Returns have always been a headache for customers. Ecommerce, something that multiplies when we talk about the return on online purchases in the fashion sector. In fact, this industry is the one that collects the highest volume of returns all of analyzed extrawhere it says that 25.1% of respondents have requested a refund from this sector in the last 12 months. This has caused many ecommerce businesses to hamper returns thinking: “If I prevent the return process, I will not receive any returns“. In reality, by overcomplicating this process, you lose a customer forever.
A customer who wants to return a product and is unable to do so is a dissatisfied customer.
As According to the latest Sendcloud study, a difficult returns process is the fourth reason customers abandon their carts and don’t complete their purchases. This directly affects the conversion and therefore the sales of any e-commerce.
But could returns become a sales lever? And the answer was: yes, thanks to flexibility.
But what is a flexible return policy?
Flexible return policies put the customer at the heart of the e-commerce strategy offer you different return options through fairer processes. Eduardo Ferrandiz, VP of Operations at Singularutold us about it in one of our success stories: “At Singularu, our customers manage their returns instantly and independently, which allows us to add value to their post-sales experience.”
With a traditional return process, the customer must first send the product in for return, the e-commerce will check it and if everything is correct, will issue the refund. This entire process takes about 10 to 14 days.
So that we understand each other. If the customer pays their money first when making a purchase, why is the last thing they get refunded for in the event of a return? It doesn’t make any sense to us. Actually, Jorge Vidri, co-founder of Pompeii and one of our customers recently told us:The biggest frustration for customers is when they deliver their package and lose all ability to act without having received their money.”
That’s why we make e-commerce easier Tool that allows them to make the refund instantly with the aim of offering the customer the best possible post-sale experience. In just 6 seconds the customer has his money back. And then it takes care of shipping the product to e-commerce.
However, flexible returns are not just about refunds. We also consider changes in it.
The goal of many ecommerce businesses is to convert returns into exchanges to increase loyalty and repeat sales
Providing an automated exchange process where the customer gets the desired product in just 4 days instead of waiting up to 15 days results in an absolutely exceptional customer experience.
And how is that possible? Very easy. The customer requests the change in the e-commerce change portal and selects the reason there. If it is a matter of resizing, all you have to do is choose the right size of the product and you’re done. At this point, e-commerce receives the change order and can ship the new product. The customer can then ship the originally purchased product. In this way we avoid the customer having to send the product, the e-commerce checking it and, once everything has been checked, sending the new product.
If you’ve read this far (which we hope, because we know returns are a problem for you too), you’ll be wondering: what happens if the customer doesn’t send back the product they want to return or exchange? Who bears this risk? We of course.
At Reveni, we cover the costs of any fraudulent activity, so e-commerce is not affected
We have developed our own risk model that helps us to get to know our customers better and to identify exactly the processes that can lead to fraud. As with the deferred payment methods, we have a scoring system that allows us to score each request based on different variables. In the event that a fraudulent operation is detected, we do not offer the applicant the option of an immediate refund and exchange. We offer you to carry out the return and/or exchange in the traditional way, including through our portal.
We provide the security and confidence e-commerce needs so they don’t have to worry about what happens to their products when they ultimately don’t arrive and they’ve already arranged for a refund or exchange. We take on that risk for you so you can continue to focus on growing your sales.
Here is our fintech “magic”. As you’ve seen, implementing flexible return and exchange policies will help you provide your customers with a better post-sale experience while encouraging repeat purchases. But that’s not the only advantage for your e-commerce. Your business can also benefit greatly from this.
By automating your returns and exchanges processes, you can improve the operation of your devices
At a time when efficiency is paramount, optimizing processes is one of the keys. And automation is one of the best allies to achieve this. Why do your customers need to email you for returns when you’ve automated everything related to your checkout process? This means that later you will have to manually manage each request.
To avoid this, you can integrate a returns portal like Reveni’s into your operations, which allows you to easily and quickly automate all processes related to your returns and changes.
As you can see, returns have tremendous potential to improve your post-sale process and increase purchases. It’s time to stop treating returns as the enemy of your e-commerce, and turn them into a lever that helps you deliver an exceptional post-sale experience.