Four in five consumers will reject retailers that offer a poor returns experience

Retailers must offer quick, easy, and cheap returns or risk losing customers, according to nShift

Customers today expect a smooth, friction-free journey from the moment they visit a retailer’s web shop to the moment their order is delivered and - often - beyond.

Some 83% of online shoppers admit to being frustrated with retailers that don’t have an efficient returns process. In fact, a similar number will actually reject a retailer that offers a poor returns experience.

According to nShift, the global leader in delivery management, it’s crucial that retailers pay as much attention to their returns process as they do to ordering and delivery. Particularly when one in five online purchases will be sent back.^[2]

In its latest guide, “Seamless Returns,” nShift explores how retailers can optimize their returns process. It explores how a digitalized returns experience can:

1. Retain revenue – a seamless returns process makes it easier to facilitate exchanges, which reduces the risk of lost revenue.
2. Increase speed and efficiency – digitalization and automation are key to optimizing returns.
3. Reduced costs and improved performance – dealing with a high volume of returns-related queries can take up a great deal of time for service center staff, especially if they’re required to manually generate returns labels or answer questions on the status of refunds.

Philipp Goldberg, Product Director - Returns at nShift, said: “Being able to return an item quickly, easily, and cheaply matters as much to today’s shoppers as how it’s delivered. Retailers must get the returns process right or risk losing customers.

“Retailers need software that can provide a digitalized and automated returns process, and access to technology that will ease their administrative burden, and ensure a smooth, friction-free journey for customers looking to return their orders.”

Download the guide, “Seamless Returns” here.