E-Commerce returns best practices for the holiday shopping season [Infographic]

Are you ready for holiday returns?

Holiday shopping season is just around the corner and both traditional brick-and-mortar retailers and online retailers are starting to gear up for a busy holiday shopping season. Every year e-commerce shopping is growing and is now outpacing traditional retail in the process. One thing that is overlooked by many online retailers is the return process. With an increased amount of sales coming from the holiday shopping season also comes an increased amount of returns. Shorr Packaging has put together a list of e-commerce returns best practices that online retailers can follow to be proactive in reducing returns. Let’s review some of them.

Let’s take a minute to talk about to talk about how returns can hurt online retailers. The number one reason why in-store-only shoppers refuse to buy online is the returns process. This in itself shows the importance of being proactive in reducing online returns. Each return costs your business money, especially in the age of free shipping. Even if you make the returns process as simple as possible, returning merchandise is never an easy process. Returns also means you’ve failed to meet the customers’ expectations of your product or service. 85% of customers will not do repeat business with a company whose returns are complicated or inconvenient. You can see how easy it is to lose repeat business opportunities if you are not meeting your customers’ expectations by not offering an easy returns process.

Now that we’ve covered the importance of minimizing returns, let’s talk about how do it. First off you should offer free returns. Research shows that online retailers who offer free returns can expect a sales increase between 58% and 357%. Offering free returns will attract more customers. You also want to include a return label in the original package as to make it as easy as possible for customers to return the item if they have a problem with it. Your packaging should also be return-friendly and easily re-sealable. Outline a simple, clear procedures for returns within the package so there is little confusion on how to complete the return process. Follow these steps and you’ll eliminate as many returns as you can (which will be friendly on your bottom line) while also keeping your customers happy. To learn more check out the graphic below.

Thanks to Shorr Packaging for sharing this infographic. We also have a recent post on the latest UK research on the impact of returns and delivery on multichannel sales.

 

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