How Impulse Buying and Good Return Policies Help Reduce Customer Returns

 

While many believe that impulse buying leads to more customer returns, the truth is quite the opposite. If you look at impulse buyers more closely, you will note that these consumers are quite loyal to the companies that they purchase from. How is that possible, you ask? Simply with the right kind of return policies.

Impulse Buyers and their Loyalty to Companies

Impulse buyers or those who purchase things on a whim become loyal customers of companies that provide good return policies because they realize that you are making an effort to boost their satisfaction and keep them happy. One particular study that was conducted on the subject of impulse buyers showed that 40% of all purchases in the United States came from people who were impulse buyers. 

Moreover, what is more surprising is that around $4.2 trillion was spent on impulse buys just in the 4th quarter of 2010. This means that retailers had a huge opportunity to turn their potential impulse buyers into loyal patrons who would not only return for future purchases, but would also spread the world about your company. Another research found that 63% of all impulse buyers say that they were more likely to buy from a company that had good and reliable return policies.

A major reason for this is because of the psychology of the buyer. When impulse buyers see that they have the chance to return the products that they buy, they realize that the company is more confident about the quality of their products, proving them to be more reliable. As a result, these buyers end up buying the product that you are offering and become your lifelong customers. You can also rest assured that they won?t be returning your goods the second time around.

Tips on Improving Your Return Policies

Now that you know just how important return policies are for customer returns, you may be itching to test this theory out or simply implement it at your store. So, here are a few tips to help you make policies that attract impulse buyers and eventually increase profits in the long run.

Know What Your Customers Want

Before you start writing a single customer return policy, you need to understand what your customers want when it comes to returns. Basically, all customers want their returns to be effortless, to have a reasonable time frame, to receive credit for their merchandise and for the returns not be penalized in any way. So, make sure that you tell your customers that you want to build good relationships with them and that your primary goal is to keep them happy and satisfied.

Research Your Competitors

The best way to make a good return policy is to look at your competitors and analyze what they are doing. Identify the areas that you both agree on and then devise a policy according to what you like. However, don’t think of this as cheating. Not looking at the policies of your competitors will only make them get ahead of you. Just make sure that you don’t plagiarize anything or else you’ll be penalized heavily by the law and search engines.

Make Your Policies Easy to Find

Even though a lot of online companies believe that they need to hide return policies on their websites so that their customers cannot find them, the truth is that if you want people to appreciate you, you need to make your policies easy to find.

Hidden policies will only frustrate customers and make them think that you are not willing to get the product returned, which means that you and your products aren’t reliable. Moreover, when developing a customer return system, make sure that you design it in a way that it is easy for people to get around without a lot of trouble or hassle.

Write Policies in Plain English

Even though customer return policies are meant to technically lay out the legal terms of exchange, experts recommend that you leave out the legal jargon and use plain English. Moreover, when the customer clicks on your return policy tab, he or she doesn’t want to see a three-page document.

So make sure that you have a simple, easy to understand and concise policy that isn’t boring. An idea for making the policy interesting is to add illustrations or a step-by-step summary which tells the customer how they need to return the product.

Give Customers More Time for Returns

Even though it may seem like adding extra time to your customer returns policy would bring an increase in returns, this is not true. In fact, when a few companies increased their returns duration, their returns decreased and their sales went up. One reason for this is because increasing the time has a psychological effect on customers, making them feel more comfortable about their purchases.

Ask Customers for Feedback

Even if you do get customer returns, it will be a good idea to ask these customers for feedback and inquire about what they thought of your services and whether or not they would be buying from you again.

Also ask your customers how they feel about your return policy and if they would like to see any changes. Asking for feedback will help you because even though the customer has returned the product, they will feel comfortable in the future because you wanted to know about their experience in dealing with you.

Have a Good Customer Service Staff

Whether you are running a brick-and-mortar store or an online shop, it is important for you to have skilled, smart and educated staff that can help your customers through any problems that they might be having. Combined with good return or exchange policies, your customer support personnel will help you reduce your customer returns so that you can start enjoying a flow of new and loyal customers.

So use these tips for making good return policies and watch as your impulsive buyers help reduce customer returns for good.

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