Having an e-commerce store can be a rewarding and lucrative business, but product returns and refunds are a huge issue in the sector, with over
30% of consumers returning products ordered online due to defects or damages.
Product returns and refunds are crucial issues on both sides of a merchandise transaction as consumers want liberal return policies as an incentive for making a bad purchase. Meanwhile, retailers do everything they can to foster long-term customer relationships with consumers while making a profit.
Although you can’t remove e-commerce returns and refunds, you can control it to ensure maximum customer satisfaction—and avoid turning a purchase into a product return.
Here are five strategies to prevent returns and refunds. ;
Test Items Before Delivering Them
You should test your items before delivery. There are
testing equipment you could purchase online helps you ensure that an item is safe for general use and functioning correctly. You can do this before delivering the actual item or use the products yourself before placing them up for sale in your store to see if there’s something wrong with it, allowing you to warn consumers. It’s best to regularly test out your products before
shipping them to avoid costly returns and refunds.
Post a Video of the Item Online
Over 23% of product returns are due to inaccurate depictions of products, making high-quality visuals providing detailed views of items vital in bridging the gap between consumer’s expectations and the reality of your products. Additionally, it helps them know how it works and how they can assemble it (if applicable). A pitfall of online businesses is the lack of touch and detailed examinations that consumers can do when shopping in physical stores.
The easiest way you can overcome this obstacle is by providing extremely detailed videos of your products. Empower your consumers with as much information as possible about your products to help them make a holistic decision based on their expectations.
Source From Reputable Manufacturers
When choosing a manufacturer to partner up with, ensure they provide legitimate and quality certifications. However, manufacturers don’t always make it easy to see or verify these essential certifications. You can ensure they’re honest by looking up if they have credentials from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and other organizations ensuring quality standards.
Post Reputable Reviews About Your Items
Product reviews provide you with SEO, sales benefits, and can also reduce product returns. Posting these reviews empower your clients to make better-informed decisions about making a purchase, leading to fewer regrets. It’s best if you work to implement reviews for each product you’re selling, encouraging consumers to provide accurate and more insightful reviews.
Ensure Good Packaging
A common cause of product returns is because it gets damaged while on delivery, and unfortunately, this isn’t in your control. That’s why even if you ship out your items in good condition, it can still get damaged, especially if your packaging is not the best. The best way you can resolve this is by designing
a packaging system that ensures safety during transportation.
Even if you have streamlined your refund and return policies, it pays to make an effort to reduce the number of product returns getting sent back your way. Having an e-commerce strategy plan with the tips mentioned is a smart place to start helping you avoid returns and maximize customer satisfaction—and profit.