While retailers are largely soaking up the benefits of this online shopping surge, they also have to deal with the returns from their customers. The return policies of these retailers are put in place for a reason, as returns are natural within the world of both in-store purchases and e-commerce. Regardless of who assumes the fault, returns are most impactful on the retailer.  Too many returns results in a retailer needing to increase their budget for operational costs and can be detrimental to the way customers view the retailer. For any retailer hoping to maintain their current levels of sales revenue and profit, this post should help you understand why returns happen and how your organization can hope to reduce them.

The first step is directly related to the online retailing aspects of any organization. A website is what allows customers to shop online, but typically the product pages on the website can stir up a lot of problems for customers. One of the main reasons that customers make the returns they do is because a product they purchased doesn’t accurately match the description or images on the website. In order to reduce the rate of these types of returns, retailers must prioritize providing customers with the most honest descriptions of their products, coupled with the most revealing photos of a product. Meaning don’t alter the photos or description in such a way that a product can be considered differently than the customer. Additionally, consider how you can improve the sizing information shared alongside a product page. As nearly 52% of all returns were due to sizing issues, retailers should prioritize more sizing information to be shared.

Many retailers have also noticed that one way to improve sales is by offering a free shipping policy. Coupled with this policy is often a free returns policy for customers who may not be pleased with their purchases. While this may seem abusable, it’s the current adaptation that retailers have to make to claim their stake in the space. As a recent survey from 2021 would point out, 96% of shoppers consider free shipping to be a necessity and customers also think similarly to free returns, as shoppers find it to be the second most important necessity at 79%.

It goes without saying that a direct relationship between the increase in online shopping over the last few years and the rate of returns exists. For example, between 2020 and 2021, retailers saw an increase of upwards of 70% in their rate of returns. However, it’s worth noting that a number of these returns were a result of customers attempting to scam retailers with practices such as “wardrobing,” “bracketing,” and even other forms of fraudulent purchases. These fraudulent purchases are often done by scummy customers who steal the credit cards of others, make purchases on them, and return these purchases in hopes to get the credit onto their actual credit cards. This shines light on perhaps the most important element for retailers to consider when attempting to reduce return rates, how different protection tools or services can help defend them.

With the right anti-fraud tools and a sound partnership with their providers, retailers can block transactions from stolen cards and offer refunds to the original card holder in the blink of an eye. Unique payment solutions also help retailers when trying to reduce the costs they incur due to returns. These are techniques specifically designed with easy integration in mind, working to provide protection against fraud and abuse. Professional services are available to make sure these solutions fit your payment system and way of business.

Retailers struggle enough with developing new exciting ways to drive sales and improve the experience of their customers. Rather than having to worry about customers attempting to scam your business, consider how a security provider can help. For more information on these providers and their services, take a minute to view the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of Signature Payments.