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~ Active Ants ~

START THE YEAR

WITH A SMART

RETURNS POLICY

Text: Jasmijn Missler // Photos: Active Ants
The beginning of a new year has its challenges for online shops: sales are down, and you have
piles of returns to process from the holidays. Even shops that don’t sell clothes suddenly have
a lot of extra work. How do you keep costs low but customer experience high so that you start

the year well and retain customers?

he Netherlands is normally the European you sell clothes or electronics, you will always get a few
champion of returns, but in England, returns. But far from every returned package is inevitable.
Tpackages are also returned in large numbers. Some of the most common reasons for returns include
And after the holidays, this figure only increases. receiving the wrong item, a product deviating from the
Not surprisingly, January is known as a record description or arriving damaged.
month for returns. Products that are rarely returned
during the rest of the year can suddenly pile up So customers are not necessarily dissatisfied with your
in your warehouse. Especially if you sell through product. For instance, it regularly happens that customers
marketplaces like Amazon, where return rates are order the wrong size or a logistical error occurs. The latter,
traditionally higher. How do you turn this expense in particular, is something you, as a retailer, must avoid at
into an opportunity to retain new customers? all times. If you are an Active Ants customer, your orders
Active Ants lists a few tips for a streamlined returns are picked by smart robots. This prevents human error from
process. creeping in. In addition, a picture of the order is taken
just before dispatch and sent to your customer. A nice
Longer-waiting effect extra moment of contact with the customer, but also extra
To cut costs, the first thing you can do is reconsider your assurance that the right products are packed and in good
return period. For instance, you can allow a longer period in condition.
the new year. You might think this would increase the number
of returns, but the opposite is true. Because customers have Damaged items are another big return maker. As a retailer,
longer to think about their purchase, they still take the you can influence this by packing smartly. For instance,
product, make a different decision or forget to return it. This cardboard packages consist of 50% air on average. You can
‘longer-waiting effect’ is greatest for a period starting from 30 then opt for padding material, but this costs money and
days, examined economist Alec Minnema. creates a lot of waste for the increasingly environmentally-
conscious customer. Active Ants’ warehouses, therefore,
A longer trial period also removes an important hurdle to contain smart packing machines. These make sure packages
purchase: almost nine in 10 customers look at your return are made to size, preventing products from shifting and
policy first before ordering something. If the consideration getting damaged. Do you still pack your orders manually?
period is shorter than 30 days, over a quarter of consumers Then make sure you at least have different sizes of boxes or
abandon their shopping cart again, research shows. So a shipping bags.
generous refund period not only ensures fewer boomerang
packages but also more orders: win-win. Smooth and fast returns are more profitable
Once a customer returns something, you benefit from speed.
Which returns can you prevent? This starts with registering the return. Ideally, this should be
Many online retailers see returns as a necessary evil. Whether as easy as possible. After all, with a smooth return, customers

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