Sometimes it is fun to recall, realize and acknowledge hidden facts, they can be game changers, especially for handling returns and refunds!

According to Statista, “In 2022, the cost of retail returns in the United States reached a staggering 817 billion U.S. dollars, with a quarter of it stemming from online retailing. That year, out of the 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars in online sales registered in the country, approximately 16.5 percent ended up as returns.”

Yes, it’s the time for intervention and find a solution for customer returns optimization.

With effective return management strategies, businesses can improve return on investments (RoI) and better profit margin. As marketing strategy for eCommerce businesses, easy return and exchange policy were introduced but it turned into an expensive gimmick for retailers and manufacturers. In this catch-22 situation merchants require lean and smart operations management to foresee return and for minimizing return costs.

Supply Chain Management ninjas profess automated return process, efficient inventory management, logistics optimization, reducing return rates, offering rewards are some of the measures that can give a boost to bottom line and improve profitability. In the following paragraphs, together let’s delve into effective strategies that can be incorporated for managing customer returns in eCommerce under return process improvement.

Effective Return Optimization for Maximizing Return Value

Returns strategies should be customer friendly, and policy behind customer returns optimization should be returns could be converted into opportunities. This would not only enhance customer returns experience but would also increase profitability.

• By Reducing Costs on Returns: This is the most common and easy process which can be achieved via automation of end-to-end order fulfillment process. By automating returns process, overhead cost and time involved can be reduced. Streamlining of return process via AI, documents and provides analytical data insights on reasons for returns. This help in bringing necessary changes in inventory management and foresee upcoming demand. To discourage returns, handling fees could be set especially for large items, where delivery expense is higher.
   
  This simple strategy can control cost, brings return process improvement and minimize related with returns and refunds.
• Automation of Returns/Refunds/Exchange Process: One of the smartest ways of cost-effective return solutions, it speeds up the whole process and makes customers independent by offering options for returns processes. It enriches overall customer experience while reducing operational costs and time. Reduction in time-taken and simplicity of automated return process, increases customer loyalty and scope for repeat purchases. Besides these, automated process reduces errors, delays and resulting customer frustration or negativity. These strengthen reputation of a retailer or a vendor or an eCommerce site. Automation provides data-driven insights, that can identify areas required to be optimized.
• Employ Measures to Reduce Returns: eCommerce businesses incur huge losses due to returns and it needs to be prioritized for maximizing return value. Retailers can make virtual shopping an experience for life by providing specifics about the product. A virtual 3D guide can be a great idea to make the customer understand what one is getting into, another way is offering discounts or offers on products with no returns or exchanges unless damaged during shipping or in any extreme circumstances. Clear messages always encourage shopping and reduces chances of returns. Sharing reviews or images posted by customers who have bought the product in the past, and showing measures taken for quality control are appreciated. Customer return optimization should focus on ideas that discourage returns or refunds or exchanges while keeping the customers satisfied.
• Better Management of Reverse Logistics: Yet another very significant way for maximizing return value is implement track and trace in logistics. Shipping and transport optimization can bring down huge costs involved in reverse logistics. By automated order management, chances to recover value from returned items can be optimized. Instead of bringing the item back to warehouse, it can be delivered to the nearest location from where the order for the same has been generated. This is only possible when there is seamless flow of communication in the operations management and supply chain management.
• Optimize Inventory Management: Tracking and tracing help in better inventory management. Returned goods can be sent to warehouses where there is shortage of stocks and demand is high. Synchronization between warehouse management and order management, help in effective return optimization and improve bottom line with better return on investment.
• Return Data Analysis: To reduce return rates and maximize profits from returns, retailers must adopt methodology to analyze return data at a lightening speed. Factors leading to returns should be speculated for forming informed decisions. There are several reasons as time of the year when returns are high or location from which returns are frequent or customers who believe in purchasing and returning or certain type of SKU which is high on returns list. The data help in reducing return rates, optimizing inventory and recover value from returned items.

Return Management Strategies are essentially for optimizing returns and increasing profit. Synchronized automation of supply chain management, help in tracking and tracing of an item in real time that helps in cost-effective return solutions.