Must-Know Ecommerce Return Rate Statistics and Trends

How Return Rates Affect Customer Experience

Something to keep in mind is that a high return rate doesn’t always signal that your business is doing poorly. In fact, it can lead to more loyal customers and shoppers that want to continue purchasing larger orders. By allowing customers to return things easily you can make their shopping experience even more enjoyable.

Here are some ideas to make your return policy better:

• Have easily accessible return and custom labels consumers can print at home.
• Encourage an easy returning experience with prepaid labels.
• Create a longer return window that lasts over 90 days.
• Let shoppers know from the start what your return policy is.
• Give a refund before processing so the customer receives their payment quickly.

How Ecommerce Returns Has Changed Since 2020

Online shopping has increased in popularity due to the pandemic closing down of most in-person stores for over a year. Here are some of the major ways that things have changed since 2020 when it comes to eCommerce returns.

Retention and Returns Policy Are Connected

We have entered a new era of loyalty shock, which means customers aren’t as loyal to brands as they once were. They now are relying on other factors such as budget, convenience, and more to dictate their purchasing decisions. One of those factors includes having an easy return policy.

Customers Don’t Want To Pay For Return Shipping

Over half of customers stated that one of the major reasons they avoid purchasing new things online is because of the return fee. Having a quick refund policy or an easy drop-off location for returns can help your customers trust your brand and encourage them to make another purchase.

Easy Online Exchange Policy Can Save Your Sale

If you offer an easy exchange policy then you’re more likely to retain the sale. This is because customers might like an item, but simply want to swap out a different size or a similarly priced item.

The Environmental Price Tag Of Ecommerce Returns

There is a high environmental price tag associated with ecommerce. According to Optoro, in 2019, online shopping returns generated five billion tons of landfill waste and produced the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions as three million cars.

With this in mind, many customers are willing to step into a physical store to return packages rather than increasing their carbon footprint by shipping their items back to the retailer.

However, not all shoppers are as environmentally conscious and a practice called bracketing has been on the rise. This is when someone purchases multiple versions of the same item, trying them on, and sending back the items that don’t work. During the pandemic, most consumers explained that the reason for this had to do with weight gain or loss.

Ecommerce Returns Policy Best Practices: A Checklist

If you’re wondering how you can update your ecommerce return policy then we’ve got you covered. Here are seven items to check off your list on your path to ecommerce best practices.

1. Your policy should appear on your main menu
2. Your policy should showcase positive and negative testimonials
3. Your policy reinforces your commitment and features helpful feedback from customers
4. Your policy should not use intimidating phrases and words
5. Your policy should be clear on what customers can expect
6. Your policy should be memorized by each team member
7. Your return policy should always make it right with the customer