On the Impact of the Seven-Day No-Reason Return Policy on Consumers’ Right to Know and Right to Choose

七天无理由退货制度是消费者权益保护体系的重要组成部分，旨在缓解远程购物中的信息不对称，保障消费者的知情权和选择权。本文以《消费者权益保护法》为理论基础，结合电子商务发展现状，分析该制度对消费者知情权与选择权的影响。研究发现，该制度通过赋予消费者“后悔权”，有效缓解了信息不对称问题，增强了消费者的选择自由。然而，实践中仍存在部分经营者滥用退货规则、消费者恶意退货等问题。为此，本文提出完善立法、加强监管、优化平台规则等优化路径，以更好地发挥该制度在保障消费者权益、促进电子商务健康发展方面的作用。健全消费者信用体系等，以期更好地发挥该制度在保障消费者知情权和选择权方面的积极作用，促进电子商务健康有序发展。The seven-day no-reason return policy, as a crucial component of the consumer rights protection system, aims to alleviate information asymmetry in remote shopping and safeguard consumers’ rights to information and choice. This paper, based on the theoretical framework of the “Consumer Rights Protection Law” and considering the current state of e-commerce development, analyzes the impact of this policy on consumers’ rights to information and choice. The study finds that by granting consumers a “right of regret”, the policy effectively mitigates information asymmetry and enhances consumers’ freedom of choice. However, in practice, issues such as some businesses abusing return rules and consumers engaging in malicious returns still persist. To address these challenges, this paper proposes optimization paths, including improving legislation, strengthening regulation, and refining platform rules, to better leverage the policy’s role in protecting consumer rights and promoting the healthy development of e-commerce. Additionally, the paper suggests enhancing the consumer credit system to further amplify the policy’s positive effects on safeguarding consumers’ rights to information and choice, thereby fostering the healthy and orderly growth of e-commerce.