Strategies and practices to reduce the ecological impact of product returns: an environmental sustainability framework for multichannel retail
Strategies and practices to reduce the ecological impact of product returns: an environmental sustainability framework for multichannel retail
Product returns in retail are inherently wasteful and have considerable negative environmental impacts. Besides the monetary costs, they lead to increased transportation, packaging and processing, and the returned items are often discarded. We present strategies and practices retailers can adopt to manage their product returns in a way that reduces environmental impacts. With eCommerce flourishing, product returns have increased significantly. Whilst highest for online sales, they are a challenge across all channels. The importance of developing sustainability management in operations and supply chains is evident from the growing body of literature, but there is a gap regarding the management of product returns in a more environmentally sustainable manner. To address this gap, we interviewed multichannel retailers, retail experts and return service providers operating in the UK and North America. The findings reveal that although retailers have started paying attention to the financial impact of returns, there is little awareness of the scale of environmental impacts. In addition, retailers lack a comprehensive approach to addressing the environmental impact of product returns. Based on our findings, we (1) unpack the barriers inhibiting retailers from developing environmental sustainability plans in returns management, (2) present a set of strategies for retailers to reduce the environmental impact of returns and (3) develop a framework for environmental sustainability in returns management. Our findings and proposed framework have implications for research and practice on addressing the environmental impact of product returns.
ecological sustainability, environmental impact, multichannel retail, product returns, returns management
4636-4661
Zhang, Danni
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Frei, Regina
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Wills, Gary
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Gerding, Enrico
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Bayer, Steffen
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Senyo, PK
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27 February 2023
Zhang, Danni
c81a5801-9c21-4c27-a340-45874b5274f9
Frei, Regina
fa00170f-356a-4a0d-8030-d137fd855880
Wills, Gary
3a594558-6921-4e82-8098-38cd8d4e8aa0
Gerding, Enrico
d9e92ee5-1a8c-4467-a689-8363e7743362
Bayer, Steffen
28979328-d6fa-4eb7-b6de-9ef97f8e8e97
Senyo, PK
b2150f66-8ef9-48f7-af32-3b055d4fa691
Zhang, Danni, Frei, Regina, Wills, Gary, Gerding, Enrico, Bayer, Steffen and Senyo, PK
(2023)
Strategies and practices to reduce the ecological impact of product returns: an environmental sustainability framework for multichannel retail.
Business Strategy and the Environment, 32 (7), .
(doi:10.1002/bse.3385).
Abstract
Product returns in retail are inherently wasteful and have considerable negative environmental impacts. Besides the monetary costs, they lead to increased transportation, packaging and processing, and the returned items are often discarded. We present strategies and practices retailers can adopt to manage their product returns in a way that reduces environmental impacts. With eCommerce flourishing, product returns have increased significantly. Whilst highest for online sales, they are a challenge across all channels. The importance of developing sustainability management in operations and supply chains is evident from the growing body of literature, but there is a gap regarding the management of product returns in a more environmentally sustainable manner. To address this gap, we interviewed multichannel retailers, retail experts and return service providers operating in the UK and North America. The findings reveal that although retailers have started paying attention to the financial impact of returns, there is little awareness of the scale of environmental impacts. In addition, retailers lack a comprehensive approach to addressing the environmental impact of product returns. Based on our findings, we (1) unpack the barriers inhibiting retailers from developing environmental sustainability plans in returns management, (2) present a set of strategies for retailers to reduce the environmental impact of returns and (3) develop a framework for environmental sustainability in returns management. Our findings and proposed framework have implications for research and practice on addressing the environmental impact of product returns.
Text
Strategies and practices to reduce the ecological impact of product returns
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 6 February 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 27 February 2023
Published date: 27 February 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This research is funded by the UK Economics and Social Research Council (reference ES/V015605/1) and supported by the ECR Retail Loss Group.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Business Strategy and The Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Keywords:
ecological sustainability, environmental impact, multichannel retail, product returns, returns management
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 475214
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/475214
ISSN: 0964-4733
PURE UUID: dc7f8b62-0643-4055-a197-7bfdf76a9659
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Date deposited: 14 Mar 2023 17:43
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:06
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Contributors
Author:
Danni Zhang
Author:
Regina Frei
Author:
Gary Wills
Author:
Enrico Gerding
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