Businesses, online or offline, have to deal with product return management. The ratio increases with online stores as the customers have purchased a product without physical examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Statista<\/a>, in 2017, U.S. return delivery costs were estimated to be 350 billion U.S. dollars. This figure has been steadily increasing and was predicted to reach 550 billion U.S. dollars by 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ecommerce returns management can be tricky and if not handled strategically, it may not only hinder sales but adversely affect the customer experience of the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer is the king. The goal of E-commerce businesses should not only selling products to customers but also to provide a delightful shopping experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comparing E-commerce stores and brick-and-mortar stores, the gap of returning products is shocking! According to Invespcro<\/a>, at least 30% of all the products ordered online are returned as compared to 8.89% in brick-and-mortar stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numerous refund requests become a headache for an E-commerce store and, certainly, it is a sign of worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This post explores the top effective strategies for returns management in E-commerce and how to reduce the refund and exchange rate for your E-commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Majority of customers would never prefer to pay for returning a product because of defective and duplicate product or the product which does not match their expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if they do so, customers would not like to purchase again from the same E-commerce store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To give a satisfying service, E-commerce store owners should start offering \u201cfree return shipping\u201d. Customers will not have to pay a penny for returning a product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Offering free return on shipping will increase customer satisfaction towards your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preparing a transparent and detailed refund policy<\/a> is extremely helpful to solve any refund-related problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being an E-commerce store owner, considering various types of refund requests, you should draft a transparent refund policy. Making the refund policy visible to customers helps when they opt to request for a refund, they can read the policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.\u201d-<\/em> Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how frustrated your customer is due to poor service, your initial priority is to listen to your customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the customer is unhappy with the service, talk politely and respectfully to customer. Committing that it was a mistake from your side and apologizing are two of the best ways to communicate and handle such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to your unhappy customers, improve your service and try not to repeat the same mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retaining your customers is important to make a long-term profitable business. Due to a bad shopping experience, a customer asks for a refund, and he has the right to ask.However, it is even more important how E-commerce businesses treat their unhappy customers. In order to rebuild brand reputation; give store credit<\/a> on the next purchase,For instance.We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience. Because it was our mistake, we are giving you 50 credit points which you can redeem on your next purchase. E-commerce stores do not need to refund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer will purchase again from the same E-commerce store because of the store credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers satisfaction<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be difficult for large E-commerce stores to handle refund management process manually. Systematic refund management process helps to resolve this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a customer asks for a refund and the reason is genuine, refund would be done within 5-7 working days automatically. It will save a lot of time, and it makes a refund process easier for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meetanshi\u2019s Magento 2 Refund Request<\/a> extension can be helpful that allows customers to ask for a refund without having to log in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n9 Ways for Effective E-commerce Returns Management:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Offer free return shipping<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Draft a transparent and detailed refund policy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Consider Returns as Opportunity to Improve your service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Integrate Store Credit System for Managing Refunds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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If you are a Magento 2 store owner, you can use Magento 2 Store Credit<\/a> extension that automatically converts the refund amount to store credit.
<\/em>The best advantage of a store credit system is E-commerce stores do not need to refund customers. Instead of giving refunds, leveraging store credit is useful.When a customer asks for a refund, we will give the same worth of store credit. Therefore, on the next purchase, a customer can redeem store credit.Two benefits of leveraging store credit system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n5. A Systematic Refund Process Management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n