Returns in global ecommerce: offer free and easy returns
International returns are an important and challenging aspect of international ecommerce shipping.
When your sales grow, so does your return rate. Furthermore, high value customers are often the high returning customers.
Now here’s an important fact: your returns processes can make or break your sales. Your returns policy can also help you grow your sales, even if you ship globally.
In this article, you’ll learn about:
- How to offer free international returns and grow your sales conversion rates
- 7 tips for dealing with ecommerce returns
- How to use automation to handle international returns most efficiently and effectively.
Returns in international ecommerce: some facts
67% of shoppers review the merchant’s returns policy before purchasing items. If your customers have doubts whether they can return unwanted products in a hassle-free way, this can be the single biggest barrier to ordering from you.
Thus, it’s worth reviewing your returns policies and processes.
A flexible and customer-friendly return policy can help you increase your sales conversions by up to 25%.
When it comes to ecommerce returns, these are the key areas to consider:
- The range of returns options
- Free / low cost
- Length of returns period
- Speed of refund and associated processes.
7 tips for dealing with ecommerce returns
Check out these for 7 tips for dealing with ecommerce returns.
- Provide a number of fast and convenient refund options as well as different collection or drop-off points.
- Consider revising your returns policy, e.g. offer free returns or extra carrier services.
- Consider offering longer returns windows to increase shoppers’ confidence when making a purchase.
- Ensure your customers get their money back quickly (some may prefer vouchers or digital gift cards).
- Consider offering instant refunds, especially for your VIP customers.
- Don’t rely on one carrier only, especially during peak times, such as Christmas.
- Reduce your return rates by improving product descriptions, updating images and offering live dynamic exchanges.
International ecommerce returns: challenges
When it comes to international ecommerce returns, there’s the extra complexity of borders, time zones, foreign exchange rates, currencies and international regulations.
If you have a larger volume of international returns, your administrative costs will rise dramatically. Further, dealing with customs by yourself may be far from straightforward, e.g. you may find retrieving duties/taxes complicated and expensive.
On top of this, your returns processes may vary from country to country. For example, returning items from the USA to Europe is more complex than from France to Germany (e.g. consider the usual time limit for returns, i.e. 14 days, reverse customs documentation, reverse tax and duty, etc.).
Dealing with returns can be both costly and complex for sellers and can negatively affect buyer experience.
Thus, for hassle-free global returns, maximized conversion rates and enhanced customer experience, consider an automatic solution.
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International ecommerce returns: Webinterpret’s automated solution
Webinterpret offers an affordable solution that helps marketplace sellers handle international returns in a hassle-free way. We help sellers streamline processes to minimize costs and improve conversion rates and customer experience.
We support free international returns and will update return policies in seller listings accordingly to help them increase their conversion rates (buyers are more likely to buy items when they can return for free).
Here’s how it works:
1. We issue customs documentation and the shipping label once the return request is received.
2. We arrange the collection date and instruct the buyer about drop-off locations.
3. We notify the buyer & share the pickup date and returns paperwork.
4. We verify if the parcel has been collected.
5. We track the parcel from collection to delivery.
6. Remorse returns are approved automatically (domestic returns by eBay*, international returns by Webinterpret).
*eBay automates the returns and refunds processes to save sellers’ time, speed up the returns process and streamline the returns experience for buyers.
Our solution will help you stay in control of your cross-border returns. You can forget about excessive administrative work and high returns costs. Finally, you will increase your conversion rates and sell more by offering easy international returns to your customers.
Don’t wait to use automation to grow your sales right now!
Use AI to offer free returns and grow your sales!
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