Returns can be devastating to a business. It lowers drastically profit margins, conversion rates, and overall retail sales. Retail product returns cost the industry billions of dollars. The rates are difficult to establish but separate sources complied data and it is a massive challenge to retail brands. Read more here about ecommerce product return facts and how to decrease returns.
Returns are the new normal. The real cost to retail brands is customers who buy with premeditated plans to return items immediately or some items.
How Online Sales Behave with Returns
Selling online includes offering a clear return policy. Consumers are more likely to shop online when clearly understanding return options. Free returns motivate consumers to shop online. The biggest consumer motivator is free shipping, see below.
Over 60% of consumers would buy again from retail brands that offer free returns or exchanges. At the same time, almost 70% of consumers would not buy online from a retailer that makes them pay for returns. Over 90% of consumers value highly the ability to return items free. An easy return process that is free motivates almost a 100% of consumers to shop.
This means that a well marketed and structured return policy and process can be a lucrative sales tool. It can drive profit, sales, and customer acquisition. Returns are often very misunderstood by retail brands. It can be an opportunity for increasing sales. Similar to shopping cart abandonment, most retailers have just accepted it as a cost of doing business. It again does not have to be that way. There are solutions and service providers that actively work on decreasing abandonment and generating sales in the process. They have more product return facts and solutions.
How to Decrease Returns and Shopping Cart Abandonment
To reduce product returns retail brands can be proactive. There are multiple actions that reduce returns for retailers. For example, a brand can make sure product photos are accurate, clearly visible, and use multiple product shots. Use videos to bring a product to life. Retail brands can write more elaborate product descriptions. Display product reviews and feedback is helpful as well. In addition, live chat options can be offered to provide immediate customer service to shoppers. There is much a brand can do to decrease returns and improve sales.
What causes shopping cart abandonment? What can be done about it? In short, any friction in the shopping or checkout process drives shopping cart abandonment. In more detail, long or complicated checkout processes, unexpected shipping costs, account registration requirements, payment security concerns, most types of restrictions, and lack of options including preferred payment can cause an increase in shopping cart abandonment.
In addition, site speed issues, long delivery times, lack of incentives, and so on additionally cause the increase of shopping cart abandonment. Avoiding all the above issues certainly will decrease the loss of customers and sales. Retailers should analyze their ratios and make necessary improvements. A/B testing is very useful here.
For retail brands that want assistance, professional marketing services by companies with plenty of e-commerce experience can be very helpful. Get more product return facts and how to decrease them. Improve online sales with professional help through e-commerce marketing services or also known as retail websites and retail marketing services.
