Can Gamification Help to Unlock the Full Potential of Preventive Returns Management Measures in E-Commerce? - A First Empirical Analysis.

The increasing success of e-commerce causes a steadily rising number of returns. Consumer returns are both an economical and an ecological problem. Therefore, it is essential to influence consumer behavior and prevent returns before they occur. One potential approach to influence behavior is gamification. This study investigates the effect of gamification on consumer return behavior, drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) and the Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh & Davis, 1996). During the online experiment with 456 participants, we observed the participants' return attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, return intention, perceived usefulness, and perceived enjoyment. Participants were introduced to a fictitious online shopping community "VIP Club", and then randomly assigned to one of three different settings: (1) no gamification, (2) gamification with an individual incentive, and (3) gamification with a social incentive. The results suggest that gamification approaches can make a valuable contribution to preventive returns management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]