6 tips to reduce return and refund rate this holiday season

Being the Official Channel Integration partner of multiple marketplaces, we receive several queries, and a lot of them ask, “they can’t reduce return and refund rate requests” and how to deal it?

Although return-and-refund policies increase purchases but in real life, retailers and online sellers dread the very idea of product return. But the truth is they are bound to be haunted by it somewhere and sometimes.

This topic even gains more significance as the holiday season is just around the corner and any complacency might result in large number of customers leaving without making a purchase which no one desires.

Although one can guarantee, zero return or refund, but it can be lowered, and that too, to very significant levels.

Tips to reduce return and refund rate:

1. State Returns Policies Clearly

Declaring clear and easily understandable policies are critical to clear all the fuss and therefore compels users to make purchase. Ensure that your product return COMPLIES WITH EACH STATE AND COUNTRY LAWS.

Stating policy is one thing and making them visible to customers is other thing. Place your product policy where it is clearly visible to the shoppers. The practice develops trust. Clearly state when the processing of funds for refund would be initiate, no one wants to wait till the eternity. And, it makes them stay away from your website.

2. Accurate and Focused Product Data

The biggest turn-off for the customer is what they envision the product to be (when they receive) and what it actually is (when they receive it). Thus to reduce “Return and Refund” policy, accurate and focused product data is ominous.

Also, CLEARLY map the category of the products with the corresponding Marketplace’s category where you sell. Wrong mapping is one of the biggest reasons that propagate misunderstandings and hence, return.

Also, the benefit of Accurate and Focused Product Data is not only limited to reducing return and refund policy. But it results in better discoverability — on search engines of the marketplaces where you sell. Kill two sparrow with the single arrow.

3. Encourage Product Reviews

The product reviews help your cause. When the buyer appreciates, criticizes or tells there hands-on experience, it comes as a word-of-mouth publicity for the product. Moreover, the buyer-to-be has a 360 degree knowledge of your products, first through your accurate, focused and informative title, product descriptions and the other through the reviews.

Thus, when the two realities — what the consumer expects to be and what it actually is — are coherent, invariably return and refund rate decreases.

4. Offer In-Store Returns

At the Magento Paris conclave, we learnt that 61% consumer preferred, click-and-pickup functionality. It means they like to purchase online whereas pick-up in store.

This can also be used in the return policy. The return-in-store saves crucial time for the buyers and saves you all-important bucks. Also, the process becomes hassle-free and seamless. Also, when they come to return, most likely they will purchase, we don’t say, it is the study conducted by UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper say “70% of shoppers who return items in-store, make an additional purchase when at the store”

5. Offer Competitive Return Deadlines

Try competing with Walmart and Amazon with the return period delivery. Also, the study conducted at Navin Jindal School of Management, University of Texas busts the common myth that higher return period corresponds to larger number of orders whereas, it’s not true.

The study postulates that the longer the buyer keeps product with him, the lesser is the probability of the return. They named it as endowment effect. Amazing isn’t it?

6. Offer Product Exchanges

Another very smart way to reduce your return. Offer exchanges on the relevant products. The exchanges leaves the good effect on the buyers psyche and you get some bad money off your balance sheet. A win-win situation for both the consumer and you.

Conclusion:

Apart from this several other techniques such as intensely monitoring the shipping process to remove manual error, adopting to an automated order processing and also keep checking on fraudulent checks are the other practices you can IMPLEMENT AND REDUCE YOUR RETURN AND REFUND REQUESTS TO MORE THAN HALF.

More from CedCommerce

1. Explained: Jet Returns Policy

2. How Walmart Marketplace Integration App by CedCommerce helps you better the Order Processing.

3. How To Reduce Cancellation Rate, Out Of Order Stock And Return Rate At Walmart.com?

4. Tips on creating Return Policy for ecommerce store