In e-commerce, returns management has become the 3rd most important purchase criterion, after speed of delivery and price. To build customer loyalty and win new ones, retailers must not neglect this
sales stage… and it all starts with data collection.
“What if it’s not my shoe size?”
It’s true that e-commerce offers consumers many advantages: a wider range of products on offer, attractive prices thanks to easier comparison between different brands, increasingly rapid delivery… However, there is one drawback: you can’t try before you buy. To get around this obstacle to purchase, sites now offer the possibility of returning the product. Various studies agree on the rate of 66% for Internet users who consult the brand’s returns policy before buying. What are they looking for? A clear answer on the procedure to follow, which must be simple and, if possible, free of charge. They also expect a quick refund or exchange.
One-third of products bought online returned
If the fitting room is now at home, cyber shoppers also want their
shopping experience to remain as smooth as in a physical store. As a result, one third of products bought online
are returned, with an even higher proportion in the textile sector. 41% of
consumers buy several items online, in different sizes for example, knowing that they will return at least some of them after trying them on at home. Over the years, returns management has become the 3rd most important criterion for online purchases, after speed of delivery and price. And if everything goes smoothly at every link in the chain, the chance that they will repeat the experience with the same brand is greatly increased.
Building loyalty through returns
Accenture estimates the increase in profit per customer at between 22% and 46% on average over six months for
retailers who have implemented effective returns management. To satisfy customers, it’s not enough to write
conditions for returns on your website: they must be accessible, clear and
then put into practice. Indeed, consumers can boycott a brand after a return has gone wrong. As with initial delivery, retailers need to ensure that everything goes smoothly, at every stage, and communicate at the right moment to “reassure” customers.
The 3 pillars of successful returns management
For retailers, the exercise can be complicated when purchases are made from abroad: different
tax and customs rules, a multiplication of players, particularly in transport and logistics,
involved throughout the routing of goods… However, customers will continue to demand the same
information. To keep customers happy, retailers must therefore rely on three pillars:
data, data and… data! It is essential to have the information that will enable consumers
to print their forwarding label, but also to inform them when their parcel has been picked up at the
depot, and then by the carriers… With this information, the e-
merchant will also be able to determine how long the customer can expect to be reimbursed.
To stay in step with their customers’ expectations, retailers have no choice but to
look after their returns policy in the same way they look after their shipping. However, according to some studies, only
28% of online shoppers are satisfied with the returns services offered by retailers. So
improving this service is both necessary and… possible!