Display context and product-history transparency shape restored-product acceptance

Abstract Restored products can reduce resource demand, but prior use makes quality difficult to evaluate. Research has identified trust, risk, and seller reputation as barriers to refurbished and remanufactured product acceptance, yet less is known about how point-of-purchase presentation makes restoration quality credible. We propose restoration assurance as a consumer appraisal that a restored product has been credibly inspected, repaired, tested, and represented. Across a stimulus pretest and two randomized online experiments with adult Chinese consumers, we tested a 3 × 2 design crossing display environment (conventional resale, curated lifestyle, circular-care) with product-history transparency (low, high), using a restored desk lamp. High transparency increased purchase intention and willingness to pay, and circular-care displays produced stronger acceptance than conventional resale displays. Responses were most favorable when high transparency was paired with a circular-care display. In Study 2, restored-product choice followed the same ordinal pattern. Mechanism measures were consistent with restoration assurance: circular-care display and high transparency increased restoration-process trust and restoration assurance while reducing perceived functional risk. These findings indicate that display design can function as an evidence system in circular retail, helping transform restored products from uncertain second-hand objects into credible circular products.