What consumers think about product self-assembly: Insights from big data

As e-commerce expands rapidly from small inexpensive products to major ones, more sellers design and deliver their products as unassembled, compact kits to make logistics more efficient and cost effective. While sensible from an operation's perspective, this practice inadvertently shifts often significant amounts of assembly work to consumers. Drawing on the literatures of product co-creation and consumer satisfaction, this study investigates various effects of this practice on buyers. Results, obtained from the analysis of consumers' online reviews, show that the ease of assembly is a significant determinant of satisfaction with and recommendation of products. Results also indicate that, as an experience product attribute that cannot be assessed pre-purchase, assembly work is a major source of consumer concern and discontent. On the other hand, findings show a positive rela-tionship between the volume (but not the complexity) of consumer assembly work and their sense of value for money from their purchase.