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~ Descartes pixi ~

As the holiday season approaches, online merchants prepare for the yearly boost in order
numbers and the unfortunately predictable rise in returns. According to an article in the
Wall Street Journal, 28 per cent of the gifts people purchased during the 2017 holiday season
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were returned. These goods had an estimated value of $90 billion .

onsumer behaviour is changing, with 89 per 2. Incentivise “good” return behaviour
cent of online shoppers having returned A simple, customer-friendly return policy helps to keep
C items and 41 per cent of customers ordering shoppers happy and increases the likelihood of repeat pur-
multiple sizes, colours etc. of items as returns are chase. It also empowers customer service representatives
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either free or cheap . with clear rules to follow when handling a return request.
Although 80 per cent of customers expect to be able to
Traditionally, the primary focus for merchants during the return purchases for free, just 25 per cent of brands offer
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holidays is fulfilling outbound sales, letting returns pile free return shipping .
up until after the rush. Waiting until the holidays are over,
however, can cut into profits, as returned or exchanged Also, various options that would lower costs should be
products often cannot be sold for the original prices. This evaluated: Establishing restocking fees and limiting re-
happens for various reasons: Often goods have been worn, turns for clearance items could be just two examples. Some
articles are damaged, the items have a strong seasonal refer- companies even offer special discounts to customers who
ence (e.g., Christmas sweaters), or the retailer has taken sea- accept all the articles they have ordered online.
sonal markdowns by the time the products have come back.
3. Make returns more transparent and enhance
The average return represents 30 per cent of the purchase analysis
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price , which is substantial when the average margin for The use of modern IT systems and technologies empowers
online orders is 10 per cent. The continuously rising number e-commerce vendors to create a transparent and fast return
of returns, as well as the effect these potentially have on process: Smart order processing automation solutions
margins, makes it essential for companies in e-commerce to provide email status updates or notify customers when
improve their returns processes. Strategies and technologies returned goods are received. Merchants can track the status
that standardise and automate return workflows help online of a return and provide customers with timely updates at
vendors to work at peak capacity during the holiday season, every stage, from receipt of merchandise to refund status,
regardless of the increasing number in orders. when the complete return record is being related to the
original order of the customer in the system. This also
A smarter, more efficient and cost-effective returns process facilitates locating an order if a shipment arrives, e.g.,
can be achieved by considering the following seven tips: without an invoice number or other details that help in
finding an associated customer.
1. Preventing returns saves money
The average cost of one return can be calculated at about A thorough track of each customer’s order and return profile
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$15 . Therefore, it is evident that investing time and also helps the vendor to keep costs down by setting up alerts
money in preventing returns makes sense. One of the key for customers with high return rates or open balances.
factors is customer service that must be easy to reach to
answer consumer questions or concerns promptly. If an 4. Analyse reasons for returns to help customers
item is missing or even damaged, this must be dealt with make better buying decisions
efficiently and quickly. Understanding why one product is returned more often than
the other (e.g., size tends to run larger than labelled, prod-
Cloud-based shipping solutions that automatically uct is frequently damaged in transit) allows companies to
download marketplace orders will limit mistakes in the fine-tune inventory and helps to improve product descrip-
pick-pack-ship process by reducing the need to re-enter tions. Establishing and analysing a “reason for returns” re-
the customer order and shipping information. Detailed port by manufacturer and SKU helps to reduce the number
product descriptions and photos that accurately represent of future returns. Investing in a professional IT base allows
the products in the online shop also ensure customers the vendor to collect and analyse return reasons and trends.
know as much as possible about the item they are buying. The details collected about why customers return the arti-
Additionally, a customer feedback or review option with cles is a useful source of information for the whole business.
each product can add another dimension of information to
the potential buyer.

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