Returns are a business necessity for e-commerce retailers. However, that doesn’t mean merchants should offer returns haphazardly. It’s only a business advantage when it’s streamlined and costs are kept under tight control. For that, leading merchants and retailers increasingly turn to digital returns management solutions fueled by real-time logistics data.

The returns process becomes streamlined for customers and internal teams through the combination of data integration and process automation. This article highlights critical elements of a successful returns process and why your business needs them. 

Dynamic returns policy configuration

Your returns policy is key when convincing online shoppers to buy from you. If it’s too strict, you risk turning customers away. However, you risk astronomical costs from excessive returns if it's too lenient. Finding the right balance requires a strategic approach to your returns policy. 

With automated and fully digitalized returns, you get a solution that evolves with your business and returns policy. 

Your digital returns solution should be simple to configure. That’s because your returns policy is the core of your entire returns process management, and configuration gives you the agility to continuously improve your returns policy according to market demands. 

Once you get returns right, you can let your digital returns solution do the heavy lifting throughout the returns process. This article will guide you through our blueprint for implementing a seamless and profitable returns flow. 

Seamless self-service returns initiation

One of the most significant advantages of a digital returns solution is that it enables self-service returns, which allows shoppers to initiate the process at their earliest convenience without interacting with customer service or visiting a physical store.

Self-service returns have benefits for both customers and your internal teams. It makes the customer’s returns experience much more positive due to the faster processing and convenience of initiating and completing the returns process. 

On the business side, self-service returns save your business money by reducing your customer service team's need for returns support. 

Cost-effective and convenient shipping

Digital returns also enable you to provide customers with more sustainable shipping options. You can configure your returns solution to enable drop-off points, pick-up, or in-store returns. Customers often choose these options because they’re more convenient. At the same time, these options can also help reduce costs and carbon emissions for your business. 

If your digital returns solution is well-integrated with carriers or third-party logistics (3PL) providers, your customers can choose from hundreds of thousands of drop-off points. 

The customer will be able to find a drop-off point that is most convenient for them. Deep integration with logistics providers can also automatically trigger the booking function that generates return labels or QR codes. 

Tracking and processing of returns

Once the returns process has been initiated, your returns solution will track parcels from drop-off until the parcels are registered with your warehouse. This is one of the most significant benefits of managing returns with an end-to-end returns platform.

It uses the same tracking technology for outbound and inbound parcels, giving you a granular view of the parcel’s journey. This allows your logistics and warehouse teams to anticipate the arrival of an item and manage staffing as well as inventory accordingly. 

In addition, it lets customers keep track of the journey of their returns. When customers are kept updated, they are less likely to contact your customer service teams with “where is my return” or “where is my refund” (WISMR) inquiries. 

This step is key to the customer experience because refunds are the end goal for your customers. It’s why your customers send items back in the first place. 

With digital returns, you can release refunds before items reach your warehouse. That’s because the returned items are validated and accounted for by the system when they are on the way back to you.

Giving customers an early refund helps build trust and improves satisfaction. Furthermore, you can incentivize customers to use refunds for repurchases. You can even offer exchanges, store credit, or discounts to keep them spending with your business–and your profits up. 

Optimize the returns process with insights

In the course of streamlining your returns process, your digital returns solution also generates a large amount of data that you can analyze to optimize your returns process. 

Find common reasons for returns, identify areas for improvement, and optimize inventory management to reduce costs. Returns insights can help you figure out how to keep returns at a profitable level while keeping customer satisfaction high. 

Returns can be profitable. Now is the time to get started. 

Every e-commerce business has a returns sweet spot that determines the company’s health. Too many returns could mean your product quality, online store images, or product descriptions need improvement. Too few returns and no returning customers could mean there are some issues with your customer or delivery experience.

Regardless of the reason, returns are fast becoming an essential part of any successful e-commerce business. The path to competitive differentiation is how you manage it in terms of customer experience and cost control. 

Parcel Perform’s leading data and delivery platform has an embedded returns solution with direct access to all of the platform’s features. This allows you to achieve multiple business outcomes–for outbound and inbound parcels–through a single platform. 

To find out how you can get started, request a personalized demo of our platform with one of our e-commerce experts today.