Start Date
11-12-2016 12:00 AM
Description
We investigate the causal impact of two types of product fit-related information – fit valence and fit reference – on online product return rate by leveraging a change in the product review system that took place at an online retailer. This quasi-experiment in the apparel product category allows us to examine the importance of fit information. We find that the mere presentation of either fit-valence (e.g. “true to size”) or fit-reference information (e.g. body size) by itself does not help reduce purchase errors. Rather, it is the combination of the two types of fit information in a review that drives the drop in product return rate. We employ the lens of semantic relativism to illustrate how customers interpret fit-valence expressions by using the fit-reference information provided by the same reviewer. Our findings offer useful business implications to online retailers grappling with high product return rates for merchandise where fit matters.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Yang; Ramachandran, Vandana; and Sheng, Olivia, "The Causal Impact of Fit Valence and Fit Reference on Online Product Returns" (2016). ICIS 2016 Proceedings. 15.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2016/Economics/Presentations/15
The Causal Impact of Fit Valence and Fit Reference on Online Product Returns
We investigate the causal impact of two types of product fit-related information – fit valence and fit reference – on online product return rate by leveraging a change in the product review system that took place at an online retailer. This quasi-experiment in the apparel product category allows us to examine the importance of fit information. We find that the mere presentation of either fit-valence (e.g. “true to size”) or fit-reference information (e.g. body size) by itself does not help reduce purchase errors. Rather, it is the combination of the two types of fit information in a review that drives the drop in product return rate. We employ the lens of semantic relativism to illustrate how customers interpret fit-valence expressions by using the fit-reference information provided by the same reviewer. Our findings offer useful business implications to online retailers grappling with high product return rates for merchandise where fit matters.