Start the year with a smart returns policy

January has its challenges for online shops: sales are down and you have piles of returns to process from the holidays. Even shops that don't sell clothes suddenly have a lot of extra work. How do you keep costs low but customer experience high, so that you start the year well and retain customers?

The Netherlands is normally the European champion of returns, but in England, packages are also returned in large numbers. And after the holidays, this figure only increases. Not surprisingly, January is known as a record month for returns. Products that are rarely returned during the rest of the year can suddenly pile up in your warehouse. Especially if you sell through marketplaces like Amazon, where return rates are traditionally higher. How do you turn this expense into an opportunity to retain new customers? Active Ants lists a few tips for a streamlined returns process.

Longer-waiting effect

To cut costs, the first thing you can do is reconsider your return period. For instance, you can allow a longer period in the new year. You might think this would increase the number of returns, but the opposite is true. Because customers have longer to think about their purchase, they still take the product, make a different decision or forget to return it. This 'longer-waiting effect' is greatest for a period starting from 30 days, examined economist Alec Minnema.

A longer trial period also removes an important hurdle to purchase: almost 9 in 10 customers look at your return policy first, before ordering something. If the consideration period is shorter than 30 days, over a quarter of consumers abandon their shopping cart again, research shows. So a generous refund period not only ensures fewer boomerang packages, but also more orders: win-win.

Which returns can you prevent?

Many online retailers see returns as a necessary evil. Whether you sell clothes or electronics, you will always get a few returns. But far from every returned package is inevitable. Some of the most common reasons for returns include receiving the wrong item, a product deviating from the description or arriving damaged.

So customers are not necessarily dissatisfied with your product. For instance, it regularly happens that customers order the wrong size or a logistical error occurs. The latter in particular is something you, as a retailer, must avoid at all times. If you are an Active Ants customer, your orders are picked by smart robots. This prevents human error from creeping in. In addition, a picture of the order is taken just before dispatch and sent to your customer. A nice extra moment of contact with the customer, but also extra assurance that the right products are packed and in good condition.

Damaged items are another big return maker. As a retailer, you can influence this by packing smartly. For instance, cardboard packages consist of 50 % air on average. You can then opt for padding material, but this costs money and creates a lot of waste for the increasingly environmentally conscious customer. Active Ants' warehouses therefore contain smart packing machines. These make sure packages are made to size, preventing products from shifting and getting damaged. Do you still pack your orders manually? Then make sure you at least have different sizes of boxes or shipping bags.

Smooth and fast returns are more profitable

Once a customer returns something, you benefit from speed. This starts with registering the return. Ideally, this should be as easy as possible. After all, with a smooth return, customers not only make a purchase faster, they are also more likely to return to you.

So customers prefer not to have to download and print a form first. If you place your fulfilment with Active Ants, return labels are already included in every package. In addition, your customers can easily register their shipment via an online portal. Moreover, as a seller, you can track the parcel in real time. So you are always aware of where an order is in the return process. Thanks to Active Ants' Multi-Warehouse solution, it is even possible for your international customers to send their parcel to Active Ants' nearest E-fulfilment centre. This not only saves time, but also shipping costs.

By far the most costs of a return are incurred during the handling process. This costs webshops over 10 euros per returned parcel. So you also want to get rid of this as soon as possible. Because the faster a product is checked and processed, the less costs you incur and the sooner you might be able to sell it again. But then you need time and staff for this. At Active Ants, you can outsource this whole process. We have staff ready to look at the items, repackage them if necessary and put them back in stock.

75-100 per cent do not return when return experience is poor

It is true that prevention is better than a cure, but you also don't want to make returns too difficult for customers. A strict policy will not so much reduce your returns, but it will reflect negatively on your webshop. Visitors are more likely to abandon their order. Worse, after a bad return experience, 75 to 100 per cent of customers do not return, Washington and Lee University researched.

This past holiday season, you probably welcomed a lot of first-time buyers. You don't want to scare them off, but rather turn them into loyal customers. After all, a long-term customer relationship brings in more money. Returning buyers not only order more often, but also for higher amounts. A customer-focused return policy contributes significantly to these earnings.

Streamline your returns with Active Ants

You can make your returns process easier with Active Ants. With our robotised warehouse, order picking errors are now a thing of the past. And with our wrapping machines, your products remain protected even without padding. Via our returns portal, customers can also register a shipment quickly and easily, keeping you informed in real time. Then our employees are ready to quickly accept, check and re-stock your returns. This way, you not only reduce the return stack, but also ensure that customers keep coming back to you.