One of the most frustrating issues for retail organizations throughout the world are returns. While they’re customary for the industry, they can still be a challenge to deal with. Excess returns lead to additional operational costs that must be faced by the retailer. These costs can then result in an overall loss of revenue. Throughout this post, some strategies to reduce vendor losses from returns will be detailed alongside additional information regarding the most common reasons for returns.
Reducing the rate of returns starts with an optimization of website landing pages for products. This means rethinking the descriptions and images shared on the product pages. Customers that receive an item that does not accurately match up to descriptions or images provided by the merchant will more than likely result in a return. Meaning retailers must provide pictures and descriptions on the product page that are more honest. Avoid any misleading images or product details. Retailers should also provide more robust measurement information to avoid returns related to sizing issues.
Retail standard shipping and return policies today are often predicated on the ‘free’ side. Meaning customers can exploit the policy by ordering products they know they can safely return for free. However, when customers end up keeping the products they first intended to return, retailers are able to benefit. Not only do they experience an additional sale, customers often experience more satisfaction knowing they could’ve returned the product had they not loved it.
Adjusting to the rise of online retail has also meant that retailers will have to accommodate to additional returns. The frequency of returns has risen ridiculously over the past year, though. Nearly a 70% increase over the past year has made tough issues for retailers to navigate through. As new scamming tactics arise, such as wardrobing or bracketing, retailers are left to find ways to protect themselves from these customers.
Sometimes returns are the least of a retailer’s worries. Every so often there are customers who cause fraudulent purchases. This can be done through purchasing a product then returning it in hopes to launder money from stolen credit cards. Retailers unaware of these scams are at a major risk without the correct anti-fraud tools. With the right tools, retailers can block transactions from stolen cards and issue refunds correctly to the actual cardholders. With the right techniques, retailers can even reduce the costs they incur per return. Services offered by certified professionals are available to cater to your business whenever necessary.
As the retail industry continues to evolve, organizations are left with the responsibility of developing new techniques for positively impacting sales and the overall customer experience. This is made much easier with a sound partnership. Do you feel like your business is lacking in understanding customer trends or unable to identify key needs of customers? If so, take a moment to review the infographic featured alongside this post. Courtesy of Signature Payments.