Incentivizing Sustainable Consumer Behavior in E-Commerce

Sustainability is increasingly becoming a crucial factor in consumer shopping decisions. Despite growing awareness and the importance of making environmentally friendly choices, many consumers continue to prioritize cost, convenience, and speed over the environmental impact of their purchases. This disconnect between sustainability concerns and consumer behavior presents a challenge in promoting more sustainable shopping practices.

My research project, at the intersection of sustainability and e-commerce, seeks to investigate the viability of various strategies to encourage consumers toward more sustainable purchases. This involves examining approaches such as promoting eco-friendly products, rewarding green purchases, and employing psychological triggers. We specifically focus on analyzing the effects of price discounts, the role of gamification in community building, and how these elements interact with sustainable communication to influence customers’ purchasing decisions. In particular, I collaborate with the start-up Toern, which offers a software solution for peer-to-peer return shipments, exemplifying more sustainable consumer behavior. Through this collaboration, my research explores consumer decision-making in e-commerce and investigates ways to nudge consumers toward making more sustainable choices.

The findings from this research are expected to offer significant insights into how online shopping behavior can be influenced toward more sustainable practices. By identifying effective strategies for promoting more sustainable purchasing decisions, the study aims to assist businesses in developing practical approaches that not only enhance their sustainability practices but also resonate with consumers, ultimately leading to more environmentally conscious behavior in e-commerce.