customers' purchase process. In order to fulfill our purpose, thirteen semi-structured interviews investigated the perceptions and attitudes of young adult female consumers towards the current purchase conditions of e-fashion retail. The result suggests that noticeable changes in terms of the conditions have taken place unannounced in the form of added fees and shorter timeframes for returns, which has an impact on factors such as customer value and customer satisfaction. The aspects are important from the companies' competitive point of view, which gives them advantages over other companies in the industry. The customers' buying process is largely based on convenience, which means that orders for clothes are made routinely and this highlights the importance of companies creating relationships with customers in order to achieve increased purchase opportunities. The companies need to find a balance between meeting the customer's expectations while dealing with the current situation in the e-commerce market caused by the way customers consume and return. The paper is written in Swedish.

Coronapandemins bidrag till en kraftigt ökad e-handel lyfter problemet med de ökade returerna och dess negativa miljöpåverkan. Hållbarhet har blivit en viktig aspekt i dagens samhälle som ökar i popularitet parallellt med e-handelns tillväxt, vilket utifrån ett konsumentperspektiv blir motstridigt. Ytterligare en aspekt som är viktig att ta hänsyn till är företags skonsamma returpolicys, som påverkar konsumentbeteendet vid returer. Syftet med studien är att förklara hur konsumenters hållbarhetsattityder påverkar genomförandet av planerade respektive oplanerade returer, samt hur företags returpolicys kan ha en inverkan på konsumenters returbeteende. För att kunna besvara syftet har studien genomförts med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod genom en enkätstudie på studenter från Högskolan i Borås. Studien utgår från teorier om kategorier av online returbeteenden, Theory of planned behaviour och returpolicys som ligger till grund för det resultat som studien genererat. Slutsatser från studiens resultat är att hållbarhetsattityder inte har någon större betydelse för returbeteende, samt att skonsamma returpolicys är att föredra, oavsett om avsikten är att genomföra en retur eller inte. / The Corona pandemic's contribution to a sharp increase in e-commerce raises the problem of increased returns and its negative environmental impact. Sustainability has become an important aspect of today's society that is increasing in popularity in parallel with the growing e-commerce, which from a consumer perspective becomes contradictory. Another aspect that is important to take into account is companies' generous return policies, which affect consumer behavior when returning. The purpose of the study is to explain how consumers' sustainability attitudes affect the execution of planned and unplanned returns, as well as how companies' return policies can have an impact on consumers' return behavior. In order to be able to answer the purpose, the study was carried out using a quantitative method through a questionnaire study of students from the University of Borås. The study is based on theories about categories of online return behaviors, The theory of planned behavior and return policies which together form the basis for results generated by the study. Conclusions from the study results are that sustainability attitudes have no major significance for the return behavior, and that lenient return policies are preferred, regardless of whether the intention is to carry out a return or not. This thesis is written in Swedish.

Returer är ett ämne som fått stor uppmärksamhet i dagens modeindustri på grund av ökad medvetenhet om hållbarhet och för att returer utgör en risk för företags lönsamhet. I takt med att e-handeln växt har antalet returer ökat och det blir därför viktigt för företag att rikta resurser mot att förebygga returer. Ett problem företag stöter på är den ökade kostnaden när det kommer till returer då det är svårt att förutse hur stor volym som kommer att returneras. När det kommer till tidigare studier angående returer har dessa fokuserat på returpolicys, returhantering samt hur konsumenters returbeteende ser ut. Däremot finns det inte tillräckligt med forskning om hur företag kan styra konsumenter i returprocessen och hur kommunikationen om returhanteringsprocessen ser ut. Syftet är därför att undersöka hur modeföretag styr konsumenten i returprocessen för att få fler insikter om hur företag kan påverka sina konsumenter att göra färre returer. Det teoretiska perspektivet som undersökningen utgår ifrån är institutionell teori, där begreppen legitimitet, isomorfism och frikoppling har använts som analysverktyg. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där materialinsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer på fyra e-handelsföretag inom modehandeln och sportvarubranschen. Resultatet identifierade tre områden; förebyggande åtgärder, två olika returprocesser samt att returprocessen ger information till köpprocessen som underlättar för konsumenten att ta olika beslut. Vi har i resultatet även analyserat detta i ett fjärde område, vilket är utifrån institutionell teori. De olika förebyggande åtgärder som företag ägnar sig åt är storleksguider, tydlig kommunikation om produkterna, kundrecensioner och returkostnader. De två olika returprocesserna som identifierats är en pappersbaserad returprocess och en digital returprocess, där resultatet visar att företag går mot en mer digitaliserad process. Vi kan även se att returprocessen är ett verktyg många företag använder för att samla in information om sina konsumenter genom olika aktiviteter för att utveckla och underlätta köpprocessen. I diskussionen förklarar vi hur vår forskning är unik i relation till tidigare forskning inom returprocessen. Detta diskuteras utifrån tre olika områden som baseras på resultatet av studien. De tre områdena är; pappersbaserade returprocesser blir digitala, returprocessen underlättar köpprocessen och att förenklade returprocesser leder till fler returer. Slutsatsen med studien är att returprocessen och köpprocessen hänger ihop och kan beskrivas som ett cirkulärt flöde. Detta kan bidra till att företag kan få ökad förståelse av hur viktig returprocessen är för att samla information och lära känna sina konsumenter, vilket ökar lönsamheten för företagen. / Ecommerce returns is a subject that has gained a lot of attention in the modern fashion industry due to the increasing awareness of sustainability and to the fact that returns are a tangible risk to a company's profitability. As the ecommerce is growing, the return margins increase accordingly, and therefore it is important for companies to direct their resources in order to prevent additional returns. A common problem companies encounter is the increased costs when it comes to returns, since it is hard to predict the volume of the returns. When it comes to former studies regarding returns, the focus has been on companies' return policies, the managing of returns and the general behavior of customers when making returns. However, there is not enough research material regarding how companies can guide their customers into making fewer returns, and what the communication about the return process looks like. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine how companies guide their customers throughout the return process to get a better insight into how companies can influence their customers into making fewer returns. The theoretical perspective in this study is based on institutional theory, where the concepts of legitimacy, isomorphism and decoupling were used as analytical tools. The study uses a qualitative research method where the data collection consisted of semi structured interviews and observations from four different ecommerce companies within the fashion industry and sports retail industry. The result of the study identifies three areas of importance; preventive actions, two different types of return processes and finally that the return process gives the companies information about the consumer that is useful to develop the buying process which will, in turn, help the customers decision making. The result also includes an analysis on the three themes with the perspective of institutional theory. Preventive measures that companies use are size guides, communication about the products, customer reviews and return fees. The two different types of return processes that are identified are a paper based return process and a completely digital return process, where the result shows that most companies strive for a digital return process. We can also determine that the return process is a valuable tool for companies regarding collecting data about their customers through different activities for developing and facilitating the buying process. The discussion explains how this study is unique compared to former studies regarding the return process. This is discussed based on three areas regarding the result of the study; paper based returns are becoming digital, that the return process aids the purchase process and that simplified return processes lead to more returns. Our conclusion is that the return process and the purchase process are interrelated and can be described as a circular process. This may contribute to companies' increased knowledge regarding how important the return process is for gathering information about their customers, and getting to know them better, which in all may increase profitability for the companies.

An escalating concern about the environment amongst the general population, businesses trying to make their way forward on the hunt for market shares and profitability, and customers that nowadays are used to extreme flexibility in their purchase and return process due to the immense growth of e-commerce. These observations can all be considered facts, but do they correlate with each other when a customer tries on a pair of pants and decides to return them to the retailer? The purpose and reason for why this thesis was conducted was to gain an understanding of how fashion e-tailers in Sweden balance the needs of consumers, company finances and environmental concerns when designing their return policy. The thesis was conducted as a multiple case study, using a qualitative research method where the primary data was collected from six in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners within the field, representing e-tailers in the fashion industry. The findings obtained from the interviews were put in context, analysed, discussed and compared with literature from previous research using a thematic analysis approach. The authors can conclude that balance in the return policy is difficult to achieve. Various avoidance techniques are being used in order to maintain balance, and customer satisfaction is seen as a vital part of the return process. Sustainability is difficult to define and the participants interpreted the phrase in various ways. It was therefore complicated to analyse the environmental impact from product returns. Basically, it is difficult to know what the most sustainable initiatives are, and even though our participants take some environmental initiatives, there is room for improvement. The research provides valuable managerial implications from a new perspective that the researchers believe is more comprehensive, and gives suggestions for future research within the field of study.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur e-handelsföretags returpolicys, mer specifikt returkomponenterna returtid, returkostnad och returansträngning, kan påverka konsumenters upplevda risk vid köp av kläder online. Studien utgår från tre hypoteser, vilka är: “Längre returtider resulterar i en lägre upplevd risk hos konsumenter vid köp av kläder online”, “Lägre returkostnader leder till lägre upplevd risk hos konsumenter vid köp av kläder online” samt “Lägre returansträngning medför att konsumenter upplever en lägre risk vid köp av kläder online”. Metod: Tvärsnittsstudien omfattades av en enkätundersökning där deltagarnas åsikter och inställningar ställdes i centrum. 109 användbara svar genererades utifrån ett bekvämlighetsurval. Svaren analyserades genom en multipel regressionsanalys för att undersöka respektive returkomponents påverkan på konsumentens upplevda risk vid köp av kläder online. Resultat: Resultatet indikerade på att ökad returtid respektive en minskad returkostnad bidrar till att reducera den upplevda risken för konsumenten vid köp av kläder online. Vad gäller returansträngning fann studien inget stöd för att en lägre ansträngning genererade en lägre upplevd risk för konsumenten vid köp av kläder online. Däremot saknades signifikans för variablerna returtid och returansträngning vilket gör det svårt att utesluta slumpfaktorn i dessa hypoteser. Det gick även att observera att returkomponenten returkostnad påverkade den upplevda risken i störst omfattning. Originalitet/Värde: I en ständigt växande e-handelsmarknad, speciellt inom modebranschen, är konkurrensen ett faktum vilket gör att företagen alltmer konkurrerar i andra områden än de produkter de säljer. Det finns en problematik kring hur returpolicys ska utformas på bästa sätt. Då upplevd risk har en betydande effekt på köp- och returintentionen av kläder köpta av konsumenter online är det ett relevant och viktigt ämne att studera. Studien kan bidra med insikt i vilka returkomponenter som värderas och uppskattas mest av konsumenter i en returpolicy, något som kan påverka konsumenters inställning till köpet. Med grund i studien och dess resultat konstateras att företag som säljer kläder online bör arbeta med att utforma sina returpolicys på ett sätt som minskar konsumenternas upplevda risk i största möjliga utsträckning. Vid situationer där företag behöver strama åt sina returpolicys kan denna studie hjälpa till med att ge stöd för vilken returkomponent som värderas minst av konsumenter. / Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate how e-commerce companies’ return policies, more specifically the return components return time, return cost and return effort, can affect consumers' perceived risk while purchasing clothes online. The study revolves around three different hypotheses, which are: “Longer return times result in a lower perceived risk for consumers when buying clothes online”, “Lower return costs lead to a lower perceived risk among consumers when buying clothes online” as well as “Lower return efforts lead to consumers experiencing a lower risk when buying clothes online” Methodology: The cross-sectional study consists of a questionnaire survey in which the participants' opinions and attitudes were at the center. 109 useful responses were generated based on a convenience sample. The responses were analyzed through a multiple regression analysis, in order to examine the impact of each return component on the consumers' perceived risk while purchasing clothes online. Findings: The result indicated that an increased return time as well as a reduced return cost contribute to reducing the perceived risk for the consumer when purchasing clothes online. Regarding return effort, the study found no support that a lower return effort generated a lower perceived risk for the consumer when buying clothes online. However, the findings regarding return time and return effort were lacking significance, which means that there is a risk of the findings being coincidental. It was also possible to observe that the return component return cost affected the consumers’ perceived risk to the greatest extent. Originality / Value: In an ever-growing e-commerce market, especially in the fashion industry, competition is a fact which results in companies increasingly cofmpeting in other areas than the products they sell. There is a problem with how return policies should be designed in the best way. As perceived risk has an effect on the consumers’ intention to buy and return clothes purchased online, it is a relevant and important topic to study. The study can provide insight into which return components consumers value and appreciate most in a return policy, something that can affect consumers' attitudes towards the purchase. Based on the study and its results, it is stated that companies that sell clothes online should work on designing their return policies in a way that reduces consumers' perceived risk to the greatest possible extent. In situations where companies have to tighten their return policies, this study can help provide support for which return component is least valued by consumers. This thesis is written in Swedish.