ecommerce returns process order credit memo

There’s an additional burden on inventory management and restocking processes as well. At every step of the package’s return journey, there is labor involved, which means costs.

Intake means more man hours to receive and properly process a package. Processing returns is suboptimal to logistics because they require additional and unexpected resources that would be better spent elsewhere. Much like it requires resources to ship a product, reverse logistics also bring associated costs for online stores. Mistakes happen and the customer accidentally orders multiples of the same item. The customer ordered more than one of the same items. What made sense to buy late one night may not make sense when the package arrives. Sometimes buyer’s remorse happens, as do impulse buys. Reliable shippers, taxes and local laws may all play a role. The farther a product must travel - and the more borders it must cross - the more likely it is that something can go wrong. This frequently happens with international orders. Related to the above, if a product is shoddily made, the chances of a return significantly increase. If there’s a disconnect between what is written and what the product experience is, a return is far more likely to occur. Product not as described.Ĭustomers trust the retailer to accurately describe the product they’re purchasing. The only right course of action here is to simply replace the product. Somewhere in the trip from a warehouse to the customer, there are multiple opportunities for a product to be damaged. The shipping process can be a perilous one. This is the primary reason why 30% of online orders are returned, versus just 9% for in-person retailers.Įcommerce retailers can describe and show what a product looks like and does as much as they can, but it does not replace the advantage of experiencing it live. Why Do People Return Purchased Items?Įcommerce brands have the added burden of selling products sight unseen. They are commonly higher than brick-and-mortar stores and should be accounted for as part of common business practices. The rate of return for ecommerce sales hovers in the 20% to 30% range. The reasons for a return are numerous - some may be completely out of your control - but how businesses handle intake, refunds and the rest of the return process can be the difference between a repeat ecommerce customer or one that never shops with you again.Įcommerce returns, the process of reverse logistics in which products are returned to the sender, are common. Ecommerce businesses always want to be the sender instead of the receiver, but returns are part of doing business.

Ecommerce returns process order credit memo