Online sales growth is slowing industry-wide as people return to stores; operating costs are mounting amid inflation; and companies are under pressure to better manage their expenses in a challenging economic climate.
Retailers today are forced to pay closer attention to an expense that was once understood as an unavoidable aspect of selling online: a high rate of returns.
For years, online retailers offered free returns to entice shoppers, since customers can’t try anything on, and items are not always properly represented online. Most companies didn’t take drastic measures to drive down return rates, which inadvertently incentivised customers to buy and return goods frequently.
BoF’s latest case study, “Fashion’s New Playbook for Online Returns,” details how online retailers today are tackling the nebulous process of managing returns. Many are beginning to charge customers to send items back to drive down costs and reduce return rates. But creating a new returns ecosystem that will improve the balance sheet without hurting customer loyalty requires more than introducing friction to their returns policy.
Learn more about how e-commerce players like Monos, Mytheresa, Mercado Libre and Revolve are revamping their returns management strategies, leaning into new technologies, incentive programmes and more. Head to our #linkinbio to download.
✍️ Malique Morris
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#BoFCaseStudy #OnlineReturns
