Returns are a costly and time-consuming challenge for e-commerce merchants, but they also provide invaluable insights into how products and shopping experiences can be improved. By carefully analyzing the reasons behind customer returns and making data-driven changes to your site and product offerings, you can reduce return rates, increase customer satisfaction, and boost profitability.

In this article, we’ll explore how e-commerce merchants can adapt their websites and product offerings based on historical return data, ensuring that the right information is gathered, patterns are identified, and solutions are implemented to prevent returns in the future.

Ensure Your Returns Platform Gathers the Right Data

To effectively adapt your e-commerce site based on historical returns, it’s crucial that your returns platform is set up to capture detailed and accurate data. Simply knowing that a return happened is not enough; you need to understand why it happened and what could have prevented it.

Key Data Points to Collect:

• Return Reason Codes: When customers initiate a return, ask them to select a reason from a list of common return causes, such as “wrong size,” “damaged on arrival,” “not as described,” or “changed mind.”
• Additional Feedback: Provide customers with the option to leave additional feedback. Sometimes, customers’ reasons for returning are nuanced and not easily captured by a predefined list. An open-text field allows customers to share specific concerns or suggestions.
• Product-Specific Issues: Gather data specific to each product being returned, such as whether certain sizes or colors are being returned more frequently. This helps you narrow down which product variations may be causing problems.
• Purchase and Return Timing: Track how long after purchase returns are initiated. This can help identify whether returns are being triggered by slow shipping, buyer’s remorse, or unmet expectations after use.

Use Data to Refine Product Offerings

Historical return data can reveal important insights about which products or categories are not meeting customer expectations. By analyzing this data, you can refine your product offerings, focus on high-performing items, and discontinue or improve products with a high return rate.

How to Refine Product Offerings:

• Identify High-Return Products: Look for products with a disproportionately high return rate compared to overall sales. If certain items consistently generate returns, consider discontinuing them or working with suppliers to improve quality.
• Revise Low-Performing Products: For items that receive frequent returns but are still popular, determine if there are ways to improve the product or offer better support. For example, you could adjust sizing, enhance durability, or update product packaging to reduce damage during shipping.
• Focus on Proven Winners: Prioritize promoting and restocking products with low return rates and high customer satisfaction. These items likely meet customer expectations more consistently and contribute to long-term loyalty.

Analyze Return Reasons to Identify Patterns

Understanding why customers are returning products is essential to making the right adjustments. By categorizing and analyzing return reasons, you can identify patterns that point to recurring issues, whether they are related to product quality, user experience, or shipping and handling.

Steps for Analyzing Return Reasons:

• Segment by Return Type: Break down returns by categories such as “fit and sizing issues,” “damaged on arrival,” “defective,” “product not as described,” or “wrong item sent.” Each category points to different potential solutions.
• Look for Product-Specific Trends: Identify which specific products or categories have high return rates due to certain issues, such as sizing inconsistencies or material concerns.
• Track Seasonal Patterns: Analyze whether certain types of returns spike during specific times of the year, such as during sales periods or holidays. These trends may point to logistical or promotional issues that can be addressed to prevent future returns.

Improve Product Descriptions and Visuals

A common reason for returns is that products do not meet customers’ expectations once they arrive. This often results from inaccurate or incomplete product descriptions and images on your e-commerce site. Improving the quality and depth of product descriptions and visuals can significantly reduce the number of returns caused by unmet expectations.

Improving Product Descriptions:

• Detailed Descriptions: Provide thorough descriptions that cover all relevant product details such as size, material, color, and functionality. For example, for apparel, ensure descriptions include information about fit (slim, loose, true to size), fabric texture, and care instructions.
• Highlight Key Features: Clearly communicate the unique selling points and key features of each product. Use bullet points or infographics to break down technical specifications or complex features.
• Clarify Sizing: For clothing, footwear, or furniture, include detailed sizing charts that help customers choose the right fit. Provide instructions on how to measure themselves or their space to ensure accuracy.

Enhancing Product Visuals:

• Multiple Angles and Close-Ups: Include images from multiple angles, as well as close-up shots that show important details like texture, stitching, or product features.
• 360-Degree Views and Videos: Offer 360-degree product views or short product demonstration videos. This gives customers a more complete understanding of the product before purchase.
• Real-Life Context: Show the product in use or in a real-life context. For example, a sofa could be shown in a furnished room, or a model could wear a dress while standing and sitting. This helps customers visualize how the product fits into their life.

Optimize Sizing and Fit Information

For apparel, shoes, and certain types of furniture or home decor, sizing issues are one of the most common reasons for returns. Providing more accurate, detailed, and easy-to-understand sizing information can significantly reduce returns due to fit issues. When customers report the wrong size as a reason for a return, that can indicate that some additional attention is needed on your site.

Steps for Optimizing Sizing Information:

• Offer Accurate Sizing Charts: Use detailed sizing charts that include not only generic size labels (S, M, L) but also specific measurements (inches, centimeters) for chest, waist, hips, or inseam.
• Fit Guides: Include recommendations on how the product fits compared to standard sizing. For example, if a dress runs small, make sure to highlight this so customers can choose the appropriate size.
• Customer Reviews with Fit Feedback: Encourage customers to leave reviews about the fit and sizing of products. Including a feature that allows customers to indicate whether an item runs large, small, or true to size can provide valuable feedback to other shoppers.
• Virtual Try-On Tools: If possible, implement augmented reality (AR) tools or virtual try-on features that allow customers to see how the item will look on their body before purchasing. This is particularly helpful for clothing, accessories, and furniture.

Enhance Customer Support and Post-Purchase Communication

Sometimes, customers initiate a return because they don’t know how to use a product, experience buyer’s remorse, or encounter a minor issue that could be resolved with help. Proactive customer support and post-purchase engagement can help reduce returns in these situations.

How to Enhance Customer Support:

• Post-Purchase Emails: Send follow-up emails after customers receive their product, offering tips on how to use or care for the item. For complex products, provide detailed instructions or links to instructional videos.
• Live Chat and Customer Support: Offer easy-to-access customer support channels, such as live chat, email, or phone, where customers can ask questions or request assistance. Solving a problem quickly can prevent a return.
• Offer Alternatives to Returns: Encourage customers to reach out before returning an item. Offer alternatives like exchanges, partial refunds, or store credit for minor issues.

Refine Marketing and Product Positioning

In some cases, returns may result from customers having an incorrect understanding of what the product offers. This could be due to misleading or overly aggressive marketing. Refine your marketing messaging to ensure it aligns with what the product delivers.

Steps for Refining Marketing:

• Set Clear Expectations: Avoid over-promising in product descriptions or marketing copy. If a product is designed for a specific use case or has limitations, make sure this is communicated clearly upfront.
• Target the Right Audience: Ensure your marketing campaigns are reaching the right audience for each product. Mismatched audiences may lead to more returns from customers whose needs were not properly met by the product.

Conclusion

Customer returns can be a valuable learning tool for e-commerce merchants when viewed through the lens of improvement and adaptation. By setting up your returns platform to gather the right data, analyzing return reasons, refining product descriptions, enhancing sizing information, and improving customer support, you can reduce the likelihood of future returns. These insights enable you to create a more accurate and satisfying shopping experience, leading to fewer returns, increased customer loyalty, and a more efficient business overall.

• Post-purchase strategies for customer retention
• How to Design and Implement a Loyalty Program
• Increasing Retention Through Customer Feedback
• Gamification for Customer Retention

• Tracking Page Strategies
• Optimizing Your Returns Landing Page

• Balancing Costs and Customer Experience With Return Fees
• Improving Customer LTV Post-Purchase
• Marketing to Existing Customers