Many online returns are caused by mismatches between what consumers see online and what they actually receive. This paper discusses e-sellers’ use of purchase-risk notices (PRNs) for possible mismatches as a preemptive action to avoid returns. Two one-factor (purchase-risk notice: presence vs. absence) scenario experiments were conducted via two studies (Study 1 and Study 2). The pre-purchase effects and post-purchase effects of PRNs were examined in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively. One-way ANOVAs were used to test the hypotheses. It was found that returns can be avoided by using PRNs without negatively affecting consumers’ purchase intentions. Additionally, using PRNs can make consumers more tolerant of minor mismatches, attract more repurchases, and reduce consumers’ dissatisfaction and regret about purchase decisions.

许多在线退货是由于消费者在网上看到的与实际收到的不匹配造成的。本文讨论了电子卖家使用购买风险通知 (PRN) 来检测可能的不匹配情况，以此作为避免退货的先发制人措施。通过两项研究（研究 1 和研究 2）进行了两个单因素（购买风险通知：存在与不存在）情景实验。PRN 的购买前效应和购买后效应分别在研究 1 和研究 2 中进行了检验。单因素方差分析用于检验假设。研究发现，使用 PRN 可以避免退货，而不会对消费者的购买意愿产生负面影响。此外，使用 PRN 可以让消费者对轻微的错配更加宽容，吸引更多的回购，减少消费者对购买决定的不满和后悔。