The Impact of E-Commerce Information Overload on Consumers’ Return Intentions: The Moderating Role of Perceived Environmental Effectivenes

This research examines how excessive information in e-commerce environments influences consumer decision-making and increases product return intentions. It argues that while online platforms aim to assist consumers through abundant information, excessive and poorly structured content often creates cognitive overload. This overload disrupts rational decision-making, leading consumers to rely on impulsive judgments rather than informed evaluations. As a result, post-purchase dissatisfaction rises, triggering higher return rates that carry economic, environmental, and logistical consequences.

The study adopts a behavioral and quantitative approach, integrating theories such as bounded rationality, prospect theory, decision fatigue, and cognitive dissonance. Through survey-based empirical analysis, it investigates how perceived information overload affects impulsive buying and return intentions, with impulsive behavior and cognitive dissonance acting as key mediating mechanisms. The research also incorporates environmental considerations, showing how excessive returns contribute to carbon emissions and resource waste, thereby linking individual psychological processes to broader sustainability outcomes.

Overall, the paper demonstrates that information overload does not merely reduce decision quality but actively reshapes consumer behavior in ways that undermine sustainable e-commerce practices. By modeling the relationships between overload, impulsivity, and return behavior, the study provides insights for platform designers and policymakers to optimize information presentation, reduce cognitive strain, and encourage more responsible and environmentally conscious consumer choices.