Despite what many retail organizations may believe, reducing the customer return rate to zero is virtually impossible. Every customer is bound to make a mistake, the same way that every organization is bound to make a mistake. Wrong orders will be sent out by organizations, the wrong size product will be purchased by a customer. It’s a never-ending cycle. What is important for retailers is identifying ways in which they can reduce these returns to the lowest rate possible. A collection of valuable information on how to do that will be detailed within this post and accompanying infographic.

One of the most effective ways to help reduce returns is through a retooling of website landing pages and product landing pages. With careful retooling, the descriptions and images shared on product pages can be more accurate for customers. Most retailers have product pages that aren’t as helpful for customers, which result in customers receiving their orders with products that do not accurately match up to descriptions or images provided. When retailers actually provide pictures and descriptions on the product page that are more honest, they avoid customers getting the wrong idea based on misleading images or product details. Retailers should also provide more robust measurement information to avoid returns related to sizing issues.

While businesses benefit from improved sales as a result of of their free shipping and returns policies, they also see an uptick in returns for the same reason. It may seem contradictory, but often times what happens is customers will place orders for products they know they can safely return but end up appreciating the products more than they thought. Customers keeping these products results in retailers experiencing additional sales. The inverse can be true too, though. Some customers may abuse these policies.

As mentioned previously, with the rate of online shopping increasing, the rate of returns is also simultaneously increasing. According to reports, returns have seen a 70% year-over-year increase in 2020. This return issue is only made worse when customers attempt to scam retailers through techniques such as wardrobing and bracketing. When customers use these scams, they often order every variation of a product to briefly use and then return it as though it were new and never worn. To avoid having to spend additional capital to solve these issues, organizations must be properly defended against these types of attacks, in addition to fraudulent attempts of money laundering.

Even worse than returns, retailers sometimes have to deal with the hassle of fraudulent purchases. Conniving customers may purchase products from a retailer through a stolen credit card, then try to return the products in order to launder money to their cards. With the right anti-fraud tools, any retailer would be protected from the first swipe of the stolen card. These tools even allow the retailer to offer refunds to the original card with no issues. Though these techniques may leave retailers confused, the right partnership between an agency offering these professionals services can reduce the likelihood of falling victim to fraud or abuse.

With more and more customers transitioning to shopping online, retailers are aware that this can result in additional returns. It’s up to them to take initiative and work towards reducing these returns through methods that also improve the customer experience as a whole. For more information on how your retail organization can make these changes, be sure to take a moment to check out the infographic featured alongside this post. Courtesy of Signature Payments.