How to Reduce Product Returns and Increase Customer Satisfaction in Ecommerce

We live in a digital age where one tap on your mobile app can bring sales, whereas another can initiate a return request. For ecommerce businesses, product returns are unavoidable, but the good part is that they can be significantly reduced when the right strategies are used. Understanding how to reduce product returns in ecommerce lowers operational costs, strengthens customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall brand trust.

According to a recent survey, nearly 30% of all online products are returned. With changing consumer behaviour and cutthroat competition in the market, it is expected to rise even more in the future as consumers know they can get a free return in no time.

But the good thing is almost 92% will buy again with an easy and convenient process. Nearly 81% of consumers wish for simple, easy, and free returns, so you must make their buyer journey as easy and fun as possible.

Take a look at some statistics that can help to strategize for reducing product returns:

Why Reducing Product Returns Matters

A high return rate damages your profits and incurs costs such as return shipping fees and labor expenses related to processing returns, including customer assistance and restocking returning items. With eCommerce return rates reaching 30% or higher, these costs can accumulate quickly. As a result, reducing returns is a crucial objective for any eCommerce brand.

Reducing return rates is directly linked to:

Explore: MageNative x ScrollEngine Partnership For Fast &amp ; Accurate Order Fullfillment

Common Reasons for Product Returns

We have compiled a list of five ways to reduce product returns and the plausible root causes that are majorly responsible for product returns.

Let’s discuss them one by one:

1. Inaccurate or Misleading Product Descriptions and Images

Around 22% of returns happen because the product looks different from what was expected. Poor visuals, insufficient angles, or vague product descriptions create confusion, leading to dissatisfaction and returns.

How to reduce product return due to inaccurate product description?

2. Sizing and Fit Issues

No customer will compromise on the size of a product especially in categories like clothing, footwear, or wearables. Sizing errors lead to more eCommerce returns than any other reason. It has been found that approximately 34% of Amazon’s Returned products are returned due to a sizing error. If the sizing information you provide is unclear, outdated, or inconsistent; then you can expect a very high number of returns.

How to reduce product return due to sizing and fit issues?

Explore: MageNative’s Integration – Kiwi Size Chart & Recommender

3. Poor Product Quality or Damaged Items

Nothing impacts your brand more negatively than customers receiving poor-quality or damaged products. It directly questions your brand’s credibility and leads to negative reviews, refunds, and lost trust.

How to reduce product return due to poor product quality or damaged product?

4. Shipping Delays and Packaging Problems

Late deliveries, poor packaging, and mishandled orders are some of the quickest ways to increase your e-commerce product return rate. These experiences not only lead to customer returns but also hurt customer satisfaction.

How to reduce product return due to shipping delays and packaging problems?

There are more sustainable solutions than manually managing orders and fulfillment using spreadsheets and post-it notes. Investing in a system to handle orders, picking, packing, shipping, and dispatch can prevent errors and deliver an excellent customer experience.

Explore: MageNative Integration With Shipway For Seamless Order Tracking

5. Unexpected Costs or Fees

Unexpected delivery fees, hidden charges, or confusing return shipping costs can highly degrade your customer’s experience. This causes a very negative impact on your business and can lead to customers never buying again from you.

How to reduce product return due to unexpected costs or fees?

Ensure that customers have easy ways to reach you with questions or concerns about a product. Providing quick and helpful customer service can prevent frustration and confusion that may lead to product returns, as more than 80% of consumers will only return if they experience a good product return process.

Offer multiple touchpoints such as phone, email, live chat, or instant messaging to ensure customers can get the support they need. Having an instant connection with your customers through these channels can resolve issues quickly and effectively, reducing the number of returns.

Summing Up, these are the best strategies to reduce ecommerce product returns:

Conclusion

As clearly shown, reducing returns is a great way to help streamline your logistics, reduce costs, and hold with less inventory. Following the above mentioned strategies for each type of return can easily guide how to reduce product returns.

Furthermore, if you want to simplify returns management and improve customer satisfaction, MageNative’s Return Prime integration can help you manage orders, track returns, and improve post-purchase experiences.

FAQ’s

What is a good return rate for ecommerce?

Ans. A return rate in the range of 8-10% at ecommerce is considered an acceptable range. Some product categories may experience much higher rates of return; for example, products such as Fashion, Electronics and Shoes can see returns rates of 30% due to size and quality related issues.

What is a common practice for handling returns efficiently?

Ans. The most common practice is to utilize a specialized returns management tool for simple & hassle free return options.

How to reduce returns in ecommerce?

Ans. First, understand why your customers return items in the first place. Ask customers what confused them during purchase. Review common complaints and spot the patterns. When you solve those root causes, your return rate drops naturally.

What are the 5 P’s of Retail Management?

Ans. The 5 P’s of Retail Management are: