Ways To Reduce Returns To Your E-commerce Store

All online businesses face some harsh obstacles, especially in the initial phase. The reason is there are lots of things to manage and you never feel complete control over your business. This gets even worse when you encounter the most menacing problem known in the e-commerce business. You guessed it right – we are talking about “returns.

Problems That Sellers Face Due To Returns

Not only start-ups but the most experienced e-commerce giants like Amazon feel powerless when dealing with returns. They have to waste unnecessary time, energy for processing and inspection of returns. Then it comes to dealing with items that don’t comply with the return policy and issuing timely refunds. Sellers need to deal with these problems with a positive attitude so that customers don’t turn their back against them.

Additionally, sellers who provide free returns have to bear the cost of return shipping also and it gets more and more difficult as the number of returns increases. If you are dealing with the same issue, this blog will be your first successful step towards reducing returns to your e-commerce store. To know about certain stores’ return policies, you can refer Returnsandrefund. Here are some of the most effective steps.

5 Best Return Prevention Tactics

There are many ways to reduce returns, but these are some of the most effective ones that’d surely make a great impact on return problems. Let’s get started.

1. High-Quality Images/Videos

You may find this topic a little unnecessary but there are still many online listings that show a single and blurry image of the product that doesn’t explain products in the best manner. It is important to invest some time in making sure that all of your products have quality images, videos (if necessary), and detailed descriptions. For images, the best practice is to use at least 3-4 images from different angles. Also, include videos if it justifies the need.

2. Write Accurate Descriptions

When you describe the products efficiently, it drastically reduces the chances of someone buying the wrong product. Though the description may vary depending on the product category, a description must include the weight, size, and material of the product.

In any case, wrong product descriptions must be avoided. A description should include everything that customers would like to know before making a purchase. This also includes things like warrantee information and any precautions that need to be taken.

3. Incorporate Fitting Tools and Size Guidance

You may think that this only relates to the retail of clothing and other apparel, but it’s not true. It is just as important for furniture, appliances, and many other items. If your business deals with apparel, then incorporate accurate size charts and also guidance on how certain sizes would fit certain people. For furniture and appliances, add virtual room planners that’d show how they will fit into specific places and corners of the room.

4. Pay Attention To Critiques and Reviews

Reviews are the most overlooked aspect of the success of online retail businesses. If your online store doesn’t have a review system, you may never find the actual reason behind returns. You should instead find a way to encourage customers to leave a review for every product. This can be done by providing free gift rewards for leaving an authentic review.

In some cases, reviews are also helpful in a way that customers can easily find answers to their questions if your description fails to do so. A positive review will help you increase sales and negative ones will help you make improvements that’d eventually reduce returns also.

5. Include Excellent Product Support Section

This one is by far one of the easiest ways of reducing returns. All you need to do is provide an easy way for customers to reach out to you. You can’t do much if it’s your fault for sending the wrong or defective product, however, it’s a different case if customers fail to understand how the item works and think it is broken.

You always have traditional ways of providing phone or email support. A more modern and effective option is to introduce “live chat or instant messaging” support on the product page. This truly works outstandingly and creates an instant way of communication between sellers and consumers. This way customers will be able to clear all queries about the products before making a purchase.

Conclusion

The problem of returns is not new in online retail businesses and returns in bulk could lead to major losses. Especially start-ups find it very difficult to overcome returns but there are so many options available to deal with this issue and make it a more manageable task.

Along with the tips that we mentioned, the best suggestion for the success of your e-commerce store is to put your customer, their expectations, and problems at the core of everything you do.