How to Generate Revenue and Save Money with eCommerce Returns

When businesses talk about returns, this usually means losing profit and having to go through a tedious process of handling customers’ expectations. However, instead of looking only at the negative aspect of getting returns from customers, eCommerce businesses must look at how these can propose possible opportunities for growth and profitability. Studies have shown that customers who prefer buying from online stores also look at the returns policies that are offered by these stores. More often than not, customers who find the policies acceptable for them would proceed to transact with these stores. Another thing that needs to be considered is the type of retail industry to which the eCommerce business belongs to. Business owners have to realize that there are certain types of products that customers usually return due to several reasons such as incorrect clothing size or specifications not meeting the customer’s expectations or requirements.

Indirect Way of Generating Revenue from Returns

It is unusual to think about profiting from returns. This is because they are technically opposites from each other. However, by looking at it from a strategic standpoint, a business may use the idea of offering returns to customers as a way for it to entice customers to do their transactions with the eCommerce store. By having a well-thought-out returns policy and process, customers can easily decide if they think that the eCommerce store that they are transacting with is offering them a fair deal after they find issues with the products that they have purchased from it.

Businesses must consider the fact that not all products are perfect when they reach their buyers. Businesses should be ready to react properly when these customers demand to return these products and either have them replaced or have the company process refunds for these products. Customers who buy from online stores usually have social media accounts and are vocal with their reviews of the products they buy online. Businesses can see this as an opportunity to be introduced to potential customers because of their hassle-free and fair returns policies on items that are purchased from their eCommerce stores.

Revenue may not come right away after the refund or replacement has been fulfilled, however, there is a good chance that the store will be getting more business from customers who react positively to the comments and reviews made towards the eCommerce business.

Generate Revenue from Returns Right Away

This is less strategic as compared to targeting the customers’ expectations and emotions. There may be a few ways to generate revenue directly from the returns received.

• Reselling returned items
  • For cases wherein the items that were returned are still in sellable condition, they can be added back to the inventory of the eCommerce store. Doing so makes them available to be purchased by another customer. These returned products are usually those that were not able to meet the customer’s requirements and expectations.

• Recommerce and selling products to value retailers
  • For returned products that are not in any condition to be sold to the customers of the eCommerce store, these may be sold to value retailers or stores that can repair the products so that they can sell them to their customers. Even though these products may not be sellable through the eCommerce store because of their current issues, there may be other online stores or brick-and-mortar stores that may find value in some of the parts of these damaged goods. These cases usually happen for electronics and appliances that have spare parts that can be reused or resold through other channels.

Reducing Costs of Returns with 3PL

eCommerce businesses that are still in their startup phase usually have limited budgets and resources. They may need to put most of their focus on sales and product quality, which may not give them enough resources to offer returns policies that would be beneficial to their customers. The process and staffing alone needed to run a systematic and efficient returns process can be costly for small-sized eCommerce businesses. However, with the help of a reputable 3PL like airWarehouse, this issue can be avoided.

airWarehouse is known to run a business that is focused on storage, order fulfilment, and customer service. This means that it has the staffing and systems in place to handle these processes efficiently. You may be surprised how much you can save when you outsource your processes to airWarehouse. For more information about airWarehouse and its services, you may refer to this link.