Growing an eCommerce business poses a number of challenges.
Even if retailers can stock, market and sell their products, they must be able to deal with goods returned by consumers because they’re unwanted.
Returns now account for a considerable proportion of online orders, especially those placed with clothing companies. One recent survey suggested that one-sixth of all items bought online are sent back.
Women have adopted the habit more than men, it seems. A quarter of those women who took part in the study admitted to buying more products than they intended keeping simply to check the size and look of apparel.
It is as though the same mentality which saw us taking a number of items to high street changing rooms before deciding on our purchases has migrated to the digital store.
Given that online sales show no signs of slowing down, businesses both large and small could easily find their operations choked if they don’t have systems to manage returns.
We have long appreciated that returns are a key part of the order fulfilment and customer service functions.
We know how essential it is to check items sent back by consumers in order to help get undamaged purchases back on sale as swiftly as possible and facilitate the kind of rapid refunds which can keep customers happy and inclined to order again.
That’s why we subject all returns to rigorous checks to determine whether they can be included on the inventory of stock held on behalf of our retail clients or sent on to them as being unsuitable for sale due to damage or a manufacturer’s flaw.
It comes as no little relief to our clients that they don’t have to do undertake the work themselves but can rely on efficient, fast and transparent processes at our fulfilment houses in Newbury and Bristol.
