Simplifying The Returns Experience For Customers

Happy returns season! Return rates have been rising for the past ten years and are expected to top 35% this year. This is a massive cost to your brand, how can you reduce them? First the most popular advice going around right now is how to make returns harder.  -Charge a restocking fee -Keep a small returns window -Make them jump through hoops to force an exchange Do not do this. This is what my grandfather called being penny wise and pound foolish. Trying to save some money with combative customer service is only going to hurt you. 1. It doesn’t turn people away from returning, it makes them dig in   2. You will be remembered in their minds as an enemy making a stressful time harder 3. Paying a restocking fee on a gift you didn’t want is going to appear, at best, as greedy. This is a great way to obliterate future sales. What should you do? Make it as easy as possible. Counterintuitive but here is why: Someone looking to scam you is going to do it anyway. You aren’t deterring those people by making it harder. But, making it easier will create a sense of camaraderie and good associations, which you will benefit from down the line when you DO have something this person wants. Retention is notably difficult and one of the better ways to achieve it is to be known as a “good” brand. It is one of the few ways to create real loyalty in a product that isn’t addictive or one-of-one unique. It also makes people want to do you a favor. This is the more important part. If you lean in first, you can then: -Ask for feedback directly -Email more often -Get a better social following -Get better word of mouth This matters because it will help your actual problem, year round return rates. Gift giving season has high returns because it isn’t the user who is shopping. But high seasonal returns are hurting you because you also have high returns year round. To combat that you need to know what the problems are and the best way to get that is by having a good enough relationship with the customers so that they will tell you to your face. You have to give to get and to be able to afford that giving you need to have a year of profits that isn’t tanked by a month of high returns. TLDR: Short term: be super easy to deal with, build up your relationships Long term: fix the root issue (bad web UX, weird sizing, unclear use case etc) #ecommerce #retail #profitability

Great retention isn't just about your email flows. It’s your returns experience. Think about it: A customer who returns but feels respected = still a potential repeat buyer. A customer who returns and feels punished = gone forever. Most companies send something cold like: “Your refund is being processed” That doesn’t leave much of a feeling. Here’s a warmer option: Subject: Thanks for giving us a try Body: We get it! Sometimes things don’t work out. That’s on us. If you’re up for it, we’d love to hear what didn’t work. If not, no problem. Thanks for letting us be part of your search. Then, a couple weeks later, you could send: “People who returned [product] often found [alternative product] worked better. Want to check it out?” A return doesn’t have to be the end. Handled right, it can be a fresh start.

🤔 "Be like Amazon" has become the default playbook for e-commerce returns. But what if I told you a #DTC brand just showed me what BETTER than Amazon looks like? Here's a quick story about True Classic that's making me rethink everything about customer experience strategy: When I received my order, I needed a different polo shirt size and wanted to swap one of the t-shirts for a different style of polo. The standard Amazon playbook? Return everything and reorder. Lose my bulk discount (with True Classic, order 3, and get a 40% discount). Two separate transactions. Instead: 1. One text conversation 2. Rep handled the entire swap 3. Kept my discount 4. Zero extra charges 🎯 Simpler than Amazon. More cost-effective than Amazon. But wait, there's more... When I needed another size swap later, their website handled it automatically. One click. No new purchase needed. Drop off at Staples, no packaging required. The kicker? This wasn't some huge tech investment—just smart, customer-first thinking. 💡 Should we be challenging ourselves to operate BETTER than Amazon, not just as good? What if "Amazon-like" is actually setting the bar too low? Curious: What's holding your company back from exceeding (not just matching) industry standards? #CustomerExperience #Ecommerce #Strategy #Innovation #Leadership #Frictionless