Understanding the impact of sustainability-oriented recommender systems on consumers’ choices
(2025) Electronic Commerce Research and Applications — Vol. 74, p. 101540 (2025)
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- Authors
Satinet, Chloe 
- Abstract
- Recommender systems have long been employed by e-commerce platforms to boost revenue by tailoring product suggestions to consumer preferences. Recommender systems aimed at advancing broader societal goals, such as encouraging consumers to choose more sustainable products, by prioritizing them in the recommendations, are beginning to emerge. While extant research has covered the effects of traditional recommender systems on consumer behaviour, research on the effectiveness and mechanisms of sustainability-oriented systems remains limited. Building upon recommender system and nudging theory, we analyse in this paper how sustainability-oriented recommender systems impact consumer choices compared to traditional recommender systems or the absence of recommendations. Through a lab-controlled experiment featuring three conditions (traditional, sustainability-oriented, and no recommendations) in a simulated online store created by the authors for the experiment, we examine both behavioural outcomes and underlying mechanisms. Our findings reveal that sustainability-oriented recommender systems significantly increase the purchase of sustainable products by enhancing interest in and desire for these items and reducing the effort required to find them. Importantly, these systems do not affect the overall quantity of products purchased. However, we also found that these systems amplify the perception of being overwhelmed by sustainability messaging. This research shows practitioners the potential of sustainability-oriented recommender systems to encourage sustainable consumption while maintaining business objectives, offering a pathway to align sustainability with profitability goals.
- Affiliations
Citations
Satinet, C., Ducarroz, C., & Fouss, F. (2025). Understanding the impact of sustainability-oriented recommender systems on consumers’ choices. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 74, 101540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101540 (Original work published 2025)