If you are an ecommerce business, then you know that business is more about packing up some shipping boxes and sending out some products. And you are probably already well aware that the rate of returns has been rising. Online shopping has more or less taken the shopping industry by storm. It’s so easy to buy stuff online and get it in a reasonable amount of time. And then, it’s pretty much just as easy to return it if you don’t like it. Therefore, you have more buying and returning on a whim.
However, having a lenient return policy actually improves sales. So, as the owner of an ecommerce business, how you do you manage a return process that keeps the customer happy and doesn’t gouge your company? Well, there are a couple of helpful tips to consider:
Be Specific about Your Product
When a customer clicks on your product details, they should have all the answers, right down to what kind of shipping boxes they should expect their items to show up in. Always include any specifications, sizes, manufacturer information, with lots of pictures featuring many angles. Take the information that you get in your feedback to annotate if something “runs small”.
Keep Your Vendors in the Loop
Let your vendors know how much of their product is being returned, and how often. Also, if customers are informing you that specs are off, you should notify the vendors so that they can change the information. Improper specs are enough of a reason for someone to return something.
Answer Customer Questions
Have a system set up where you can answer customer questions about a product before they buy it. Even if you have every detail possible listed in the product description, someone still may feel like they need to ask you something. In the end, you know that shipping boxes don’t grow on trees, so using them simply to have something returned and then having to use them again is enough of a reason to answer those questions first.
Offer Clear Limits
As a business owner, you do have the right to set any limits on returns that you see fit. The more limits, the less freedom a person is going to feel shopping for your products, but they are definitely still necessary to have. Items like personalized or clearance products can easily be marked as ineligible for returns. Make sure this is clearly listed for the customer to see and you won’t have any problems later on.
Make a Deadline
Most department stores don’t have a limit on when something needs to be returned by, but that isn’t the case for most ecommerce stores. Establishing that a product must be returned in sixty or ninety days is perfectly acceptable. Offering only thirty days is cutting it a little bit close.
