Ecommerce Return: Causes And A Way Out

Customer exchanges are a co-linked part of ecommerce. Neither can you avoid them, nor can you leave them untreated. If you do, that’s probably where your business would start going down. And if you act without understanding its reason of occurrence, you would again call destruction to your end.

So to help you understand the reasons that germinate returns, we have jotted down a few of the most common ones along with an answer to your question “How to reduce returns in ecommerce”.

Take a look.

The Product Isn’t As Convincing As The Buyer Though

It isn’t necessary that your product would bring happiness to the customer just because they have bought it. Purchasing is a deal, and customers aren’t interested in a deal that doesn’t fill in their needs.

For instance, a man bought sneakers through your website. After going through the review and description, he was convinced the shoes would be a great deal for him. But, after the product arrived, the material quality wasn’t as convincing as the man expected it to be. Hence, it is apparent he would choose to return and get a refund for it.

Wrong Product Description

Online shopping is way different from shopping in a physical store. Here, the buyer can physically handle the product, but it’s just the description he has to rely on in the online mode. So even though zooming in on the picture could clarify the detailing, it cannot define the quality of the material.

Hence when the product doesn’t match up with the description given, it gives rise to return.

The Size Didn’t Match the Buyer’s Need

Product size is an important factor and a major reason for returning, especially in the case of wearing apparel.

The wrong size of a dress or a shoe that doesn’t fit or is too large is no use to the customer. Hence returning becomes the only option left.

Sometimes it’s not the description but also the team packing things that are at fault. However, regardless of who’s at fault, both situations are the reason for returns and the creation of negative images.

How To Reduce Returns In Ecommerce And Upscale Them To Exchange?

Although returns and exchanges are an inevitable part of online businesses, their increasing rate has become no less than a headache. It does not just drain your energy but also money and time. Though returns don’t always mean negative, one needs to apply tactics to convert them into exchanges to grab the opportunity that upscales their brand.

Here are a few tactics that are worth considering:

Having convenient return policies
Analysis of the return pattern and working on the core
Making cross-sell by recommending suitable alternative
Training employees to reduce mistakes at your end

Conclusion

Though one cannot avoid the return aspect linked to ecommerce, inspecting the reasons and working on converting them into exchange can solve the problem to some extent.

Since returns aren’t always based on customer mistakes, looking and working on your end is also important.