How to reduce product returns

08/06/2020

Angela de la Vieja

Product returns are one of the most important issues facing eCommerce businesses. More than having to return the money, the problem with returns is that they imply additional costs for the eCommerce business. In addition, the returned items can sometimes not be sold again.

It’s a fact that shipping costs are a decisive factor when purchasing an item. Nowadays, clients even expect eCommerce businesses to be able to offer free shipping as well as zero-cost returns. These services along with the lower cost have made more and more users choose to buy online, knowing that they can return their products with guarantees.

There are a number of reasons why a user may decide to return an item. Some of these reasons can help us improve certain areas of our business. Through something as simple as sending a short automatic survey to clients that return their purchase, you’ll be able to detect if there is a problem in your company’s processes from the moment of the order up until it’s shipped. These reasons can include a defective product, a product in bad condition, the incorrect model, a damaged package, or shipping that took longer than agreed upon.

Improve your product sheets

Describe your products in such a way that consumers can almost feel what they’re buying. Include all possible details: shape, size, material, etc. The photos should be eye-catching, but also real. That’s to say that they shouldn’t be overly edited since this will just change the final appearance of the product. Include multiple photos that show the product from every angle, videos, and any other element that can reduce the intangibility that online shopping entails.

Customers as product advisers

By enabling comments and reviews on your eCommerce website, you’ll be allowing consumers to make purchase decisions based on real information and opinions about the products, increasing their confidence in the product that they’re about to acquire, so they know it’s really what they were looking for. In general, users rely more on the reviews from other buyers than they do the description of the product itself. In this vein, you should allow the frequently asked questions (FAQs) and customer enquiries to give you an idea of what improvements should be made to the product description. Review these regularly to include them in your descriptions. The more information you can provide to the user before the purchase, the lower your return rate will be.

Choose a good shipping agent

This is where customer satisfaction comes into play. If you deliver your orders within the agreed-upon timeframes with order tracking, you’ll reduce the risk of the user feeling disappointed in their purchase. And while this isn’t related to the product, it can affect your reputation. So, choosing a good shipping company that guarantees their shipping times and that the product will arrive undamaged is key.

The returns of products and items should be an opportunity to convert negative data into something positive since it represents an opportunity for improvement. To do so, knowing the reasons why returns are taking place is essential. You need to know if these are cross-sectional problems that can occur in any product category or if they’re only happening in a specific area. Only by identifying where we can improve will we be able to put a stop to the returns

11/11/2022

Consumer behavior: How can behavior tracking be effective for setting the right pricing strategies?

Behavior tracking is becoming massively popular today. As a result, pricing strategies born from studying consumer behavior are a merchant's dream come true. If done right, it can conquer every market for the business quickly. With abundant data available, the strategic makeover of the pricing models is becoming easy for companies.

What is behavioral tracking, and how is the data beneficial in pricing?

For a quick understanding, behavioral tracking refers to gaining in-depth knowledge and insights into consumers through their web data. Their browsing habits, spontaneous decisions, shopping interests, and preferences come under behavioral tracking.

How can enterprises use customer behavior data?

Companies can use customer behavior data as a tool to strengthen their hold on the market. A customer’s preferences, values, and tendencies allow businesses to work in sync with them through the collected data. Apart from this, customer behavior can also aid in:

Tailoring customer needs for customer retention

Personalization is becoming the heart of a company’s growth. No matter in which area an enterprise is functioning, tailoring the services, products, and solutions is becoming increasingly crucial. Uniqueness and personalization attract the crowd like no other.

Increasing the overall value

One of the best ways customer behavior data affects a business is by upgrading the value of customers for the business. The customer’s characteristics allow the company to target the people that match the business prospects well.

Optimizing every type of content

Everything that is up for digital display requires content. You must have seen companies unveiling their products or services through advertisements and making the initial public appearance. Two essential sales strategies – upselling and cross-selling comes through content optimization.

Pricing Strategy

Last but certainly not least is the influence of customer behavior data on the pricing strategy. The pricing strategy essentially constitutes content derived from data analysis. Companies need to have a dynamic approach to the pricing system to attract the right customers.

17/02/2015

Saint Valentine’s Day, always a good opportunity

V-Day is looming, a long-awaited date for all and also a good occasion for the eCommerce. According the study conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, it is forecasted the average consumer expense that day will be the highest in last years. Furthermore, 25% of them will buy online, which means an increase of 4% regarding 2014 (The US department of Commerce). This is, therefore, a key date where market competitiveness increase and which could be assumed as a big opportunity for our business or, a big fail if we do not adopt the correct strategies.

How to turn this event into an opportunity? To achieve this goal, we need to adapt our prices to this hostile environment, i.e. we need to develop an appropriate Dynamic Pricing strategy that allows us to adapt our prices to the variations produced in supply and demand and to position us ahead of our competitors. In V-Day, the frequency in changes will be higher, carrying it out each hour or even each minute. It is estimated that 65% of leader retailers have the ability to respond quickly at these variations, such Amazon. For this reason, it acquires great importance the correct use of a software specialised in price motorisation of competitors. Do not miss the time and adapt your business to new adversities.

28/12/2022

Which are the best footwear marketplaces to sell on?

Footwear marketplaces are booming. The last decade has seen the launch of new specialized marketplaces with millions of different users. Among them are Spartoo, Sarenza and Farfetch, portals with international reach. Their main value is that they unite hundreds of footwear brands, as well as offering clothes and accessories. Although each has its own characteristics, they are all vertical marketplaces, i.e., they focus on a specific area, and their sales categories are interrelated. For sellers, these portals provide an opportunity to expand sales channels and drive the globalization of their e-commerce business. We explain how to sell on these footwear marketplaces so that you can assess whether they align with your plans for the future and then start defining a possible pricing strategy.