| The good news for online retailers is that few shoppers actually return items purchased from online sites and those that do are not so dissatisfied with the return process that it adversely affects future shopping behavior with that specific retailer. The bad news, however, is that many more would make a return but are turned off by the expense and hassle of the process. A recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest professional services organization, indicates that to enhance customer satisfaction with the return process, online retailers should aim to make the process cheaper and quicker/easier for the online shopper. "Minimizing the rate of return is obviously desirable for any online retailer," comments Mary Brett Whitfield, Columbus-based Principal Consultant and Director of the E-Retail Intelligence System®. "But if the mechanism used to lower return rates is making the process harder than it is already, customer satisfaction is sure to wane. That appears to already be the case for some online purchasers," she adds. According to a recent survey of Internet users, only four percent of online purchasers reported returning their most recent online purchase and 29 percent have ever returned a non-business product purchased from an online shopping site. However, 41 percent of online purchasers have wanted to return a product purchased from an online shopping site, but decided that it was just too much of a hassle to do so. For online retailers, the implication is that return rates are not the best measure of customer dissatisfaction with an online purchase. Why Are Returns Made? With so many online purchasers wanting to return products, it is critical for online retailers to understand why. More than any other reason, online purchasers return products simply because they are not what the consumer expected. This suggests that there are plenty of opportunities for online retailers to make advancements in realistically representing the products that they sell. Reasons for Returning Online Purchases*
(among respondents that have ever returned a product) | | Product not what I expected
Product broken/damaged
Product quality not as expected
Right product shipped, but wrong characteristics
Wrong product shipped
Decided that I simply did not want product
Arrived too late
Received only part of an order | 40%
31%
31%
27%
26%
19%
17%
7% | |
*Multiple responses accepted.
(Source: E-Retail Intelligence System® Internet Users Consumer Panel, June 2000, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.) What's Wrong With the Return Process? The most common complaint among Internet users with regard to returns is having to pay for return postage. When asked to identify the three biggest problems associated with returning online purchases, two-thirds of Internet users identified having to pay for return postage. Nearly half of respondents identified the fact that returning an online purchase requires a trip to the post office, UPS or FedEx pick-up location. Not being able to return products to a store came in as the third biggest problem, demonstrating the inherent advantage enjoyed by multi-channel retailers. "The leading problems mentioned by respondents point to two primary culprits - money and time," comments Whitfield. "To enhance customer satisfaction with the return process, online retailers should aim to make the process cheaper and quicker/easier." What Do Online Shoppers Expect? Internet users expect most online shopping sites to offer numerous fulfillment capabilities. E-mail communication capabilities top the list with 75 percent or more respondents indicating that they expect most online retailers to use e-mail messages to verify order receipt, order shipment and to advise of any products placed on back order. E-mail capabilities are especially important to online purchasers who have ever returned a product, suggesting that satisfaction with this capability may be necessary for repeat business. Nearly half of respondents expect most online retailers to provide the option of returning products to a local store. This factor was significantly more likely to be identified by Internet users who wanted to return an online purchase, but decided that it was too much of a hassle. Not being able to return a product to a brick and mortar store is clearly a hassle for some online purchasers. How Are Online and "On-Land" Retailers Impacted? The good news for online retailers is that more often than not online purchasers making returns are not so dissatisfied with the return process that it adversely affects future shopping behavior with that specific retailer. In fact, over half of online purchasers who have returned products indicate that their return experience(s) at a specific online shopping site had no affect on their future shopping behavior at that site. However, one in three also said that they are less likely to shop at that specific online shopping site. On-land shopping behavior is even less likely to be impacted by undesirable experiences online. Just 17 percent indicate that their return experience(s) at a specific online shopping site negatively impacted the likelihood of them shopping at that specific company's stores or catalogs. August 2000 - Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Returns Policies: Why The Returns Process Makes A Difference, click here FREE NEWSLETTER, click here | 