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Strategies and practices to reduce the ecological impact of product returns: An environmental sustainability framework for multichannel retail

Zhang, Danni, Frei, Regina, Wills, Gary, Gerding, Enrico, Bayer, Steffen and Senyo, Prince Kwame 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) , pp. 4636-4661. 10.1002/bse.3385

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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.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Business (Including Economics)
Publisher: Wiley
ISSN: 0964-4733
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 16 October 2023
Date of Acceptance: 6 February 2023
Last Modified: 20 Nov 2023 13:22
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/162996

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