EXPRESS: The Effects of Pressure and Self-Assurance Nudges on Product Purchases and Returns in Online Retailing: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

Through a randomized field experiment, this study compared the economic effects of two categories of nudges—self-assurance- and pressure-based interventions—on consumers’ purchase and return behaviors. In contrast to pressure-oriented nudges, such as quantity scarcity, time scarcity, and social persuasion, self-assurance nudges are intended to facilitate the “light” validation of product choice and characteristics of style or size and the self-assurance-grounded justification of purchase during shopping. The findings revealed that self-assurance nudges designed to help consumers make better choices have both short-term (high sales) and long-term (few product returns) benefits. Although pressure-driven nudges offer slightly higher short-term benefits (high sales), they eventually engender unfavorable long-term outcomes (high product returns) for consumers and online retailers. Finally, under return-adjusted net sales as performance measures, self-assurance-based nudges are as effective in stimulating purchase as those that capitalize on scarcity and social pressure.