Sellers, beware! 75% of U.S. consumers are dissatisfied with their returns experience

According to Chain Store Age, consumers are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with retailers’ efforts to manage the e-commerce returns process.

A recent survey of more than 1,200 U.S. consumers by e-commerce solutions provider Doddle and YouGov showed that 75 % of respondents believe retailers should do more to improve their returns experience , and even 86 % said that a positive returns experience would encourage them to shop at the same online retailer again .

From a cost perspective, 66 % of respondents said they want free returns , which is undoubtedly one of the most desired options for consumers when they need to return an item after shopping online . However, only 35% enjoy free returns , while 10% typically pay more than $4 in return fees .

The survey results also show that more than half , or 53%, of the respondents hope to have good communication and visibility during the return process , such as tracking the package, confirmation of receipt, refund information, etc.

In addition, half of respondents want to return items at a convenient location , such as a local store, post office, etc., and nearly two-thirds , or 65%, of respondents said they would be likely to choose this return method if given the option . And a convenient return location is particularly important to older shoppers, as 58% of respondents aged 55 or older want this return method , compared to 41% of those aged 18-24.

In addition, the study found that returns are as important as payment and delivery in the e-commerce shopping process , and that older consumers are more likely to want reusable or resealable packaging than younger shoppers. One in five , or 21%, of respondents said they had not returned anything in the past 12 months , while a quarter of respondents returned gifts they bought or received during the holiday season.

The results of this study show that as consumers increasingly prefer online shopping , improving the e-commerce return process experience is currently an excellent opportunity to increase sales and enhance customer loyalty . If retailers do not improve the return experience, they may miss out on more consumers.

USA

Return experience

E-commerce