Order comes back? Here's what you can do!
- Oct. 18, 2024
- Trudie Stedema
As the owner of an online store, you have to deal with it: an order comes back. This cannot always be prevented, but you can take measures to reduce the numbers.
After all, a return always costs money. Not only in transportation costs, but also the hours you have to spend on it to process it. A return requires extra freight transport and thus the burden on the environment is also greater. And then there's always the chance that the product is damaged and you can't offer it again.
Prevention is better than cure
You can take a number of measures to reduce the number of returns. In this blog we have collected a number of tips for you to do this yourself. You can read them below. Do you have your own experiences? Share them with us using the comment form at the bottom of the page.
Help the customer make the right choice
You don't want to fill the pages in your web shop with huge chunks of text. However, make sure that the customer gets all the relevant information to make an informed decision. In this way, the customer cannot be surprised with a product that does not fit, has a different color than in the picture or equipment that does slightly different things than desired.
- Invest in high-quality product videos and photos. For clothing and shoes, it can be helpful to include size charts and fit advice. For example, include centimeters.
It also definitely makes sense to display customer reviews with the products. Your text with the product is important, but also experiences of customers who have already purchased it give a realistic picture of the product. This allows customers to make an informed decision.
Possibly some form of customer support can help. A list of frequently asked questions, the possibility of live chat, calling an employee or making an on-site appointment. For every type of business, there is bound to be something in between to give the (future) customer the help they need.
Do research
When customers want to return products, they often have to go through a procedure. This means that the product must somehow be registered as a return. Make sure that during this procedure, customers must also fill in why they want to return the item.
That way you can find out what's wrong with it. Is there always one item that comes back with complaints about the quality? Then you can choose to find another supplier for the same product. Are several products returning with the same complaint that, for example, the dimensions are not to your liking? Then you have a broader problem with your product descriptions.
Within Vtiger CRM we offer the ability to provide various forms of statistics so that you can see exactly per product, per supplier the type of complaint.
The cost of a return
Are these for you or for your customer? It makes a difference that free returns are not required by law. You can choose whether you want to do this or not. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. You can offer as a service that customers can return their products free of charge. Many customers experience this as a plus for ordering from a company that offers this service. The caveat here is that people then order somewhat thoughtlessly and then return 75% of the order.
If you let the customer pay the return costs, first of all you don't have those costs yourself. In addition, it creates a barrier for the customer to simply order the product or return it. You must clearly state this on your website.
Your warehouse and inventory management
All types of customers, business or private, are used to almost nothing other than having an ordered product delivered the next day. Of course, there are exceptions such as custom-made products or highly specialized devices. And so, of course, there are more examples. So for common products, the expectation is with one day.
Suppose someone orders a product in your webshop and only gets the message after payment that the product is out of stock. And that it may take two weeks before it will be delivered. What do most customers do then? Right, they order from someone else who can deliver. And as soon as your product finally arrives, it is immediately returned.
Here is the obvious tip to always keep your inventory up to date (or at least clearly indicate the expiration time). You have several software solutions for this. And if a product is really not available for a certain period of time, indicate this before the customer has to pay. To ease the pain you could give a small discount for patience. That is probably cheaper than processing a return.
Investing in packaging
Many business owners could write a book about how "creatively" they received returned packages. We can imagine. Glass vases wrapped in paper without any protection or endless rolls of tape were used. And so on and so forth. Either way, the bottom line is that the products were so damaged on the return trip that they became trash.
Of course, it also depends on the type of product you sell. If you sell clothing, you can choose to send a return package right away. This of course costs money, but it is cheaper than getting the products back unsellable. Unfortunately, it is not that easy with all products.
You can also make sure that the product's packaging is immediately suitable for a return. This requires some expense in design and development, but it is well worth it if you sell a lot of fragile items.
Getting started with your returns!
In addition, a lower number of returns makes for more efficient operations and less waste of time and resources. This not only contributes to your profitability, but also strengthens the loyalty of your customers, who will appreciate the care and attention. In a market where sustainability and customer satisfaction are increasingly important, reducing returns can set your webshop apart from the competition.
Reducing returns is not only beneficial to your online store's profitability, but also contributes to better customer satisfaction and a more sustainable business model. By paying attention to product information, customer service and technology, you can significantly reduce your return rate. The result? Satisfied customers who shop with confidence and fewer unnecessary costs for returns. So small changes to your processes can make a big difference to both your business and the environment.
Optimize returns processing
Even if you have done everything possible to prevent returns... you can't prevent them completely. There will always be products that do not fit properly, that are not the right color, that do not provide clear information. Then it becomes important to organize the return process efficiently.
- Sign up return
- Assess returns - this also gives the opportunity to sell a replacement product
- In case of warranty, perhaps also have them sent directly to manufacturer in consultation with supplier, saves shipping costs and lead time.
- Give permission to return (provide return label if necessary)
- Return inspection and handling
- Administrative processing (chargebacks and refunds)
We can set up the above process very nicely for you in Vtiger CRM. Including sending a payment link if the customer has to pay for a repair, communication with suppliers and repairers.
In short, investing in preventing and handling returns is a step forward for both your business and the customer experience.
Need help?
Do you have a Magento webshop and want to get started with your return flow? We can help you with that! Besides having all the knowledge to optimize your webshop to prevent returns, we can also advise you on what other software can help you with this.
Contact us and we will be happy to help you. Just click on the button below!
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