Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The impact of order fulfillment on consumer experience : text mining consumer reviews from Amazon US

Vakulenko, Yulia LU ; Figueirinhas, Diogo LU ; Hellström, Daniel LU and Pålsson, Henrik LU (2024) In International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
Abstract
Purpose – This research analyzes online consumer reviews and ratings to assess e-retail order fulfillment performance. The study aims to (1) identify consumer journey touchpoints in the order fulfillment process and (2) determine their relative importance for the consumer experience.
Design/methodology/approach – Text mining and analytics were employed to examine over 100 m online purchase orders, along with associated consumer reviews and ratings from Amazon US. Using natural language processing techniques, the corpus of reviews was structured to pinpoint touchpoints related to order fulfillment. Reviews were then classified according to their stance (either positive or negative) toward these touchpoints. Finally, the classes were... (More)
Purpose – This research analyzes online consumer reviews and ratings to assess e-retail order fulfillment performance. The study aims to (1) identify consumer journey touchpoints in the order fulfillment process and (2) determine their relative importance for the consumer experience.
Design/methodology/approach – Text mining and analytics were employed to examine over 100 m online purchase orders, along with associated consumer reviews and ratings from Amazon US. Using natural language processing techniques, the corpus of reviews was structured to pinpoint touchpoints related to order fulfillment. Reviews were then classified according to their stance (either positive or negative) toward these touchpoints. Finally, the classes were correlated with consumer rating, measured by the number of stars, to determine the relative importance of each touchpoint.
Findings – The study reveals 12 touchpoints within the order fulfillment process, which are split into three groups: delivery, packaging and returns. These touchpoints significantly influence star ratings: positive experiences elevate them, while negative ones reduce them. The findings provide a quantifiable measure of these effects, articulated in terms of star ratings, which directly reflect the influence of experiences on consumer evaluations.
Research limitations/implications – The dataset utilized in this study is from the US market, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other markets. Moreover, the novel methodology used to map and quantify customer journey touchpoints requires further refinement.
Practical implications – In e-retail and logistics, comprehending touchpoints in the order fulfillment process is pivotal. This understanding helps improve consumer interactions and enhance satisfaction. Such insights not only drive higher conversion rates but also guide informed managerial decisions, particularly in service development.
Originality/value – Drawing upon consumer-generated data, this research identifies a cohesive set of touchpoints within the order fulfillment process and quantitatively evaluates their influence on consumer experience using star ratings as a metric. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Customer journey, Returns, Order fulfillment, Product reviews, Packaging, Star rating, Delivery
in
International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management
volume
ahead-of-print
issue
ahead-of-print
publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
external identifiers
  • scopus:85201522495
ISSN
0960-0035
DOI
10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2023-0434
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ea1c71d3-f8f0-4e18-89ac-a559c478f8bc
date added to LUP
2024-08-21 09:49:46
date last changed
2024-09-03 17:28:28
@article{ea1c71d3-f8f0-4e18-89ac-a559c478f8bc,
  abstract     = {{Purpose – This research analyzes online consumer reviews and ratings to assess e-retail order fulfillment performance. The study aims to (1) identify consumer journey touchpoints in the order fulfillment process and (2) determine their relative importance for the consumer experience.<br/>Design/methodology/approach – Text mining and analytics were employed to examine over 100 m online purchase orders, along with associated consumer reviews and ratings from Amazon US. Using natural language processing techniques, the corpus of reviews was structured to pinpoint touchpoints related to order fulfillment. Reviews were then classified according to their stance (either positive or negative) toward these touchpoints. Finally, the classes were correlated with consumer rating, measured by the number of stars, to determine the relative importance of each touchpoint.<br/>Findings – The study reveals 12 touchpoints within the order fulfillment process, which are split into three groups: delivery, packaging and returns. These touchpoints significantly influence star ratings: positive experiences elevate them, while negative ones reduce them. The findings provide a quantifiable measure of these effects, articulated in terms of star ratings, which directly reflect the influence of experiences on consumer evaluations.<br/>Research limitations/implications – The dataset utilized in this study is from the US market, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other markets. Moreover, the novel methodology used to map and quantify customer journey touchpoints requires further refinement.<br/>Practical implications – In e-retail and logistics, comprehending touchpoints in the order fulfillment process is pivotal. This understanding helps improve consumer interactions and enhance satisfaction. Such insights not only drive higher conversion rates but also guide informed managerial decisions, particularly in service development.<br/>Originality/value – Drawing upon consumer-generated data, this research identifies a cohesive set of touchpoints within the order fulfillment process and quantitatively evaluates their influence on consumer experience using star ratings as a metric.}},
  author       = {{Vakulenko, Yulia and Figueirinhas, Diogo and Hellström, Daniel and Pålsson, Henrik}},
  issn         = {{0960-0035}},
  keywords     = {{Customer journey; Returns; Order fulfillment; Product reviews; Packaging; Star rating; Delivery}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{ahead-of-print}},
  publisher    = {{Emerald Group Publishing Limited}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management}},
  title        = {{The impact of order fulfillment on consumer experience : text mining consumer reviews from Amazon US}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2023-0434}},
  doi          = {{10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2023-0434}},
  volume       = {{ahead-of-print}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}