In 2018 alone, $369 billion in sales were lost to returns. Furthermore, at least 30% of all products ordered online are returned, compared to only 8.89% in brick-and-mortar stores. This means that online merchants especially can’t afford to overlook their eCommerce return policy.
The proof is in the numbers—shoppers who are unhappy with a retailer's returns process are 3x more likely to never purchase from that retailer again. On the flip side, 95% of shoppers who are happy with the returns process said they’d purchase from that retailer again in the future. While creating an eCommerce return policy may just seem like one big hassle, it’s a valuable opportunity to differentiate from other online retailers and keep your customers coming back for more.
Reverse fulfillment logistics can be a large expense for your online business. So, there are simple steps you can take to reduce overall return volume and minimize some of the costs associated with eCommerce returns:
Even if you follow the steps above in order to proactively reduce the amount of eCommerce returns you have to handle, you’ll never be able to completely eliminate all returns. So, it’s vital that you have an effective eCommerce return policy in place.
Here are five key tips for creating a simple, streamlined eCommerce return policy that will delight your customers!
Transparency is a key component of delivering a great customer experience. Much like your shipping policy, it’s crucial to make your returns policy easily accessible to your customers. It should be simple, straightforward, and clearly posted on your website. Failure to provide a transparent eCommerce return policy or making the returns process a confusing hassle can negatively impact your bottom line. If customers have to hunt for your return policy or jump through hoops to send a product back, they’ll likely just go to another competitor’s site. On the other hand, a transparent, seamless policy and returns process can create a boost in brand loyalty and revenue!
The transparency shouldn’t stop once a customer has placed an order with you! It’s just as important to provide transparency once your customers’ returns are on their way back to your fulfillment center. Customers will want to know the status of their return and refund or exchange. So, it’s important to work with a fulfillment provider who can give you and your customers visibility into this process. It’s a good idea to always give your customers tracking information for their return shipment and set up automatic text alerts to notify them once their return has been received and refunded.
Did you know that 79% of customers won’t purchase from an online store that charges return shipping fees? Free return shipping won’t make sense for every business’ margins, especially smaller online retailers or ones that have just started up. But, if it’s possible, offering free eCommerce returns may cause a big enough increase in overall sales that it ends up paying for itself over time. Try crunching some numbers to figure out just how many additional orders you would need to fulfill in order to break even on free return shipping. If you do need to charge for eCommerce returns, make sure those costs are clear to the customer and that there are no hidden fees.
In 2016, 88% of customers said they would limit or stop shopping with a merchant that took too long to credit their refund, and 77% said they’d be less likely to recommend a retailer to their social circles if it takes too long to issue a credit. These numbers have only continued to increase as returns processes and banking processes continue to get faster in order to align with more demanding consumer preferences. For this reason, it’s important to work with a fulfillment provider who has efficient fulfillment logistics in place so they can process returns as quickly as possible.
Working with a fulfillment provider means your customers’ returns can be handled by a third party rather than your own internal staff. This frees up time for your staff to focus on other tasks. Additionally, skilled fulfillment providers will be able to leverage years of industry experience and expertise as well as the most cutting-edge technology in order to manage your eCommerce returns faster and at scale. This can include providing customers with prepaid return labels, sharing return tracking information, and supporting integrations through their fulfillment software that will automatically text return and refund updates to customers.
It’s time to say hello to the future of fulfillment and efficient, effective order fulfillment processes with The Fulfillment Lab! Our innovative eCommerce fulfillment services include:
With these eCommerce fulfillment services, you can easily overcome the obstacles of eCommerce returns! Ready to get started? Reach out to one of our team members today!