E-commerce is a booming industry with opportunities practically everywhere you look. At least 51% of Americans prefer online shopping for its convenience. Yearly revenue from e-commerce sales is already in the trillions and the sector will only keep growing. While it’s certainly a great business to be in, there are some challenges.
Online Returns: The Ugly Truth About E-commerce
High return rates are one of the biggest obstacles for e-retailers. UPS says that return rates are 3 times higher for online purchases, and more than 30% of apparel gets sent back. For higher-priced items, it’s as much as 50%. It’s not surprising, as people like to touch and feel an item before knowing if it’s really right for them. But that “Buy Now” button is just so convenient!
Returns not only mean lost revenue but also added work and labor costs. Lower product return rates will save you money and build the trust that creates long time customers. We’ve made a list of some easy steps you can take to reduce product returns.
5 Ways to Reduce Returns in Ecommerce
Create Detailed Product Listings – Detailed product and delivery information are critical for helping customers to an informed decision. Otherwise, you risk higher returns due to unmet expectations. For apparel, give a detailed size guide with measurements explained. For tech items, include all product specifications such as memory capacity, number of ports, compatibility information, etc. Consider linking to a buyer’s guide to help shoppers know what to look for.
Select Great Product Images – Use high-resolution images that portray your item honestly and from different angles. Use more than one image. Try to show as many details as possible. Interactive 360-degree viewing tools can make your product images a lot more effective.
Make Customer Service Accessible – Make it easy for customers to reach out to you during the checkout process. Display phone numbers and emails prominently, or use a chat feature. Pop up a link to your FAQ’s for anyone who’s been on a certain product page for a set amount of time. An informed purchase is more likely to stick.
Use Product Video Reviews – Customer feedback is incredibly valuable for online shoppers. Honest feedback from someone who bought the exact same product can answer questions and increase shopper confidence. With tellofy, you can place reviews on any landing page or product page, and you can manage all your reviews, whats more you can even have audio and video reviews.
PROTIP: Video reviews are especially powerful, as they are more engaging and bring the buyer “closer” to the item. People respond to and process visual data better than any other type of stimuli, and 93% of human communication is visual. tellofy offers simple video review collection mechanism with no apps or no plugins needed by the respondents. Try it out with a free trial for video reviews now.
HubSpot says “Including video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by 80%.”
Gather Feedback on Reasons for Returns – Talk to your customers and you’ll get helpful data that can help reduce product returns. Identify your most often returned items and why, then work to improve those items. If something is often returned for being off-size or lower quality than expected, you might be able to improve the product listing (or the product itself) to reduce returns on that item. try out the tellofy audio and video reviews widget