Managing online returns: the challenges and opportunities retailers face today

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There have been technological advances in the post-purchase space (iStock)

Loop is a Business Reporter client.

There are two key challenges to retailers when it comes to managing their online product returns: increasingly higher customer expectations, and return costs.

Online shoppers today expect a hassle-free experience through the entire buying journey, and that includes the post-purchase experience, or returns. And although returns may seem like a small part of the buying journey, they can be complex, and can influence whether a shopper will become a returning customer.

“Retailers face some key challenges when it comes to returns,” says Hannah Bravo, Loop’s COO. “Specifically, around heightened customer expectations for a hassle-free return experience. And the increasing cost of returns.”

The post-purchase experience also lends itself to increasing costs that can hurt retailers’ bottom line. The cost of a return can be anywhere between 20 and 70 per cent of the original selling price, making return costs a large problem retailers must address.

Thankfully, retailers are not alone. Technological advancements in the post-purchase space have paved the way for retailers to implement full-stack return solutions that lower their return costs and keep their customers happy. That’s where Loop comes in. Loop is a returns and exchanges management platform designed for modern brands looking to improve their post-purchase experience. Loop’s software allows retailers to reduce costs as well as drive new revenue through exchanges.

“There is a lot of opportunity in returns for retailers,” says Bravo. “What we’ve found working with nearly 2,000 brands is that those who lean into improving their post-purchase experience can not only increase their revenue and lower costs but also keep their customers happy.”

Loop’s platform materially improves the customer experience by:

* Enabling convenient return processing through an automated self-serve portal that empowers shoppers to process their returns whenever they want

* Helping shoppers find a product they love during a return process through a seamless shopping-like experience

* Offering optionality for shoppers when it comes to physically returning their items through at-home pickup, label-less and box-less drop-offs

This ultimately supports retailers in meeting increasingly higher customer expectations of convenient, hassle-free return experiences. Loop also lowers return costs through return data. Its platform unlocks key information about which products are most returned and why, which empowers retailers to make informed decisions about their products and avoid preventable returns in the future.

Loop also alleviates operational inefficiencies that naturally exist in the return process. It does so by acting as a conduit between integrated technology and logistics partners, ensuring all operational systems are communicating with each other and routing returns as efficiently as possible. Today, Loop partners with more than 150 integrated technology and logistics partners, which makes optimising returns for its more than 1,800 merchants across multiple systems, apps and technologies seamless.

Lastly, Loop enables retailers to deliver customised return experiences which drive down return costs. Rather than offering a catch-all return policy that treats all shoppers the same, Loop’s customisable return experience gives retailers the chance to offer more restrictive return policies to troublesome shoppers, as well as more forgiving or generous return policies to their best customers.

But that’s not all. That same customisation can apply to product type, associated margin or even seasonal considerations (think Black Friday or Cyber Monday). Basically, any return outside of a typical return policy can be powered, and customised, by Loop, which allows retailers to automate the most efficient return outcomes that work for their business.

“In order to take on these challenges and seize the opportunities in the post-purchase space, retailers need to invest in both great technology and great partnerships,” says Bravo. “And Loop can help them accomplish both.”

Visit loopreturns.com to improve your post-purchase experience today.