For online shopping giants like QVC, HSN, and other major retailers, business is comprised of two distinctive parts – sales and returns. They go hand-in-hand and are both important parts of the profit picture. This is especially true for businesses that depend on TV, catalog, phone, fax, and internet sales. They would not be able to sustain, let alone grow, their business without offering customers the option to return purchases.
Typically, these policies permit customers to return any item within 30 days (usually extended for holidays) for any reason for a full refund including original shipping & handling cost. To make it easier, customer friendly return labels and instructions are included with the shipment, and customer service representatives are available 24/7 to answer questions.
The rapid growth of online marketing has also impacted the returns policy of the traditional brick & mortar retail store operations. It is a fact that many consumers prefer to shop businesses that offer the best returns policy along with bargain pricing.
Deploying Cost Effective Returns Processing Methods
Industry analysts estimate that consumer goods manufacturers and distributors lose 7-13% of sales revenues handling returns each year. The challenge for these companies is to minimize returns processing and handling costs through the adoption of appropriate IS technologies along with accurate, fast, and efficient automated material handling system technologies.
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