Providing more information about products and sizes can help reduce returns, but online retailers should also be wary of “bracketing,” the practice of buying the same item in multiple sizes, colors, or patterns with the intention of returning some of it. According to reports from Retail Dive , nearly 40% of shoppers occasionally engage in bracketing, creating a real-life fitting room experience in their own homes.
Consider “bracketers” in your return policy
Bracketing: The practice of purchasing the same item in multiple sizes, colors, or patterns with the intention of trying them on at home and then returning some of them.
According to Narvar , bracketing most often occurs in the context of clothing or home goods sales. While this isn’t great news for online retailers (especially if you offer shipping), the silver gambling data singapore lining is that your wealthiest customers are the ones most likely to engage in it. Narvar also found that 60% of online shoppers make at least one return or exchange per year, and 95% of customers will buy from the same online store again if the process went smoothly.
With this in mind, it’s important to view bracketing as an opportunity to retain your customers and increase their “value,” as they’ll be customers for longer. If you feel the benefits you’ll generate will outweigh the anticipated costs of free shipping and returns, then don’t hesitate to offer them.
Long live loyalty programs
Loyalty programs can help you incentivize these good calling list customers to keep their merchandise, especially if you base rewards on the amount spent rather than the number of visits or transactions. Offer more benefits to repeat customers and build the ability to redeem the rewards you give them into your return policy. This can convince a customer who is hesitant about returning a product to keep it for the loyalty reward.
Don’t skimp on information about your products
Online retailers face a unique challenge: customers platform indeed mailchimp offers a can’t touch or try on items before they buy. According to a study by Invespcro , this contributes to about 30 % of returns for online purchases. The solution is to provide more detailed item descriptions and images.