Consumer-Perceived Frictions in Cross-Channel Returns as Indicators of Reverse Logistics Integration Gaps in Omnichannel Retailing
(2026) SMMP40 20261Department of Service Studies
- Abstract
- This study investigates consumer-perceived frictions in cross-channel return processes within Nordic omnichannel retailing and examines how these frictions reflect underlying reverse logistics (RL) integration gaps. While omnichannel research has extensively addressed seamless front-end experiences, the post-purchase return phase remains under-theorized and is often treated as a “black box”, disconnecting consumer perceptions from back-end operational realities. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative exploratory design, this research combines ten semi-structured interviews with approximately forty online consumer reviews from Nordic Trustpilot platforms, analyzed through hybrid thematic coding. Drawing on customer effort... (More)
- This study investigates consumer-perceived frictions in cross-channel return processes within Nordic omnichannel retailing and examines how these frictions reflect underlying reverse logistics (RL) integration gaps. While omnichannel research has extensively addressed seamless front-end experiences, the post-purchase return phase remains under-theorized and is often treated as a “black box”, disconnecting consumer perceptions from back-end operational realities. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative exploratory design, this research combines ten semi-structured interviews with approximately forty online consumer reviews from Nordic Trustpilot platforms, analyzed through hybrid thematic coding. Drawing on customer effort theory and service failure literature, the study develops a layered analytical framework conceptualizing friction along five dimensions—informational, access, procedural, interactional, and resolution mapped across five return journey stages: initiation, authorization, handover, processing, and settlement. The findings reveal that frictions accumulate progressively along the return journey and converge most intensely at the handover stage, where physical, procedural, and interactional difficulties amplify negative emotional responses. These patterns correspond to three RL integration gaps: informational, fulfillment, and process integration, manifested through inconsistent cross-channel policies, fragmented logistics networks, and misaligned organizational procedures. Importantly, the study distinguishes structural integration failures from deliberate strategic choices, demonstrating that certain frictions reflect intentional cost-control or channel-steering mechanisms rather than operational shortcomings. By linking subjective consumer experiences to back-end operational structures, this research contributes a consumer-centered diagnostic lens for understanding omnichannel reverse logistics and offers implications for retailers seeking to balance customer experience, operational efficiency, and sustainability. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9233505
- author
- Su, Yihan LU and Wu, Jiayi LU
- supervisor
-
- Klas Hjort LU
- organization
- course
- SMMP40 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9233505
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-10 09:07:21
- date last changed
- 2026-06-10 09:07:21
@misc{9233505,
abstract = {{This study investigates consumer-perceived frictions in cross-channel return processes within Nordic omnichannel retailing and examines how these frictions reflect underlying reverse logistics (RL) integration gaps. While omnichannel research has extensively addressed seamless front-end experiences, the post-purchase return phase remains under-theorized and is often treated as a “black box”, disconnecting consumer perceptions from back-end operational realities. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative exploratory design, this research combines ten semi-structured interviews with approximately forty online consumer reviews from Nordic Trustpilot platforms, analyzed through hybrid thematic coding. Drawing on customer effort theory and service failure literature, the study develops a layered analytical framework conceptualizing friction along five dimensions—informational, access, procedural, interactional, and resolution mapped across five return journey stages: initiation, authorization, handover, processing, and settlement. The findings reveal that frictions accumulate progressively along the return journey and converge most intensely at the handover stage, where physical, procedural, and interactional difficulties amplify negative emotional responses. These patterns correspond to three RL integration gaps: informational, fulfillment, and process integration, manifested through inconsistent cross-channel policies, fragmented logistics networks, and misaligned organizational procedures. Importantly, the study distinguishes structural integration failures from deliberate strategic choices, demonstrating that certain frictions reflect intentional cost-control or channel-steering mechanisms rather than operational shortcomings. By linking subjective consumer experiences to back-end operational structures, this research contributes a consumer-centered diagnostic lens for understanding omnichannel reverse logistics and offers implications for retailers seeking to balance customer experience, operational efficiency, and sustainability.}},
author = {{Su, Yihan and Wu, Jiayi}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Consumer-Perceived Frictions in Cross-Channel Returns as Indicators of Reverse Logistics Integration Gaps in Omnichannel Retailing}},
year = {{2026}},
}