We’ve all been there. I know I have. The product we so eagerly ordered online and patiently waited for isn’t what we expected it to be. As the excitement fades, we come to the realization that this product will have to be returned to the retailer.
As part of this process, we know we’ll have to repackage it as best we can and head to the local pack and ship store to get it back on its way. Add up all of these steps—and sometimes even a return shipping fee—and then count the days before it’s processed and your refund issued.
That’s the traditional way of the average return policy in today’s bustling e-commerce world. But there’s an easier method that’s becoming a mainstay in e-commerce: front door returns. As a disclosure, my company ReadyCloud offers front door pickup returns solutions for e-commerce companies, among other services.
In this streamlined method, you simply print the return shipping label or generate a QR code shipping label on your phone, schedule a pickup date and leave the package out front for the driver. A delivery service arrives to collect your return, and once that label has been scanned, you know that your return is in the system and on its way back to the retailer—provided that your refund or in-store credit is processed shortly thereafter, of course.
A Quick Look At A Few Stats
Before diving deeper into front door returns, let’s first look at the bigger picture. Returns are far more common than you might expect, and the recent statistics are telling.
Returns are a major part of doing business online. According to research by the National Retail Federation, last year’s return volume exceeded $761 billion, accounting for nearly 16.6% of all retail sales in the U.S. During the holiday peak, when consumers tend to be pickier shoppers, the average national return rate peaks at about 17.5%—and can go as high as 35% for online purchases.
How your business approaches your returns policy is mission-critical. Offering a lenient and easy-to-use returns process is something that your customers expect.
Let’s take a quick look at these three statistics on e-commerce returns I’ve written previously for further insight into the importance of an easy return policy.
• 84% of shoppers won’t buy from a retailer again if they have a bad return experience.
• 75% of shoppers want an easy return policy, or they’ll shop somewhere else.
• 86% of shoppers will buy from a retailer again if returns are free.
What Customers Really Want
As the numbers above highlight, the most common denominator for customers in the returns process is the ease of it, something I’ve written about in a previous article. Considering that the majority of consumers take the time to research a return policy before buying, it’s safe for online retailers to focus on a “returns” page as a spotlight on their website, which can assure customers that sending products back will be just as easy as ordering them.
If you make returns hard, use confusing language or charge a fee, nearly three-fourths of consumers indicate they’ll simply go somewhere else that doesn’t. If your return policy already shines, though, imagine what adding the amenity of front door returns to your already awesome return policy would do to encourage customers to click that buy button without any worries.
Are front door returns the future of e-commerce? In a perfect world, yes. In due time, you can at least expect many big-box retailers and marketplaces will start offering them. In the meanwhile, though, this remains an attractive option for customers seeking to eliminate that potential trip to the local shipping store should they seek to return their purchase.
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