Speed is often touted as the most important factor in online delivery, but research suggests that aspects like reliability, convenience, and cost are more valuable to today’s consumers.
Many commentators were already referring to the state of retail returns as a ‘crisis’ before Covid-19 brought about an unprecedented shift to online channels. What now for returns?
The high volume and cost of customer returns and how to deal with it is considered one of the biggest issues currently facing online retailers.
Online shoppers don’t only consider returns policies when they want to send something back.
The past several years have been very difficult for traditional retailers with brick-and-mortar footprints. Changing consumer habits, driven in large part by the rise of online retail, have led to thousands of store closures in the US and UK.
It’s no secret that in the fashion sector, where free shipping and free returns are standard, returns are rife. Fashion retailers are seeing returns rates upwards of 25% online compared to the 8% in store.
By one estimate, returns cost retailers around the world more than half a trillion dollars a year; by another, that amount will soon exceed a trillion dollars a year.
As an increasing number of staples of the UK’s high streets and shopping centres close branches, lay off employees and outright disappear, many have pondered how brick-and-mortar retailers can revive their fortunes in the age of ecommerce.
In March this year, H&M came under fire when a disgruntled shopper brought to light issues about the store’s sizing policy. Rebecca Parker is a standard UK size 14, and yet she couldn’t pull a pair of size 14 jeans over one thigh.
Social media is proving to be a double-edged sword for fashion retailers.
While content posted by consumers and influencers to popular social platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube has been proven to drive sales, a “snap and send back” trend driven by social media could be costing retailers in the UK billions of pounds in sales annually.
Ecommerce returns are quite the pickle – a slick and free service attracts shoppers, but a high returns rate can knock profitability.
Graham Best is CEO of ReBOUND, a returns management company. This is a day in his life…
On Friday, L.L.Bean, the 106 year-old retailer known for its clothing and outdoor recreational products, announced a radical change to is unique lifetime returns policy, which allowed customers to return products they had purchased even years after purchase.