Sunday tip: How To Cut Returns - Part 1

Over the next few weeks we'll be looking at how to cut down on returns at your online shop before you’ve even agreed a sale.

Every site will have products returned. The important approach is to be clear about what you are selling and what agreement you and the customer are about to enter. Clearly this area is potentially more fraught for some businesses than others but there are general rules to follow that could help avoid too many headaches.

1. “Honesty is the best policy – when there is money in it.” (Mark Twain 1835-1910) 

Mark Twain may have been forced to file for bankruptcy because of bad business decisions. But he was right on this tweak to the original quote from Benjamin Franklin. Honesty, clarity, detail and a friendly returns policy are essential to online selling.

We all know how frustrating it can be to discover the small print only when you try to return a product. That rarely leaves you feel like buying more from the same company.

Make your terms abundantly clear and easy to understand. Boden.co.uk has a frank and generous returns policy that would leave most customers feeling warm inside. If you are proud of your policies, plaster them prominently over your site. If you are not particularly proud of them – maybe ask yourself if you have adopted the right terms and conditions.

Asos.com has broken a few boundaries and is understandably proud of the fact it a) offers free worldwide delivery (clearly displayed at the top of its homepage):

And b) offers a year’s free delivery for £9.95 (here, clearly displayed on the opposite, right hand corner of the home page if you didn't believe us):

2. Keep your shop window clean:

Imagine bad pictures and poor explanations are the same as a dirty sweet shop window. Not only can it be an immediate turn off but customers will end up making bad decisions because they may not be in full receipt of the facts.

When it comes to visual information simplicity and expediency is rarely a bonus to customers even if it saves the seller a few minutes of his own time.

Videos are becoming increasingly popular (here is a great example from knickerpicker.com) but if you can’t manage that make sure you include photographs from the front, back, top, bottom, left and right if you feel its adding anything. Your customer won’t mind and if they’re tempted will most likely look at them all. Apart from anything else it shows you are taking the job seriously and is less of a warning sign to browsers that there may be other problems down the line.

If there are details worthy of note, take close-up photographs. Plug sockets in the back of equipment – take photographs. If there are imperfections on unique products take photographs and let your customer decide.

Online fitting rooms have become increasingly popular too but we’ll be looking more at that in coming weeks.

3. Let them look in the box

List all the product details. Your shopper is not an expert on the product and its specifications and won’t necessarily know that it isn't compatible with other equipment or has special cleaning instructions. They may hate taking products to the dry cleaners.

4. You love your customers – but how much?

Don’t just copy other people’s potentially bad policy habits. What is ‘normal’ is easy for big corporations and lawyers to hide behind but is not necessarily the same as good business practice.

You know some of your customers are simply going to take advantage of your good nature. But there is no need to start a war with the others.

Schuh.co.uk are among an increasing number of retailers offering a 365 day returns policy. Again, its made abundantly clear and prominently displayed in the top right hand corner of their web site along with free delivery and 10 per cent student discount boasts.

6. You really really love your customers – the painful question of free returns

Free returns are one of the latest frontiers in online retailing. Be brave and consider it inevitable. 

Evidence suggests that making as easy as possible for your customer to shop breeds loyalty and free returns are part of that package. 

Deal with the issue with confidence and make it clear – in a friendly way – that you are not prepared to be taken for granted. Tags or stickers are a useful way of doing this in some cases (I like the example that House of Fraser gave of 'Hats must have the returns poilcy swing ticket still attached' and there are specific and very understandable conditions laid down for other product types in the drop down menu under 'returning specific products'.)

For many products the distance selling regulations oblige sellers to allow a 7-day ‘cooling off’ period. Ebay does a good job of summing this up to its sellers:

So, consider extending the seven days and making your fee returns policy a selling point.

Most big companies now offer a 28 day return period while the UK’s distance selling regulations commits you to a 7-day full cancellation period.

7. Strike pre-emptively – give me the FAQs

Self-explanatory but we thought New Look’s Frequently Asked Questions section was simple and effective using an extensive drop down menu. You decide whether you agree with its answers or not.

We’ll be continuing this series next weekend so keep a look out. We’ll also be looking at some of the more interesting aspects of returns, returns policies and customer service over the coming weeks.

Tags: Asos, Asos.com, New Look, Schuh, Schuh.co.uk, Boden, Boden.co.uk, knickerpicker.com, Ebay, Ebay.co.uk, ecommerce, internet shopping, etail, web retailing, online shopping, catalogue retail