Manal Haddad

Is a Hassle Free Return Policy the Defining Factor of Customer Retention in 2016?

Did you know that almost 30% of products that are ordered from online stores are returned? In fact, 92% of online consumers said they’d purchase again if the return policy of the store is lenient and hassle-free.

Having an easy return policy in place might be the winning factor for online businesses. Because most consumers who are purchasing from online stores are looking for extra convenience and relaxation, they wouldn’t want an e-store to make product returns impossible. Let’s take a look at the reasons easy return policies result in increased customer loyalty!

They Build Customer Trust

You wouldn’t waste all your marketing, advertising, and promotional efforts by setting up extremely strict return policies. Customers get turned off by online businesses with troubling return policies. The biggest disadvantage for online businesses is the minimum interaction they have with their customers. A customer will purchase their products and services using their digital device and throughout their purchase journey, they will only look at automated messages.

This poor interaction between the brand and the consumer results in a lack of trust. And blowing away already doubtful customers by setting up strict return policies on your products will leave your business vulnerable.

When you offer easy returns, your first-time customers will be willing to purchase from you again. They know that they can return the product if it is damaged or not up to the mark. So, in order to build trust with shoppers, you must have hassle-free return policies.

They Enhance Customer Experience

Customers tend to be loyal to businesses that offer great experience and value to them. In fact, great customer experience results in improvement in customer retention by 42%. Due to the expansion and growth of the digital marketplace, it is important for every online business to work on customer retention. Furthermore, attracting new customers is harder and costlier than retaining old ones, which is why businesses need to offer better customer experience to enhance their retention ratio. A great way to do so is by offering hassle free return policy. When customers can easily return a damaged item, they feel comfortable with the business and start to trust it.

Bottom Line – Increases Your Insight

Customers feel comfortable shopping from stores that have lenient return policies. But there’s a lot more for businesses in setting up easy return policies including increased product knowledge and insight. If more customers begin to return a particular product, businesses can take it as an opportunity to improve and learn the things that went wrong. This is a great way to improve your products and learn about your target market. And when you revamp your product to offer a better one, your customers will be happy to find out that you fixed the issue and that your business is driven by customer experience.

 

So, if you want your online business to standout and gather an army of loyal customers, you need to revise your return policies.

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