While many eCommerce gurus will teach you a lot about how to get sales, only a few share how to tackle return orders for eCommerce.
Product return is a part of the online selling business. Almost 18.1% of products purchased online are returned. But thankfully, you can reduce the eCommerce return rate via various eCommerce optimizations.
This guide aims to provide actionable insights for eCommerce to reduce their returns, provide the best customer experience, as well as, boost their profits.
So without any further ado, let’s have a look at 11 strategies to reduce eCommerce product return.
Why Customer Return Order on Ecommerces?
Various studies have been conducted to figure out the most common reasons why customers return orders. These are:
- Item Doesn’t Fit: Approximately 70% of returns occur because the item doesn’t fit as expected.
- Received Damaged or Defective Items: About 65% of online shoppers return products due to damage or defects.
- Product Doesn’t Match the Description: Nearly 49% of returns happen when the product doesn’t match what was described online.
- Don’t Like the Item: Around 33% of customers return items simply because they don’t like them.
- Ordered Multiple Items/Sizes: Some customers return products because they ordered multiple items or sizes and decided to keep only one.
- Item Arrived Late: Approximately 11% of returns occur when the item arrives later than expected.
Keeping the policy-violating customers aside, the most common reason is lack of information. The more you communicate with your customer, the higher their satisfaction score is with the purchase.
11 Strategies to Reduce Return Orders for E-commerce
Accurate Product Listing
Let’s start from the beginning. A customer looking for a product goes through a particular category and compares all the available options.
At this place, your product must be listed accurately. For example, categorizing daily wear and athleisure separately for a fashion eCommerce.
Not only will this help you maintain the ecommerce site structure, but will also ensure the right products are displayed when the customer is ready to make a purchase.
Categorizing, even on marketplaces like Amazon & Walmart, ensures the customer knows what they are buying. This indeed helps in reducing returns by helping customers make more informed decisions.
Additionally, using sitewide breadcrumbs to help shoppers navigate and learn more about the categories on site.
As an eCommerce, make it easy to find the desired products, and this shall decrease incorrect online purchases. Indeed helping eCommerce reduce return orders in the process.
Detailed Product Description
Since customers can’t physically touch and assess the product when shopping online, your product description plays a crucial role in delivering information.
It ensures that first-hand information is shared with the customer. And they make a well-read purchase online.
But the question is, how to write a product description to reduce return orders for eCommerce?
Here are some quick tips that will help in writing better eCommerce product descriptions:
- Understand your customer’s use case and address it in your product description.
- Use bullets to share general information like size, type, color, material, and more.
- Avoid jargon and speak to customers in their day-to-day vocabulary.
- Highlight important information that showcases the features of your product.
It is also recommended to share how to use and take care of the product when you are writing product descriptions. This will ensure the customer knows more about the product.
This indeed helps them make more informed decisions, which helps to reduce return orders for your eCommerce.
Display high-quality product images
One of the very first interactions between a customer and a product is through visual means. That is, among all online customers, 63% consider your product images more important than description and customer reviews.
This makes your product images extremely important in communicating the right information.
How? By showing the right colors of the product, depicting the right size of the product, using high-quality product images, and presenting your product from multiple angles.
This makes high-quality product presentation extremely important for brands of all sizes and types.
To deliver the same, you can use professional photography and product photo editing services to make sure the product appears exactly the way it is in real life.
Moreover, it is presented in a way that delivers the right information while also catching the information of your customer.
Curate Product Guide
Product guides are an in-depth content piece that tells customers about how to use a product, how to take care of it, and what should one avoid.
Many online sellers make product guides but often fail to make them easy to understand and follow.
This indeed affects the customer experience. Also, failing to use the product—causes a return order for eCommerce.
As an eCommerce, curate specific guides to help your customers. This guide can be in the form of well-curated PDFs, or even videos that showcase your product.
Gymshark gives a clear size chart for its product. That way, customers can see exactly what size to order, by measuring themselves before placing an order.
When a customer is confidently able to use the product, it reduces the return order. More importantly, this additional step of teaching your customer enhances the customer experience and builds trust.
Motivates Engagement with Sales
Having conflicts during making an online purchase is common. And if a customer makes a wrong decision, this could result in an eCommerce return order.
This is where adding a layer of sales and assistance can make a lot of difference. Having a compare page, or using live chat assistance can make it easy for customers to find the best product for themselves.
Additionally, if you target specific products to different categories of audiences, you can use quizzes and surveys to help customers find the best product for themselves.
A great example of this would be how Your Skin brand uses eCommerce quizzes to help customers find the best skin care product for their skin type.
Moreover, since many customers may wish to opt out of the quiz, you can use an exit intent pop-up to sign them up for your newsletter. This way, you’ll be able to connect with your most special customers, even if they don’t complete the quiz right away.
Curate UGC & Review for Products
Trust is an important factor when customers are making an online purchase. Which is why it is recommended to collect reviews from your customers.
According to Statista, 70% of customers check reviews before buying any products online.
But taking it a step further, you can motivate customers to send pictures/videos of the product they purchased in their reviews. One of the leading eCommerce to follow this strategy is Etsy.
For a shopper, this additional information and first-hand experience from customers would exceedingly be helpful.
Moreover, they will already be able to see how the product is in different settings, from the point of view of different customers.
Sharing this helps customers make more informed decisions, hence reducing return orders for eCommerce.
Additionally, you can also use the following UGC reviews and share them in a newsletter.
Track Customer Queries
Each customer query must be dealt with and tracked with a centralized system. For eCommerce, it collects all the queries from the customer and groups them to find the most recurring issue.
Assessing these requests and finding the most common issues helps in taking necessary steps to resolve the issues customers are facing.
At the end of the day, the best way to reduce return orders for eCommerce is by taking necessary steps toward solving customer problems.
Tracking the problems customers are facing would help you take the necessary steps in the right direction.
You can also build dedicated contact forms where customers can share their experience directly with the management team.
Not only will this allow you to hear the most important complaints but will also build trust among customers that their problems are being considered by the most important people on the team.
Offer Exchanges
Source: Chubbies
There are chances your customer doesn’t want a refund but is simply unsatisfied with the purchase.
Offering an exchange program is a great way to show you support your customers, while also helping you reduce return orders for your eCommerce.
Also, you must place options to return and exchange nearby. While they should be distinct, present your customers with the option to choose the process they prefer.
Chubbies, for example, also offers a store discount of $10 if a customer opts for exchange, instead of return.
Here are a few UX writings that you can use to motivate customers to go for exchange.
- Let’s get you a replacement! Tap here to exchange.
- Not satisfied? No worries! Exchange hassle-free within [timeframe].
- Enjoy a seamless exchange process with free shipping both ways.
- I see you received a defective item. Would you like to exchange it for a new one?
Additionally, you can also offer a special coupon for the customers who reach your places for an exchange or return order in your store. This is to share that you value their engagement and would be happy to offer a special offer when they buy from you next time.
Enhance Customer Support
When it comes to fostering trust and building a good relationship with the customer, your customer support plays a crucial role.
The team is responsible for interacting with the customer, and assisting them in making the right decision.
They also thoroughly assist with order confirmation, shipping updates, and return policies. This makes customers trust your brand from the start, and resolve their issues.
Here, your support team must know about your store’s policy very well. As an eCommerce, you can create specific documents to help your team manage unsatisfied customers better.
The issues can be related to shipping, packaging, or with the product. However good customer support can effectively help in conflict resolution.
According to Salesforce research, 88% of customers are likely to purchase again if they experience good customer service.
Create a good return policy
When you are running an eCommerce, you must motivate sales—while ensuring minimal returns.
That being said, there can be situations when a return is genuinely needed and accepted by eCommerce. It is to build trust and reduce hesitation in your customers.
To deliver a satisfying customer experience, create a good return policy that safeguards the customer as well as your eCommerce. Give your customer enough time to place a return, but list out the reasons based on which you’ll accept the return.
One of the best return policies that you can have a look at is by Under Armour. They specify when the return is acceptable and when it isn’t.
Understand what can go wrong during shipment and ensure your customer that accidents will be covered under the return policy. That being said, motivate customers to record the unpacking to claim a return.
Also, don’t hide your return policy. Rather showcase it and communicate that you are dedicated to delivering a good customer experience.
These are small steps that genuine customers would appreciate and keep the scammers away.
Flag Policy Violating Customers
While delivering a good customer is important, safeguarding your business from fraudsters is important as well.
Based on the previous records, if you have seen a higher return rate from a particular customer or group of customers—it’s best to flag them and stop them from making further purchases.
Here, you are not cutting your customers away, but a recurring pattern that hurts your eCommerce business. Hence, blocking these IDs can help you reduce return orders for your eCommerce as well.
Conclusion
Trying to build an online brand is tough. And while sales and return are part of the business—building trust among customers is most important.
Above, after going through all the 11 strategies to reduce return orders, I am sure you have a good idea to optimize your eCommerce.
All you need to do now is, make sure genuine customers are safeguarded while protecting your eCommerce from fraudsters.