Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

Satisfying Return Policies Can Lead to Loyalty

Shoppers like communication even more than an easy process

Return policies used to be viewed as a necessary evil. Behind the scenes, logistics can create a lot of headaches for retailers, but consumers expect a seamless process. Flexible returns have also become a differentiating factor that can make or break customer loyalty.

More online buyers means there are also likely to be more returns and exchanges. Plus, "bracketing," the practice of buying multiple versions of an item to determine the one a shopper likes best and returning the rest, is becoming a common practice.

According to a September survey of digital buyers who had returned an item in the past six months by Narvar, 41% of digital buyers say they use bracketing some of the time; luxury shoppers do this at an even higher rate (51%).

According to the study, 96% said they would give a retailer repeat business based on a good returns experience. The biggest turn-offs are having to pay for return shipping (69%), restocking fees (67%) and difficulty finding the return policy (33%).

Retailers can be slow to meet consumers' needs, creating a contentious relationship. In a BRP (Boston Retail Partners) and Windstream Enterprise study, 68% of US shoppers said they would be more inclined to shop on a merchant's site that offered automated returns capability, i.e., being provided with return labels or having refunds triggered when a shipper scans the returned package. But only 8% of retailers said they offer this feature. 

While some retailers are considering blacklisting serial returners, they should also take caution against alienating customers with legitimate reasons for sending back a purchase. It is to a retailer's advantage to provide fast exchanges and immediate refunds, as most shoppers actually replace the item they returned (57%), according to the Narvar data. Forty-one percent bought from the same retailer, while 16% chose a different retailer due to reasons ranging from poor experience to a wanted item being out of stock. 

Another interesting finding from the study was that shoppers appeared to value communication over ease. Effort is required more of shoppers making returns to Amazon than of customers on other sites, specifically in regard to printing out a return label (66% vs. 33%) and having to contact a retailer for return authorization (35% vs. 27%). But Amazon shoppers were more informed about when a refund would be processed (39% vs. 21%) and were also updated more on the status of their returned package (28% vs. 14%). 

When it came to rating satisfaction, despite taking more effort, more Amazon buyers considered their returns to be easy (75%) than did other digital buyers (65%).