Jun 23, 2016

News stories of late have highlighted the challenge of retail returns and the epidemic of so called ‘serial returners’.

A recent survey of 1,000 household shopping decision makers conducted by Savvy on behalf of BBC Radio 4 found that women’s clothing had been returned by 63% of them at least once in the preceding six months. This demonstrates the extent to which the decision to buy now seems to have shifted and be taking place after delivery has been made.

The average returned purchase in the UK passes through seven pairs of hands before it is listed for resale and it is estimated that unwanted parcels add a £60bn a year squeeze on retailers as they cater to this shift in consumer behaviour. However, this is seen as a necessary evil in order to keep customers happy - failure to do this will simply result in them shopping elsewhere. Customer’s expectations are constantly evolving and the tech savvy generation have high expectations. It is now becoming clear that they are starting to demand an improved returns experience.

The research conducted by Savvy showed that 57% of shoppers say easy returns make them more likely to shop online, and 25-34 year olds are the age group most likely to make returns.

In our own research we found that when shopping on an international site for clothing, 73% of customers in Italy and 44% of customers in Japan are most likely to be reassured by a retailer’s returns policy. When asked whether the returns policy of a retailer affected their purchasing decision, those from Russia favoured an easy returns policy and Germans preferred free returns. We also found that in all of the regions surveyed, good returns options matter to women more than men.

Therefore it is clear that returns are important not only to customers in the UK but across the globe.

Smart retailers recognise this fact and the need to stay one step ahead and use their returns process as an opportunity to extend their customer service offering and keep their customers happy. Which is why we are seeing more and more retailers coming on board with wnReturns - our clever international returns solution which supports both the etailer and their end customer.

The ability to handle international returns is vital to retailers looking for eCommerce expansion; over 90% of retailers have said that this is 'important' or 'very important'.

With wnReturns, the whole process is made easy. Our retailer branded portal allows:

• The consumer to search for their order and produce a returns label
• Captures the reason for the return
• Offers a fully tracked solution - capturing scans in country and on receipt at our facility
• Allows the consumer to see where their return is, so a timely refund can be issued
• Choice of payment options - either retailer or customer paid
• Returns are consolidated for cost efficiency
• Gives full visibility of stock for complete control

So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t already get in touch and see how wnReturns can help you stay one step ahead.

For more info about wnReturns click here