Health & Beauty

The rapid and continuous growth of the fashion and beauty e-commerce sector has contributed to a fast-paced and exciting market, bringing benefits to retailers large and small.

More online orders naturally lead to an increase in the return rate, which is a challenge for retailers.

In 2022, e-commerce transactions are expected to account for 35% of total fashion retail (Forrester), and clothing is one of the most popular categories. For retailers in this industry, it is important to prevent resource consumption caused by returns and find an effective return process.

Reduce returns at the source

Understanding the reason why the product was returned, and thus understanding the customer's unmet needs, is the key to minimizing returns. Many retailers attach a simple survey to the return form, asking customers to share their reasons for not keeping the merchandise:

The most common reasons for returns include:

·Product damage (59%)

· Buyers regret their purchase (42%)

·Feel that the product is misleading (29%) (WBE).

For some consumers, returns are only part of the shopping experience; 30% of British e-shoppers deliberately over-buy and return unwanted products, while 19% will order different sizes of the same product to try on at home (SaleCycle) .

Providing shoppers with detailed information helps them make smart purchases. An accurate description of the size, structure, fabric, and material of clothing and apparel is an easy way to help consumers decide whether the product is suitable for them.

In addition to high-quality images and videos, fast-fashion retailers such as Zara and H&M have invested in fit analysis software that can not only display product features, but also suggest sizes based on shopper's body type, height, and weight. British underwear brand Figleaves provides shoppers with a personal fitting assistant through Skype, which has successfully led to a decline in the return rate. (VogueBusiness)

More simple solutions include the "Ask Buyer" service, which enables potential buyers to ask specific questions to customers who have purchased before and get personal, humanized feedback to build confidence before they place an order.

How to meet the needs of consumers

Providing a return process suitable for customers and retailers is to bring convenience to both parties-to provide customers with the fast and worry-free service they expect. The majority (73%) of e-shoppers are happy to return the goods to their local post office, while 61% would choose to return the goods in the store, which provides an opportunity for omnichannel retailers to encourage customers to exchange goods or purchase other goods. Opportunity (RoyalMail). For online sellers, it is equally effective to provide customers with store purchases or to pay only for reserved goods.

By going paperless and providing digital return forms or QR codes, or encouraging customers to return multiple orders together, reverse logistics can be simplified and warehouse space saved.