Abstract:
As a prevalent and growing form of customer behaviour, deshopping is on the
rise. Retailers' focus on good customer service and the offering of lenient
returns polices has led to the growth in this fraudulent behaviour of customers
in returning goods. This paper considers retailer myopia in the context of
dishonest customer returns, applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) using
a quantitative questionnaire with 535 female consumers. The findings highlight
the extent of the behaviour with 50% admitting to partaking in deshopping. The
TPB variables can be utilised to manage and prevent deshopping. The results
indicate that currently these customers perceive it to be easy to deshop as
there are no consequences with the result that such behaviour continues to grow.
If retailers were less myopic they would monitor returns more thoroughly and
make it less easy for such customers to get away with undesirable deshopping
behaviour. The paper makes recommendations for retailers to manage or alter
perceived behavioural characteristics for customers, which in turn, would reduce
tendencies for dishonesty in customers returning goods for refunds. Retail
myopia is evident with deshopping behaviour with consequences for retailers in
time, effort and costs.
