Adapting Return Policies for Holidays and Events
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The holiday season and special events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and major sales bring a surge in orders, but they can also lead to an increase in product returns. Shoppers buy gifts, make impulse purchases, and take advantage of discounts—but sometimes these purchases don’t work out, leading to returns. Crafting a return policy that adapts to these unique periods can help minimize confusion, manage customer expectations, and protect your bottom line.
Here’s how you can adjust your return policies to accommodate the busy holiday season and special events.
Extend the Return Window
Why It’s Important:
During the holidays, many customers are shopping for gifts well in advance of when they’ll actually be given. A standard 30-day return window might not give them enough time, leading to dissatisfaction and a potential loss of business.
What to Do:
Consider extending your return window to 60 or 90 days during the holiday season to accommodate gift returns. Many major retailers offer extended return windows from November through January to make it easier for customers to shop early.
Example:
You could extend your return window to allow any purchases made in November or December to be returned up until the end of January. This gives gift recipients a reasonable amount of time to return or exchange products after the holiday rush.
Clarify Return Rules for Discounted and Sale Items
Why It’s Important:
Special sales events like Black Friday often feature discounted items that may have different return rules. Some merchants might prefer not to accept returns on deeply discounted items, while others might offer exchanges or store credit instead of refunds.
What to Do:
Make sure to clearly state the return policy for items purchased during these events. If you’re not offering full refunds on sale items, be transparent about that up front. Highlight whether customers will be eligible for refunds, exchanges, or store credit when buying sale items, and whether restocking fees apply.
Example:
If you run a 50% off sale, you might stipulate that items purchased at this discount can only be returned for store credit. Communicate this in your product descriptions and on the checkout page.
Emphasize the Conditions for Returning Holiday-Specific Products
Why It’s Important:
Some holiday-specific products, such as Christmas decorations, New Year’s Eve party supplies, or limited-time holiday-themed items, may have a shorter lifespan or become obsolete after the season ends. Merchants need to ensure that customers are aware of the specific return rules for these products.
What to Do:
For holiday-themed or seasonal items, consider implementing a shorter return window or stating that these items are final sale. Make sure to highlight this clearly in your product descriptions and return policy. This ensures that customers understand the conditions before purchasing and prevents issues later.
Example:
You could include a note stating that holiday decorations purchased after December 20th are non-refundable, but can be exchanged for a different item or store credit.
Prepare for Gift Returns and Exchanges
Why It’s Important:
Many customers make purchases as gifts during the holidays, and not every gift will be the right fit. Gift returns are a common occurrence, but handling them can be tricky, especially if the purchaser and recipient are different people.
What to Do:
Make the gift return process easy by offering gift receipts or allowing the gift recipient to return or exchange items without requiring the original purchaser’s involvement. You can also offer store credit to gift recipients if refunds aren’t an option. Clarify how your return policy handles gifts to avoid confusion or frustration from customers.
Example:
You might include a special “gift return” policy that allows recipients to exchange items or receive store credit without needing to contact the original buyer. Additionally, encourage customers to include a gift receipt with their purchase to streamline the return process.
Communicate Return Policies for Bulk Orders or Corporate Gifts
Why It’s Important:
During special events or holidays, businesses often purchase bulk orders or corporate gifts for clients or employees. These orders may have different return needs compared to individual purchases.
What to Do:
If your store caters to corporate gifting or bulk orders, ensure that your return policy includes specific instructions for these types of purchases. You may want to include stipulations about unopened packaging or restocking fees, depending on the volume of the order.
Example:
You can offer different return or exchange policies for bulk orders, such as limiting returns to unopened items or applying a restocking fee. Make sure this is communicated to corporate customers when they place their orders.
Optimize Your Return Process for High Volume
Why It’s Important:
During the holiday season or large sales events, you’ll likely see an uptick in returns. Without proper planning, this can overwhelm your customer service team and logistics partners, leading to delays and frustrated customers.
What to Do:
Consider automating your return process by offering an easy-to-use online returns portal. This will allow customers to initiate their returns without needing to contact customer service directly, saving your team time. Also, ensure that your warehouse and shipping partners are prepared to handle the extra volume of returns during peak periods.
Example:
Shopify merchants can use return management apps like Returnly or AfterShip Returns Center to automate the return process. These tools allow customers to initiate returns on their own, cutting down on manual support requests.
Consider Offering Free or Discounted Return Shipping
Why It’s Important:
During holidays and special events, customer expectations are higher, and many retailers offer free return shipping as a way to attract and retain customers. However, free return shipping can also eat into your profit margins.
What to Do:
If offering free return shipping isn’t feasible for your business, consider offering it as an incentive only for certain situations, such as exchanges, store credit, or returns initiated within a shorter time frame (e.g., within 14 days). Alternatively, you could offer discounted return shipping to share the cost with your customers.
Example:
Offer free return shipping for customers who choose store credit instead of a refund, or for purchases above a certain price threshold. You could also implement a flat rate return shipping fee to make the process easier to manage.
Update and Clearly Communicate the Return Policy
Why It’s Important:
Clear communication is key to preventing misunderstandings during the busy holiday season. If you’re making temporary changes to your return policy for special events or holidays, it’s crucial to communicate these changes upfront.
What to Do:
Update your return policy on your website and ensure that it’s easily accessible to customers. Place it prominently on your checkout page, product pages, and in order confirmation emails. You may also want to include a banner or pop-up that highlights your holiday return policy so customers are aware before making a purchase.
Example:
Add a banner to your homepage during the holiday season that clearly states your extended return window or any specific conditions for holiday purchases. This helps ensure that customers understand your policy before completing their order.
Conclusion
Adjusting your return policy for holidays and special events is essential for managing customer expectations and protecting your business from unnecessary returns. By extending return windows, clarifying return conditions for discounted or seasonal items, and optimizing your return process, you can make the busy holiday season more manageable while maintaining a positive customer experience.
Taking the time to update and communicate your holiday return policy will not only help reduce friction during the returns process but can also improve customer loyalty and encourage future purchases.
Want to learn more about how you can improve your business with better post-purchase strategies? Check out the full post-purchase resource center for more ideas and approaches.
Want to know more about how Corso can help as part of your post-purchase strategy? We provide the best experience available to merchants and their customers, all with no monthly software fees. If you want to learn more about how you can take your customer service to the next level while growing revenue, book an appointment for a personalized, one-on-one demo.
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