Against the Script - How and Why Consumers Counter Consumption on Circular Platforms

Sammanfattning

Research has shown that circular platforms can produce the opposite ecological outcomes they were designed to address by feeding into overconsumption their linear counterparts have been criticised for over the years. This is partly due to their interface’s design that actively nudges and often pushes consumers to spend more money and time on these platforms by removing friction between browsing and purchasing and making the user experience similar to social media. However, prior research has largely overlooked the ways in which consumers regain control over their consumption on these platforms. This study investigates how consumers actively resist platform nudges by developing counter-strategies that limit their own shopping on circular platforms in light of their awareness of potential implications of following circular platform design. Drawing on practice theory and socio-technical scripting, we employ qualitative methods (semi-structured interviews and netnography) to examine how these counter-strategies develop. Findings reveal that consumers, upon critically reflecting on platform design, delegate their agency, develop strategies to reintroduce friction into otherwise seamless interfaces, and establish self-governing consumption rules. Crucially, consumers also reframe the role of circular platforms, shifting their perceived role from ‘sustainable’ to ‘pushy’ and ‘worthy of using with caution’, thereby undermining the platforms' acquisition logic. This study contributes to critical circular platform literature and, more specifically, provides concrete strategies for consumers to critically use circular platforms.