Whether free returns create economic value for online retailers is a question of increasing importance. Using order-level data from an online fashion retailer in Sweden, we investigate the introduction of free returns for customers in Denmark starting November 1, 2017, but not for customers in Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Germany, and the rest of Europe (the control group). Using difference-in-differences, with and without sample matching, the introduction of free returns increased the order bill by 54.95 Swedish Krona (SEK) (9.15%), product variety per order by 0.057 (8.74%), gross margin per order by 29.90 SEK (9.71%), and returns by 0.195 items per order (7.86%). This likelihood of increased returns was generally similar across different product categories. The findings are robust to parallel trends, event studies, placebo effects, alternative control groups (with Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway), country-time trends, and correlations between outcome variables. Based on back-of-the-envelope calculations, the cost of offering free returns is greater than the increase in gross profit driven by free returns. Though our results show that free returns may not be of short-term benefit, retailers must also consider the long-term strategic implications of free returns.

中文翻译：

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免费退货对在线购买行为的影响：来自在线零售商干预的证据

免费退货是否为在线零售商创造经济价值是一个越来越重要的问题。使用来自瑞典在线时尚零售商的订单级别数据，我们调查了自 2017 年 11 月 1 日起为丹麦客户引入免费退货的政策，但未针对瑞典、挪威、芬兰、法国、德国和欧洲其他地区的客户进行调查（对照组）。使用差异中的差异，有和没有样本匹配，免费退货的引入使订单账单增加了 54.95 瑞典克朗 (SEK) (9.15%)，每个订单的产品种类增加了 0.057 (8.74%)，每个订单的毛利率增加了29.90 瑞典克朗 (9.71%)，每个订单退货 0.195 件 (7.86%)。这种增加回报的可能性在不同的产品类别中大致相似。这些发现对平行趋势、事件研究、安慰剂效应、替代对照组（斯堪的纳维亚国家、瑞典和挪威）、国家时间趋势以及结果变量之间的相关性。根据粗略计算，提供免费退货的成本大于免费退货带来的毛利润增长。尽管我们的结果表明免费退货可能不会带来短期利益，但零售商还必须考虑免费退货的长期战略影响。