The world of e-retail is shifting to a new paradigm. Online retail returns that are simple, easy and hassle-free are the newest trend. We’ll help you understand why and how this benefits your bottom line in this white paper.

ReturnsHappen™ all the time, but wise retailers are benefiting from offering no-questions-asked returns policies. Take for example large online retailers like Zappos, which has helped to set new standards with the ecommerce return policy. No longer is it acceptable for a retailer to make returns costly or cumbersome for consumer. Rather, it’s the opposite of that. Today’s newest standard says that returns should be simple and straightforward, hassle-free and complimentary. Doing so actually makes you a lot more money than you might think.

Studies have been conducted about the returns policy and process and how that influences or detracts from consumer spending. The results have found that the stores that are offering free returns are actually earning more money; a lot more money than the ones that are not.

A recent study examined 49 months of data from two major online retailers. It found that when free returns were offered, profits soared. The results showed that profits could increase by as much as 300% or more when returns did not involve fees or hassles, telling of how such a lenient policy could work for you.

And in a related study it was also found that stores that did offer this cushy returns policy were likelier to get more customers. This was via word-of-mouth and via social sharing and reviews. As a matter of fact, consumers are over 90% more loyal to store that has a returns policy in place like Zappos than one that does not. And, furthermore, they are likely to spend more money, about 80% of the time, because they feel more confident in their purchase knowing that returns are easy.

You may think that returns are mostly caused by the consumer. But thinking that would be wrong on your part. That’s because most returns are your fault, not the customer’s. Here’s how that all breaks down.

• 65% of returns are due to retailer error, not consumer fault.
• 23% of online returns are because the consumer received the wrong product.
• 22% of online returns are due to the product being substantially different in appearance than was advertised online.
• 20% of online returns are due to the consumer receiving a damaged or a defective item.

Your online product returns policy plays a strong role in sales. That’s because over 64% of people will take the time to read it before they decide whether or not they are doing business with you. About 80% of consumers polled said that they think that returns should be a simple process. Even more interesting is that 79% want the return shipping to be free and don’t want any restocking fees. Offer this, and you are already a step ahead of your competitor.

By understanding that how you manage returns is intrinsically linked to strong sales and conversions, or the lack thereof, you can create a solid plan-of-action for your online business. Doing so will help you in the long run, but you may need some help along the way with the proper software solution.

Make sure you look into solutions that are automated for you and for your customers. One way to automate returns is to use customer-facing ecommerce returns software like ReadyReturns. By the way, this software works in just about ANY other online store, too, and sets up in just minutes so you can automate returns, and set them and forget them. It’s a customer service tool that no online store should be without!