Customer satisfaction is vital for any business. What happens, though, when clients take advantage of company policies?
What is, in other words, the price of pleasing browsers and buyers?
To find out, we explore all there is to know about the topical issue of product returns.
Product Returns
If a customer isn’t happy with their purchase, it’s only fair that they should be able to return that product or service. Of course, whether they receive a full refund, or a product exchange is entirely at the discretion of the retailer. Many that offer the former, however, have suffered from clients exploiting their policy.
A recent survey revealed that 20 per cent of online stores have narrowed their returns code over the past twelve months. This is largely because a number of customers have returned unsellable items after having claimed that they are appropriate for resale.
An estimate from the same study places the total cost to the sector at £60 billion a year. If return rates continue to grow, it could damage the retail industry, and this may affect the wider economy as a result.
Retailers will likely have to work hard to ensure that customers feel less inclined to return products in the future.
Internal Retailer Costs
Returned items that are unsuitable for reuse could produce more internal costs for retailers. Very often, this is down to the type of complaints issued by clients returning goods.
If a customer has complained about the quality of products, for example, the issue must be investigated. This may include having to hire extra staff to check items before they are dispatched, to further reduce the likelihood of any problems with stock.
In addition, a higher amount of returned goods could lead retailers to install more internal services, like cleaning and packaging.
If the number of complaints over a certain subject – say stains – is particularly high, firms may seek to expand their in-house team to include cleaning specialists.
This is one of the major ways in which exploitation of consumer benefits – such as generous returns policies – could produce huge costs for businesses.
Deliverer Benefits
One industry that may have benefitted from an increase in product returns is the delivery service. And when you think about it, it’s fairly obvious why.
The more returns are issued, the higher the levels of work and - in turn – profit there could be for courier services. But this isn’t why the industry continues to grow.
In 2018, courier delivery sales increased by 12%, resulting in a heightened level of profit for various sector members. This is according to research conducted by the market research firm Mintel.
And it isn’t just the number of deliveries that has grown; experts indicate that first-class sales levels will continue to rise over the next five years, too.
Clearly, most Brits find courier services to be reliable – and thanks to expert delivery services, the entire sector looks set to expand. And of course, they will continue to deliver expert help to retailers and other service providers.
Customer satisfaction is crucial – but it needn’t come at a high price. In modifying their returns policy, retailers have highlighted that such services exist for reliable clients. The sector will hopefully be able to reduce the cost incurred by the abuse of service user benefits in the future.
