Shipping fees and logistics costs influence consumer behavior far beyond their monetary value, often triggering psychological reactions such as dissatisfaction, perceived unfairness, and purchase abandonment. This critical review synthesizes research spanning consumer fulfillment experiences, pricing psychology, cost theory, emergency logistics, and supply chain transparency. The reviewed studies highlight that cost is not merely a financial variable but also a psychological and experiential construct shaped by transparency, uncertainty, and service touchpoints. While it provides strong evidence on cost sensitivity and fulfillment dissatisfaction, major theoretical and methodological gaps remain, including weak cross-cultural generalization, limited behavioral validation, fragmented conceptualization of “psychological pain,” and under-integration of sustainability and ethical costs into consumer-focused models. This paper offers actionable recommendations for e-commerce firms and policymakers, proposes future research directions, and outlines implications for logistics strategy, consumer welfare, and cost governance.
Joshi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
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