Consumer’s perception of return policy fairness and purchase intention in China

Abstract

With the continuous development of e-commerce, people consider the return policy of online shopping as a central issue. This study shows that lenient online return policies have a significant impact on consumer behavior. In this research, based on the signal theory, I studied the hypothesis of return policies on consumers' perception of fairness and customers’ purchase intention, the relationship between perceived return policy fairness and perceived trust, and the relationship between customer perceived trust and purchase intention. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), I found all of these hypothesis have positive relationships. In addition, the reliability and validity of the data has been proven. Finally, the results of this study have important and meaningful implications for the strategic implementation of the practitioners in the field of e-commerce.