Now that the holiday season is behind us, many retailers are facing a wave of returns. On average, 30 per centof online sales returns versus 9 per cent of regular shop purchases.
The convenience of e-returns is brought about by the number of locations and ways in which goods can be returned. Not just by post but also at chain stores, bookstores, even DIY stores, there are already options. A great form of service, but one with a downside: the return process can also be faster than the regular sales process because the supplier has all the details of the shipment at its disposal. Whether thanks to the QR or barcode on the product or not.
Use the shop
They often let customers send the product back to collection points and eventually to the distribution centre. However, handling costs are often high and procedures for Returns often complex. Handling in local shops is often easier and cheaper and the product, if usable, can be immediately added back to saleable stock.
It makes sense then to use a Distributed Order Management system across your entire organisation. Then the shop will immediately have all the information about the product at its disposal, and when it enters local stock, the entire organisation's stock is immediately updated.
Preventing returns
Prevention is always better than cure. Yet companies make quite a few mistakes that lead to returns;
* Misinformation on your website;
* Bad images on your website;
* ambiguity regarding colours and sizes;
* Wrong data and data file errors;
* mistakes in your inventory;
* mistakes in during order picking and packing;
* failure to honour agreements;
* Late delivery;
* lack of clarity around the delivery process.
These are all issues that, as an organisation, you can easily prevent by sharply reviewing your processes according to the First Time Right principle. In doing so, don't make the mistake of expanding your procedures. Instead, keep it as simple as possible for the customer but also your employees.
Leveraging technology
Especially with apparel, you can use the latest technology to give the customer a better idea and insight into how and whether the clothes fit beforehand. Merging your clothing image with a photo of the customer himself is already possible nowadays. You can also put vlogs online showing the product, how it works and the actual use of the product so that the customer gets a better experience of the product.
Financial
Don't forget to make the financial processing of returns as smooth and, above all, as fast as possible. Also inform the customer, via e-mail, that you have processed his return and refunded the amount. Cheap is very quickly expensive with returns, because cumbersome and/or slow financial processing very quickly leads to a very dissatisfied customer.
