25% US shoppers ready to pay for add-on services for returns: Report

Those are among the findings of the 6th annual ‘State of Returns’ consumer survey report from customer experience research platform Narvar, the pioneer in post-purchase customer experience, and the company’s ‘2022 Returns Benchmark Report,’ which analyses the published return policies of 200 retailers.

In 2021, the value of merchandise returned to retailers hit a massive $761 billion, up 78 per cent from 2020. Although returns are an ongoing operating challenge, they also present retailers with an opportunity to reconnect with customers and cultivate their trust and loyalty by providing a seamless return experience. Narvar’s research has found that 96 per cent of customers would buy again from a business that provides a ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’ return policy, suggesting that retailers are wise to expand the range of return methods they offer, personalising the process to meet the diverse needs of first-time shoppers, off-and-on shoppers, and highly loyal VIPs.

“Our research shows that shoppers are undoubtedly benefiting from retailers’ generous return policies,” said Amit Sharma, CEO of Narvar. “Return windows are getting longer, refunds are happening faster, and technology is making returns easier than ever before—boosting customer satisfaction. There is a significant opportunity here for retailers to increase loyalty and retain revenue by offering differentiated and personalised return policies that meet different customers’ needs.”

Twenty-six per cent of shoppers surveyed said they had returned more than four items in the last six months, with apparel and footwear accounting for 46 per cent of recent returns. Thirty-seven per cent of shoppers surveyed returned their most recent online purchase by dropping it off at a third-party location (e.g., a UPS store). Third-party drop-off adoption has grown steadily for four years now, from 11 per cent in 2019 to 19 per cent in 2022, reflecting shopper demand for a wider range of convenient return methods. Sixty-three per cent of respondents said they asked for a refund when making their most recent return with a non-Amazon retailer. That suggests retailers have a significant opportunity to impact the bottom line by converting these refund requests into exchanges, even if they are for items of different value.

When asked to identify what makes a VIP/loyalty programme great, respondents cited instant refunds (77 per cent) and home pickup (76 per cent) as the top benefits. However, many customers will happily accept store credit if it’s delivered instantly or if it provides additional value (such as an extra 10 per cent of the refund amount to spend in-store).

For the sixth year in a row, ‘fit and size’ was survey respondents’ top reason for returns (45 per cent), among both first-time shoppers (22 per cent) and loyalists (78 per cent). The trend indicates that retailers have yet to maximise their AR and fit technology investments or unlock the full value of the sizing data customers are providing.

Sixty-three per cent of shoppers surveyed admitted to bracketing, up from 55 per cent in 2019. A growing number of shoppers (15 per cent) say bracketing is ‘just how they shop now.’

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)