E-Retailer Returns: Key Things You Need to Know

The online shopping industry has undergone much change in recent years. As big box brick-and-mortar retailers adopt their policies to be more attractive to shoppers and to dissuade them from shopping at online stores, ecommerce stores have had to follow suit to keep the sales numbers steady. One area where brick-and-mortar stores have colloquially defeated online stores is with the e-retailer returns policy that has been traditionally offered.

Truth is that most online stores have a crappy returns policy. But a local store lets consumers just revisit the store to make a fast and simple return. Since the most common reasons of a return are an ill-fitting garment or damaged product, it is telling of why e-retailers must adapt their returns policy to follow the status quo and encourage more sales. (Need help creating your policy? Check out this article on How a Product Returns Policy represents your business.)

What follows is some key information that you can use to create your effective e-retailer returns policy, so you can better compete with other online stores and local stores.

The truth is that most returns are actually not the consumer’s fault; they are yours. Yes, you read this correctly. So what could cause a consumer to return an item when the fault is not theirs? The most common reasons include: product is damaged; apparel does not fit; item looks different than advertised; wrong item was shipped.

Think your returns policy is conducive to more sales? Well if you are not letting customers know how easy it is for them to make a return, then it is not very conducive to sales at all. In fact, over 61% of consumers will take the time to read your e-retailer returns policy before they decide whether or not to do business with your online store. So make sure you take the time to write a good one.

But returns cost you money – you think. Not necessarily. Sure, you have to eat the costs of the shipping and handling and the repackaging and processing – which are immediate costs. But if you offer hassle-free returns, studies have found that it can actually increase consumer spending by as much as 357% over just two years. So in the long run, it’s a wise marketing move that gets you more sales.

Finally, given all this provided information – most customers won’t waste time spending money at an online store that makes returns a hassle. With countless competitors out there, most of which who offer good e-retailer returns policies, you won’t stand a chance unless your store does, too. Find out how you can implement hassle-free returns by using ReadyReturns e-retailer returns software.