How do I process returns?

It is estimated that some 4% of all sales end up as returns and, this Christmas in the UK it is estimated that retailers need to actually sell 0.62% more stuff to match the profits of last year since there will be many more returns this year than last.

While this is often seen a massive problem for mainstream and large retailers, consumers now expect all retailers – and that means you too – to have a robust and cost effective returns strategy: and that means getting your returns processing thoroughly thought through.

And such a process has several aspects that you need to consider when thinking about what you need for an effective returns processing set up, and these focus on the customer, on the business and on analyzing data about sales and returns to keep refining the process.

For the shopper

• Clearly inform the shopper – at all stages make sure you let your customers know what your returns policy is and what they can expect from you in terms of returns (see Creating a Returns Policy)

• Remove hurdles for shoppers – make contacting you about returns easy and simple and multichannel, offering email, text, call and IM channels where appropriate. Amazon’s model of letting the consumer handle their returns through their order history and then print their own return label is simple and effective.

• Take uncertainty out of the process – be clear on any cost implications, time limits, shipping details and limitations, return times and taxes

• Be transparent – make sure that the shopper can see at all stages of the process from how the initial contact about the return is being dealt with, to collection times and location and details of any repair or replacement that is coming.

For the retailer

• Minimize touch points and life cycle – as touched on in our piece on Faulty Goods, the more handling a product gets from manufacture to customer and the longer it takes to traverse that chain the more likely it is to be damaged or faulty or just not wanted when it arrives.

Managing and streamlining this process is key to making sure that you don’t get returned goods in the first place.

• Identify the shopper – knowing all about your shopper across channels is essential to understanding what their experience is with you and how best to handle the return.

• Integrate channels – getting a single view of the customer is essential, but getting a single view of your business across all channels and integrating returns processes into your supply chain process is also key.

Customers want to return goods through different channels – and often through different channels to the ones they originally used to buy the goods. An integrated view of all this will streamline the process for you and the customer.

• Technology – The key to the entire returns process is in having effective customer relationship management (CRM) and Order Management Systems (OMS) in place that can help you manage the integration of shipping and returns.

Along side this you need a single cross channel view of the customer and your inventory that is becoming an everyday demand of any online business.

These tools don’t necessarily have to be expensive either. For many small business there are tools that come as affordable apps, such as Customer Order Management Pro that let’s you manage OMS and some CRM from an iPad for a fiver.