Reusable packaging systems in e-commerce are often dismissed before they are ever tested. The reason is rarely technical feasibility or material performance — it is a deeply rooted assumption that consumers will not participate in return schemes.

For many businesses, expected low customer engagement is the primary argument against reusable packaging models. Return logistics are seen as costly, complex and unreliable, largely because consumers are perceived as unwilling to change their behaviour.

However, recent survey-based research suggests that this perception is incomplete — and in some cases, misleading.

Consumer willingness is higher than commonly assumed

Consumer responses indicate a relatively high level of openness toward reusable cardboard packaging, particularly when systems are designed to fit into existing habits rather than requiring new ones.

Declared willingness to participate increases significantly when:

• return options are integrated into everyday routines
• no additional effort or planning is required
• instructions and system logic are clearly communicated

These findings suggest that resistance is not ideological or value-driven. Instead, it is largely practical.

Consumers are not rejecting reuse as a concept — they are reacting to friction.

Convenience as the critical success factor

Survey results consistently show that convenience is the dominant variable influencing participation in return schemes.

When return infrastructure is easily accessible — for example:

• near supermarkets
• at parcel lockers
• at parcel pick-up and drop-off points

declared participation rates rise sharply. Conversely, when returns require dedicated trips, additional packaging or complex procedures, willingness drops regardless of environmental attitudes.

This indicates that behaviour is shaped less by motivation and more by system design.

The perception gap between businesses and consumers

One of the most striking findings in recent research is the gap between:

• what businesses expect consumers to do, and
• what consumers say they are willing to do

Businesses tend to systematically underestimate consumer acceptance of:

• receiving goods in reused packaging
• returning packaging under convenient conditions

This perception gap can become a structural barrier. When systems are never tested due to low expectations, the lack of participation becomes a self-fulfilling outcome rather than an inherent limitation.

Why assumptions matter at system level

Reusable packaging systems are inherently systemic. Their performance depends not on individual choices alone, but on:

• logistics integration
• standardisation
• return infrastructure density
• communication clarity

If systems are designed based on incorrect assumptions about user behaviour, they are likely to fail — not because consumers reject them, but because they were never designed to work for real-world conditions.

From a systems perspective, the question is not whether consumers are willing to return packaging in principle, but under which conditions participation becomes the default rather than the exception.

Evidence over perception

The growing body of survey data and behavioural research suggests that the main constraint on reusable packaging adoption is not consumer motivation, but lack of tested, user-centred systems.

Assumptions about unwilling consumers risk slowing down innovation and reinforcing single-use models — even when evidence points in a different direction.

If reusable packaging is to scale, decisions must be driven by empirical evidence rather than perception, and systems must be designed around real behaviour rather than hypothetical resistance.