1. Improve Product Descriptions
Product descriptions often get brushed under the table but they are a crucial part of customer conversion. Research by Retail Dive, a retail journal, states that more than 40% of consumers return products due to poor descriptions.
Reduce your ecommerce holiday returns this season with the following tips for product descriptions:
Write Accurate Content
Your customer will make the decision to buy a product after reading the written description. Make sure the product description does not include any inauthentic information.
Pictures and videos are important when it comes to buying items online. Include real pictures and videos of products to reduce product returns.
Automate Product Classification Processes
Classify products into accurate categories and subcategories. For example, ensure that all shoes are a part of a single, main group. Then further group boots, sneakers, and other subcategories of shoes. Unrelated products that show up while shopping does not create a positive customer experience.
2. Showcase Customer Reviews
Power Reviews, a user-generated content vendor, suggests that nearly 95% of customers browse reviews of a product before making their purchase.
Ecommerce holiday returns are reduced when consumers have access to verified customer reviews. They influence the customer’s purchasing decision and help the buyer make the right choice for their needs.
Read the blog Customers Ratings and Reviews: Social Proof Your Products to understand how you can increase customer conversions with reviews and ratings on your website.
Some ecommerce platforms plant fake positive reviews on their website. Only publish verified reviews to avoid harming your customers’ trust in your brand. Customers can distinguish between fake and authentic easily. Deceptive reviews create a poor brand image and customers start to assume that your website is a scam.
Respond to Negative Reviews
Bad reviews are a natural part of the ecommerce business. Don’t let poor reviews frustrate you, instead learn from them. Improving your products and their descriptions is an easy solution to reduce ecommerce returns. Here is how to deal with a negative review:
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- Acknowledge the customer’s issue.
- Look into the problem. If it’s valid, provide a genuine solution.
- Give a detailed explanation of the issue and solution in your reply.
- Compensate the reviewer appropriately, thank them for taking the time to leave a review, and consider offering a discount code for a future purchase.
Learn how to collect and present Customer Ratings and Reviews to build trust and promote authenticity with UpStart Commerce.
3. Market Products With Accuracy
Deceptive marketing campaigns not only hurt your brand’s identity but also lead to many product returns. Do not misrepresent product details in advertisements and marketing content. When a customer feels misled about a product’s details, they are likely to not only return the product but also leave a review.
Keep Ad Content Accurate
Ads are vital in marketing, whether they are sent via emails, chats, or placed on social media. Make sure the content is true to the product and does not contain any misleading information. Clearly state shipping and delivery estimates if using quick delivery as a unique selling point (USP). Check that product colors, textures, and sizes are not misrepresented in the visual ad content. Also, make sure that your ad copy is not overzealous and over-promising.
Place Ads in the Right Places
Understand your target audience by defining their demographics and characteristics. Select websites for Google Ads that your customers are likely to visit. Place ads on social media platforms where your ideal audience is likely to spend most of their time. Send emails and follow-up emails to opt-in subscribers about ecommerce sale dates and promotions.
4. Update the Return Policy
According to a blog post by CSA, a national retail news provider, 54% of customers in a retail survey said that they do not like to purchase from ecommerce businesses that have an unclear return policy.
Here is how you can reduce your ecommerce holiday returns by improving your return policy:
Update Your Return Policy
Customers constantly want a tailored shopping experience. Make sure you update the return policy before the holiday season begins. Remember to keep the language simple and straightforward. Do not include any hidden clauses. Explicitly mention the length of the return window, any fees the consumer pays to return items, and how they will receive their monetary refund.
Keep Your Return Policy Visible
Make sure customers can easily find your return policy on the platform. Return policies are often found on ecommerce website footers, links in the checkout process, and banners that highlight extended returns during the holiday shopping season.
5. Promote Exchanges
According to Optoro, a return management platform, 2 out of 3 customers will return at least one product.
If consumers return your products for a direct monetary refund, it will result in a loss. This is why it is best to mention in your return policy that you offer exchanges instead of only offering monetary returns. Many customers are happy to exchange their product for one that better suits their needs. This solution for ecommerce returns benefits both the retailer and the consumer. Use the following tips to catch the interest of customers for like-for-like transactions:
Give Credit or Bonus Points
Provide bonus points or extra credits to customers who exchange an item that they did not like instead of getting a monetary refund. Allow credits to accrue in your structured point system to redeem a free product or discount.
Free Shipping on Exchanges
Everyone loves free shipping. Ensure customers that exchanges include free shipping both ways to create a frictionless experience.
Learn more about shipping trends by reading the information discussed in “Keeping up with Shipping Trends for Ecommerce in 2022”.
Extend Return Windows
If you want your exchange policy to be successful, increase the window of time allowed for returning products. Give customers ample time to decide whether they want to keep the product or not, but the option of returning versus exchanging can dissipate after a shorter amount of time. After a specific time period, many ecommerce stores only offer exchanges.
6. Omnichannel Post-Holiday Support
According to Insider Intelligence, m-commerce (or mobile-commerce) will drive 50% of total sales in ecommerce.
Solutions for ecommerce holiday returns are simplified with unified customer support. Ecommerce organizations should have a dedicated team of employees who respond to social media messages and answer phone calls. Use the following methods to stay one step ahead of the competitors in terms of customer service:
Employ tools that identify comments, posts, and other forms of relevant brand mentions. Respond to them in a timely and reasonable manner that follows your brand guidelines. Do not respond negatively to hate comments or feedback on social platforms. Instead, provide solutions for valid complaints while thanking them for their time.
Respond to Query Emails
Monitoring emails is crucial when it comes to successfully creating solutions for holiday returns. Customers often have multiple questions about the return policy, the return window, shipping speeds, and many other topics. Answer each query timely with all the details.
Monitor Website Reviews
Some customers will leave online reviews about your products. Thank the reviewer for taking the time to leave positive feedback. If there is a negative review, do not dismiss it. Look into the complaint and find a solution to resolve the issue that does not result in a return.
Learn more about the concept of unified commerce to develop a truly omnipresent organization.