As a business, you are legally required to offer a returns policy if an item is faulty or not as described. However, many businesses choose to go above the legal requirements and extend their returns policy with no questions asked – sometimes even for free.
Did you know that free returns can help to give your brand a competitive edge? Here, you’ll discover the potential benefits of free returns and why you may want to include it in your policy.
Why free returns can benefit your business
The key to becoming successful in business, is to ensure your customers are happy. However, even the most established companies know it’s actually impossible to keep every customer happy, 100% of the time. So, what you also need to work on, is ensuring unhappy customers are turned into happy ones.
Having a quick and simple returns policy can significantly help to turn unhappy customers into happy ones. Did you know that approximately 30% of goods bought online are returned? In an age where most people turn to the Internet for their buying needs, it’s never been more important to ensure consumers feel protected when buying via your online store. Offering free returns will not only provide customers with peace of mind, but it also keeps customers happier if something is wrong with their purchase.
So, why does it give you a competitive advantage? Well, if a consumer is comparing two companies to decide which one they should shop with, if one offers a free returns policy, but the other doesn’t, which one do you think they’re going to go with? Including free returns as part of your service will set you apart as more trustworthy and safer to shop with than your competitors.
But what about the cost?
Of course, just because returns are free for the customer, it doesn’t mean they’re free for you. Concern over cost is what stops many businesses offering free returns. However, it’s actually cheaper to pay the returns fees yourself, than it is to try and acquire a new customer.
You can also find some pretty affordable return courier services these days. So, if you go with a company like Pass My Parcel, a returns service won’t actually cost you that much.
Overall, offering free returns can give you a pretty significant advantage over your competitors. So, if you haven’t yet considered it, not is definitely the time to do so. Remember – the additional cost works out much cheaper than losing a customer completely.
