3 reasons to invest more in convenient delivery & returns

Optimizing your delivery and return process is one of the most efficient ways to grow your eCommerce conversion rate. With a convenient shipping policy in place, you will not only attract new customers, you will also boost your customer satisfaction and welcome existing online customers to buy more frequently. The following insights will give you a better understanding on why delivery and returns matter and why it won’t hurt to give yours an upgrade!

Consumers first check the delivery and return policy before buying

First, 25% of consumers first checks the delivery and return policy of the webshop, before making a purchase. This means that it’s often an integral part of the buying decision of your customer. When customers don’t find their preferred shipping option (click & collect, next day delivery, free shipping,…) or when they are worried about the return process, they might leave your webshop. They might do so immediately, or when they already added items to their cart. Either way, you’re missing out on valuable sales opportunities.

More than 60% of consumers is not fully satisfied  

Secondly, according to a B2C survey Collectique held amongst over 400 Belgian consumers last year, more than 60% of shoppers finds the return process for online orders inconvenient or too time consuming. Almost 30% finds it inconvenient to have their order delivered at home or at work. Missed deliveries, driving back and forth to the post office, complex return formalities, repackaging boxes and printing labels,… It’s clear that many webshops still have room for improvement when it comes to their customer experience for delivery and returns.

“Delivery & return options are the most important concerns of a consumer. Every solution that enhances this “delivery” experience, will improve the sales & conversion rate of a webshop.” Greet Dekocker, Managing Director of Safeshops.

Your dog may be great at barking, but not so great at receiving & returning parcels

Convenient delivery & returns boosts customer loyalty

 Last but not least, 92% of consumers indicates that they would buy again from a webshop that offered them a convenient delivery and return service. An easy return procedure is more important to them than the best price or a wide product range.  At first sight, you might be reluctant to put a convenient return policy in place. Because like any online business, you want to keep your return rate at an absolute minimum. Although returns can be painful, a customer-centric return policy has proven to increase conversion rates, purchases and customer loyalty. So it might be worth considering including a ready-to-use return label in your packaging and eliminating complex and time consuming online return forms. This doesn’t mean you have to offer free returns. You can still charge your customer the shipping costs of the return by deducting them from your refund, on the condition that you clearly spell out the return policy on your website.

Conclusion

If you’re working on new strategies to increase the conversion rate of your webshop, have a second look at your delivery and return policy. Is it as customer friendly as you would want it to be? Do you already offer in-store pickup, other convenient pickup locations, same and / or next day delivery, planning tools, ready-to-use return labels, or other options? Is your shipping policy clearly written out on your website on a dedicated page?

A well-thought out shipping service can save you a lot of time and energy, as dealing with customer questions can be very expensive and exhausting for customer service employees. Regularly optimizing your shipping policy is a powerful tool to save money and increase your conversion, turning an average or negative brand experience into a memorable one that creates real value for your online business!