With the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) reporting that almost two-thirds of shoppers are less likely to return goods bought online than in store due to uncertainty over their consumer rights, Tim Ogle, CEO of Retail Eyes, a specialist in improving customer experience, explains how retailers should look into making their returns policy clear if they want to retain their customers.

There as been a lot in the news over Britons failing to return goods brought both in store and online. According to BIS, consumers waste on average £5,000 each in their lifetime on faulty goods that they haven’t bothered to take back. These customers are either unaware or the returns process or they don’t feel confident enough to take the item back. This is not what retailers want. Businesses need to look at making customers feel at ease when shopping as it can bring many rewards such as increases in average spend per visit, loyalty and recommendation.

With retailers under a lot of pressure to perform this year to make up for losses from the economic downfall, they need to start looking at their shopping experiences and the returns policy is a fundamental part of this. Confidence in spending is rising, and is a real opportunity to help increase sales, but getting consumers to return and recommend is all part of good customer service.

Following on from the report from the BIS, it is obvious that retailers need to start looking at their returns policy. Consumers need to be made aware that they have the same rights buying online as they have purchasing from a store on the high street. This will endeavour to build confidence in consumers and be more encouraging when they are looking to purchase goods from the internet.

When customers end up with faulty or unwanted items, brand advocacy and reputation can easily be damaged. However, businesses can turn this around making it an opportunity to help build brand loyalty and customer retention. While it may seem the fault of the customer for not returning the item, there is a responsibility on the retailer to ensure their returns process is quick, easy and puts the customer at ease. If not, customers will be left with a negative experience of the company and product, which they could then pass on to friends and families, impacting on sales.

Retailers should not and must not shy away from customers returning products, as this can often be the greatest source of learning. Customers should be made to feel important during this process as this presents what can often be a rare opportunity to engage with the customer (it need only be a couple of minutes) to understand the reason for the return to help address and avoid issues in the future. 

Many customers don’t return items because they are too embarrassed to do so, unsure of their rights or how to go about taking the item back. Whether you’re online or in-store, it’s vital to have a returns policy and process that is quick and easy, with little fuss and without drawing attention to the customer. Staff must also be friendly, approachable and understanding. Alternatively if this is an online retailer, the returns process needs to be clear and take as little time as possible.

I’m sure we’ve all had those experiences where something has gone wrong with a product we have purchased and because the retailer has dealt with the issue in a positive and welcoming manner, we have left with an increased feeling of positivity and confidence towards them.

The key is understanding your returns process from the customers’ perspective. Businesses must be proactive with this aspect of a customers’ experience. Regularly capturing customer feedback through mystery shopping and customer satisfaction survey programmes is essential to help identify areas that are working well or need improving. Without this information, you’ll never know the areas that are failing with your product or service to be able to rectify any bad customer relations and help with brand damage limitation.