Identifying The Ways In Which Customer Returns Can Be Exploited

Identifying The Ways In Which Customer Returns Can Be Exploited

While they are an expected part of the retail process, many organizations are still frustrated when dealing with their customers’ returns. Not only will retailers have to discern if their customers’ returns are genuine, but excess returns often result in additional operational costs being incurred by the retailer. These costs cut into the profits these retailers gather, which can lead to frustration. In order to help avoid this frustration, this post and accompanying infographic will offer some helpful strategies to minimize the number of returns faced by your retail organization.

The first step for retailers in reducing their returns is a rework of current products’ landing pages. The most cited reason for a customer returning their purchase today is due to it not living up to the description or images coupled with the product. Who wouldn’t return a product that’s delivered looking nothing like what they ordered? Retailers must provide the most detailed description for their products, in addition to the most realistic and unedited images of their products. Going the extra mile for sizing information, such as measurements, also helps combat the nearly 52% rate of returns specifically related to sizing.

Though traditional return policies may seem like they’re disadvantageous, the opposite is actually true. For some context, free shipping and free returns are massively influential, with research supporting the claim that 96% of shoppers consider free shipping the most influential on their willingness to purchase, with 79% of shoppers saying free returns are more important. Retailers may have to deal with some customers taking advantage of these return policies, but anytime a customer purchases a product assuming they’ll return, but end up keeping it, retailers greatly benefit.

With the surge of online orders hitting retailers nationwide as a result of COVID restrictions in the past two years, retailers are also faced with an increased rate of returns. Within 2020, retailers saw a nearly 70% jump between the previous year for returns. With online shoppers looking to abuse retailers through scam practices known as “wardrobing” and “bracketing,” more and more retailers were forced to deal with excessive returns. Limiting the ways in which they’re able to exploited is imperative for retailers hoping to eliminate excess returns.

These returns can be masking much worse issues that retailers will have to uncover. Every so often there are customers who cause fraudulent purchases and attempt to return the product to make money off of a compromised customer. This can be done through purchasing a product then returning it in hopes to launder money from stolen credit cards. Retailers unaware of these scams are at a major risk without the correct anti-fraud tools. With the right tools, retailers can block transactions from stolen cards and issue refunds correctly to the actual cardholders. With the right techniques, retailers can even reduce the costs they incur per return. Services offered by certified professionals are available to cater to your business whenever necessary.

While it can be hard to discern when a customer is looking for a genuine return and when they’re trying to make a buck off a retailer, any organization has to be prepared to defend against these attacks. For more information on the steps your business can take to become more prepared for these tactics, take a moment to review the infographic accompanying this post. Courtesy of Signature Payments.