Get Rid of It! How Interface Layouts Influence Product Retention Behaviors

Interface layout, although a fundamental and prominent aspect inherent to online interfaces, has received limited attention in consumer research. This paper explores how the two major types of interface layouts (infinite scrolling and pagination) influence consumers’ product retention behaviors. Across six studies featuring real websites, we show that an infinite-scrolling (versus paginated) layout lowers consumers’ tendency to retain purchased products, as reflected in heightened product return as well as product disposal, both of which carry negative implications for environmental sustainability. These effects occur because infinite scrolling dampens consumers’ sense of control, which subsequently impairs their confidence in their product choices, thereby reducing product retention. We identify theoretically-derived moderators that provide support for this process (e.g., the effect is attenuated when consumers have a chronically high sense of control or adopt experiential shopping orientation) and also use our conceptualization to highlight actionable interventions that can alleviate the negative effect of infinite scrolling on product retention (e.g., displaying sequence numbers along with the products on featured on the shopping website, providing confidence-enhancing feedback, etc.). The current work not only contributes to the literature on interface design, product retention and consumer confidence but also provides applied insights for marketing practitioners.