WHAT YOUR RETURNS POLICY SAYS ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS
If you are not making online returns simple and easy for your electronics loving customers, you are missing out on some big time sales. Consumers have more options than ever before, but if online retail returns are hard, they will opt to shop somewhere else. Electronics are one of the most commonly returned products purchased online. Just a few simple changes to your returns policy could shift the metric in your favor, where returns make you money. Here are some reasons why.
Places like Amazon already have electronics returns software automating their entire systems. When users need to make a return, they simply go back to Amazon and submit the return ticket and get a return shipping label. That’s one of the reasons why Amazon does so much business each year. And your business can, too, by making some subtle changes.
Simple Returns Make You More Money
A number of studies have found that offering free returns with no fees is conducive to more online sales. We actually took the time to look up a few of these studies, and we wrote some white papers on them to help you better understand. A study looked at the data of 49 months of sales from two large online retailers. It found that an astounding sales increase of over 320% was enjoyed when returns were offered with free shipping and no restocking fees.
Loyalty Increases with a Good Returns Policy
In another related study it was determined that consumers are far more loyal to companies that offer convenient returns. About 90% of consumers will remain loyal to your business when returns are simple and hassle-free. What’s more, about 80% will not shop at your store when returns are a hassle. And with the internet, it’s just a mouse-click to get to the next online store.
Your Store Causes More Returns Than the Customer Does
Another thing that you should consider is what is causing the returns. Surprisingly you would find that most returns are your fault. How can this be so, you might be wondering? Take a look at these facts to get some more clarity.
- 65% of returns are due to retailer error, not consumer fault.
- 23% of online returns are because the consumer received the wrong product.
- 22% of online returns are due to the product being substantially different in appearance than was advertised online.
- 20% of online returns are due to the consumer receiving a damaged or a defective item.
Bad Returns Policies Drive Customers Away
Did you know that most people will read your online product returns policy and base their buying decision off what they read? If you don’t have a lenient policy in place, you are missing out on sweet sales. That’s because at least 80% of consumers desire an automated online returns system, and about 77% think that they shouldn’t have to pay return shipping costs.
The “After Buying Experience”
Once a consumer has made a purchase from an online store, commonly overlooked is the “after buying experience.” This is the experience the consumer has after they have made a purchase, when they need to make a return. Online retailers go to great lengths to assure that finding items, adding them to the cart and checking out are as painless, quick and easy as possible. But what happens if a loyal customer needs to process a return? If they are facing a wall of text and a process that requires too many steps, they are not likely to make a future purchase from that store.
It’s Possible to Automate Your Returns Policy
As you can see, the facts show that making returns easy and low cost or free is the right approach when trying to win over new customers and retain existing ones. But how do you automate this process when electronics are involved that are returned more often than any other product?
What you need is a software solution, one that can drop right into your site. Lucky for you, you’ve just found that solution. Take a look at electronics returns software like ReadyReturns. It only takes a few minutes to set-up. After that, customers just return to your website to place a return and generate a return shipping label, while the software processes the order and tracks the return, generating all the reports that you need.