The rise of smart returns: How automation can turn returns into a competitive advantage

Amaka Team June 16, 2024

Article E-Commerce

In this article, we’ve teamed up with ReturnGO to share how you e-commerce businesses can make returns a competitive advantage rather than a loss.

What if we told you there’s a way to turn e-commerce returns into a competitive advantage? To make returns one of your best weapons for delighting customers and boosting efficiency? That’s where smart returns come in.

The shifting landscape of e-commerce returns

Returns and exchanges are an inevitable part of e-commerce. According to the National Retail Federation, $743 billion worth of returns are returned a year.

Managing returns and exchanges manually can be a time-consuming and costly process. Some common pain points include:

• Manual work: When returns are handled manually, your team is responsible for everything from receiving the item, restocking it, processing the refund, and communicating with the customer. This can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
• Slow response times: It can take days or weeks for a returned item to be processed and a refund issued manually, leading to frustrated customers who may feel like they’re not a priority.
• Communication breakdowns: Communication between the store and the customer can often be inefficient, leading to misunderstandings, misinformation, and (you guessed it) more returned items.
• Lack of transparency: Without an automated returns process, customers may feel like they’re being kept in the dark throughout the returns process.

The good news is – automation can transform your returns process and turn it from a burden into a strategic advantage.

The rise of smart returns

As e-commerce continues to evolve, automation is starting to play a bigger and bigger role in shaping the future of online shopping. With the rise of smart returns, you can look forward to a future where returns aren’t a burden, but instead an opportunity to delight customers and build brand loyalty.

Smart returns use automation technology to streamline and simplify the returns process, making it faster, more accurate, and more cost-effective.

The rise of smart returns marks a major shift in the way e-commerce returns work. Gone are the days of manual hassle, slow processing, and lack of transparency.

Instead of dealing with return forms and waiting to hear back from the customer service team, your customers initiate returns through a user-friendly self-service portal. The system guides them through the process, generates pre-paid labels, and even offers convenient return options like in-store drop-off. This is exactly how customers prefer it, as 81% of customers say that they want more self-service options.

Behind the scenes, automation takes over, enforcing your return policies and handling the backend process with automated sorting and restocking rules. This creates a smooth and stress-free experience for your customers and also frees up your staff to focus on other tasks.

With a returns management system like ReturnGO, you can easily offer a self-service return and exchange portal, automated return labels, and real-time tracking and visibility.

By implementing returns automation, you can:

• Reduce labor costs: Automating returns processing frees up staff to focus on higher-value tasks, reducing labor costs and improving productivity.
• Minimize loss and damage: Returns automation helps reduce the risk of lost or damaged returns, minimizing the financial impact of returns on your business.
• Improve the customer experience: Processing returns faster and more transparently leads to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.
• Gain a competitive edge: By streamlining the returns process, you can differentiate your business and attract customers who value the convenience and speed of your returns process.

Turning returns into a competitive advantage

Nowadays, customer experience is the most important thing to customers. 88% of customers say that the experience a brand gives is as important as the product.

Returns can be a way to stand out from the crowd and improve the customer experience. Here’s how:

• Better customer experience: By making returns easy and convenient, you show customers you care about their experience. They’ll love you for it.
• Higher conversions: When you make it easy to return items, customers are more likely to place orders because they know they can return them if they don’t work out.
• Unique selling point: A seamless returns process sets you apart from the competition and shows you’re all about putting customers first.
• Reputation booster: When customers are happy with their returns experience, they’ll tell others and you’ll build a loyal following.
• Cost savings: Automating returns saves you time and money by reducing the need for manual work, leading to fewer mistakes and faster processing times.

Streamlining your returns process makes life easier for customers and shows them you care.

Getting started with returns automation

Alright, so you’re ready to start automating your returns process and gain a competitive edge. Just like any major tech implementation, there are some key things to keep in mind to make sure everything goes smoothly:

Choose the right technology provider

Select a technology provider that offers a robust and flexible returns automation solution that can be customized to meet your specific needs. Consider the provider’s reputation, customer support, and scalability.

ReturnGO is one smart returns solution that can help you automate the returns process and provide a seamless and easy returns experience for your customers.

Integrate with existing systems and processes

Ensure the returns automation solution integrates seamlessly with your existing systems and processes. This includes your e-commerce platform, order management system, helpdesk, and warehouse management system. Integrating all your systems will help you reduce errors and keep everything in sync.

Train your staff and communicate changes to customers

Train your staff on the new returns process and communicate the changes to customers. This includes providing clear instructions on how to initiate a return, the timeframe for processing returns, and the status of returns. By providing clear and concise communication, you can reduce customer confusion and improve the overall returns experience.

Keep analyzing and improving the returns process

You need to be constantly analyzing your process and seeing how you can improve if you want to stay ahead of the competition and provide a better customer experience.

This includes tracking return rates, analyzing return data, and making data-driven decisions to improve the returns process.

By continuously improving the returns process, you can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and provide a better customer experience.

Make smart returns a priority

Automating returns and exchanges can help you be more efficient and reduce costs for your business, all while giving customers the convenient self-service experience they want.

As the lines between physical and digital commerce continue to blur, smart returns are becoming increasingly important, revolutionizing the way we shop, return, and interact online.

Author bio

Rebecca Fox is ReturnGO’s Product Marketing Manager. She is passionate about educating e-commerce business owners on how they can streamline their post-purchase process. Using her experience and industry expertise, Rebecca is committed to helping businesses thrive in the ever-changing world of e-commerce.