Keep Ecommerce Product Returns Pleasant

In a survey of 2,000 United Kingdom ecommerce shoppers, 60% of them said they'd completely stop doing business with an online retailer who handles deliveries or returns badly. The survey was commissioned by Collect+, a parcel service that provides over 3,500 UK locations to which customers can have packages delivered or can return merchandise to the retailer. The survey was conducted by YouGov, an independent consumer research company.
     Smart in-store retailers long ago recognized the profitability which comes from making product returns pleasant. Customers become more willing to buy when they know they can receive a refund or exchange if things don’t work out. Use the same approach with your ecommerce business.

• Keep the policy clear and announce the policy clearly. At the store, when customers are waiting in line at a returns desk, can they easily see the policy? On your website, is the policy easy to access? In the Collect+ survey, about 50% of respondents said they always check the return policy before making an ecommerce purchase.
• Ask the reason for the return and use an analysis of the reasons to improve your merchandising. When someone comes to the returns counter in-store or is completing the form for a return to be shipped, ask them to tell you the reasons for the return, and then record those reasons along with the person’s identification information. Never make this procedure a prolonged inquisition, and always have in mind that it is more important to keep a customer than to keep to a policy. And tell your customers the advantages to them of sharing those reasons. Your staff and the screen message might say something like, “I know it’s a bother to you to have to return merchandise you’ve bought from us. I want to be sure we deal with suppliers who will provide you, your family, and your friends with reliable products the first time, every time.”
• Encourage ecommerce customers to make returns at your store. Then once a dissatisfied consumer is in the store, transform them into a curious shopper. This is especially useful when the person making the return received the item as a gift. People returning a gift may not know your store. Here’s a wonderful opportunity to introduce to them all the products and services you offer.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more:
Simplify Item Returns for Customers
Ask for Specifics on Merchandise Returns