Whatever you do, don’t make it more complicated for buyers than it needs to be to return products they bought.
First, decide whether returns are an option at all. A lower price on products and a strong guarantee that products will arrive as described are required if you don’t allow any returns, or the return option applies to only when products are not as they were advertised. A no return policy is not an advantage unless you have good reasons for it other than costs. Delivering perishable items, such as flowers or food may be such good reason as they may be worthless by the time they are returned.
On the other hand, Zappos was famous for selling shoes with an unlimited free return and reordering policy. Barrier to buy due to lack of ability to try the shoe when buying it online was compensated for by this policy to a great cost to Zappos. Nevertheless, they made it work and Zappos became one of the largest sellers of shoes online.
In all cases:
- Be quick to return customer’s money if that’s what they asked for.
- Ask for reasons for their return and offer some gift if it was your fault.
- See returns as an opportunity to learn about your customers and what corrections you need to make either in policies, procedures, store product descriptions or other.
Keep buyers always feeling in control by providing them with appropriate guarantees of which knowing they can either return the product at least in cases when items are not as they were advertised is the one that is essential.
