How to Counter Excessive Returns in Your eCommerce

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Returns suck! They eat up your profits, cost you time and money to process, and take up stock that could be better spent selling.

But what about the customer? They’re not happy either, having had to go through the whole order process just to return an item.

So, what can you do to reduce your number of returns?

Why Shoppers Return Items

But why do people return products in the first place? Here are some of the top reasons:

• The item didn’t fit.
• They didn’t like it as much as they expected.
• It was damaged or defective.
• They found it cheaper elsewhere.
• They bought it by mistake.

A customer may also return the product if the order wasn’t delivered on time.

Dealing with Excessive Returns

1. Use multiple images and video

People want to know as much as they can about a product before they buy it. The more information you can provide, the less likely they are to return a product because they feel it’s misrepresented or of low quality.

2. Have a clear return policy

Make sure your return policy is clear and easy to find — both before and after checkout.

It may be tempting to set a short window for returns or exchanges, but a few things irritate customers more than finding out that their window has already closed because of a delay in delivery. It’s better for your reputation if you allow customers plenty of flexibility whenever possible.

3. Focus on providing a seamless experience

The first step is to accept that you can’t make every customer happy 100 percent of the time. Even if you offer a perfect product, someone will still inevitably want to send it back. The best you can do is make sure they have a great experience, and hopefully, they’ll buy again in the future.

This is why it’s important to focus on the customer experience. From the moment they place an order, your goal should be to make the returning process as seamless as possible.

Last Words: Returns don’t have to be a bad thing!

You can use them as an opportunity to build loyalty and trust with your customers by making the process as painless as possible.