- Use e-commerce returns data to improve your business
Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce retailers have no luxury of physical interaction with customers. This has a significant effect on product returns for e-commerce retailers, which are always higher. To mitigate this challenge and reduce the costs caused by product returns, Shopify returns management software, which automates and eases the return process, is now a proper solution for many online retailers. Although there are various solutions that help save time, most of them do not give retailers the necessary insights needed to improve their products or websites.
With big data, retailers can identify the challenges in their websites, such as misleading product photos, inaccurate product descriptions, inconsistencies in sizing conventions, and how often they drive product returns. Get feedback from shoppers concerning the problems they encounter and the leading causes of returns. This information can help improve products. Use the data to align the shoppers’ expectations and reality. Identify why certain products have high returns and spot issues by looking at the frequently used words.
- Use the returns data to learn about your shoppers
One of the biggest challenges that retailers face in e-commerce is knowing their shoppers' interests, purchase patterns, and challenges. Although returns may have implications on the cost of running a business, it is not entirely a bad thing. It shows that a customer was close to getting what they needed. You can learn a lot about the needs of customers and their relationship with your brand without ever meeting them. The comments from customers are valuable in improving customers’ experience. Comments about returns give unique positive and negative feedback that can offer insight into the shortcomings of a product and shine a light on issues that may otherwise go unnoticed. Big data helps retailers identify acquisition and retention, which are critical for the survival of the e-commerce retail business. With big data, you learn when the customers are likely to repurchase, how customers have changed over time, and revenue coming from return customers, among other critical things necessary to run a business.
- Use e-commerce returns data to evaluate and improve operations
The operational processes in retail have a substantial impact on customer experience. Proper operational processes enhance efficiency and allow products you order to arrive in time. For instance, if a customer orders a swimsuit for a pool party event, it should arrive in time for use in that event. If the product arrives late and the client does not receive a refund for several weeks, it would have a negative experience for the customer who will never shop on that website again. With such problematic processes, you will never compete in today’s business landscape. Blend sales and returns data to help improve your processes both in the forward supply chain and reverse supply chain. This is the only way you can compete in the modern retail landscape.
