It
seems as though there is one package or another that arrives at the office on a
daily basis. All different shapes, sizes, and weights. Some business and others
personal (especially around the holidays). Also a common sights is the
occasional box that is put aside to be picked up and returned to where it came
from. I have heard all the reasons for send something back even though I rarely
do so myself from wrong size or color to poor quality, wrong item all together,
or arriving too late and everything in between.
Every
time I see one of those packages heading out the door I can’t help but think
about the cost of those returns and how the “free returns” policy isn’t really
a free service as those anticipated costs are factored into the price of the
object. When I looked into the data behind returns (focusing on the online side
of things) I was taken aback by the percentage… in 2013, The Wall Street Journal found that nearly a third (33%) of all online purchases were returned for one reason or another. That is a lot of money spend on “free returns”.
Beyond
the money it just seems like a pain in the what to have to go through that
process and I tried finding some more information on what impact it has on the
retailer. From a recent survey I found the following statistics:
- 54% of respondents stated that the reason for returning an item
purchased online or by phone is because the item is the incorrect size or
color
- 97% of respondents stated that the return process is important to
their future intentions to shop with a retailer
- 73% of respondents who receive an incorrect item after already
returning it once stated that they are much less likely to shop with that
retailer online or by phone again for future purchases
- 45% of respondents who have experienced continuous return process
issues with particular retailers stated that they have limited shopping
with that retailer altogether (both online and in-store)
- 26% of respondents expect the correct item to be shipped to them within one to two days after returning the incorrect item
While
I rely more on the end cost of the item and tend to put up with these errors,
it seems as though I am among the minority. But it makes me think more about the
disconnect that many people have from the products they buy while maintaining
the “I see it now and I want it now” mentality. While I prefer going into a
store and buying the items that I want or need, online is an inexpensive
alternative to get the same thing at a much better price. I wonder how many of those
in the above survey could have avoided the return had they seen the color in
person and determined if something ran large or small while trying it on in the
store.
We
have to remember that while online shopping is convenience and cheaper, the in-store
experience is sometimes worth the ten minutes out of your day and ten cents out
of your pocket. Heck, sometimes it is cheaper to buy in the store if you simply
talk to the sales person, manager, or owner. That little bit of time can end up
saving you a lot of aggravation if not money and if people stop returning so
much stuff online it might even drive down some of those “low prices” even
further.
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