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Why you should think about making returns even easier

Offering refunds and returns is one of the requirements of being an ASOS Marketplace seller and is something that we actively encourage boutiques to advertise and recognise as an important part of their service. Read on to find out why you should be making returns even easier...


Returns are a huge consideration for all retailers, with many online shops seeing an average of 30% of all orders returned. For some context, the average return rate for orders placed via ASOS Marketplace is actually much lower at just 12%.

So why is offering returns so important? According to packaging manufacturer Duo UK, 95% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase if they know they can return it easily.  In other words, having no returns policy or offering one that imposes all sorts of restrictions and caveats may actually result in lost sales.

Duo UK later went on to look at which part of the returns process was the most irritating for customers. Unsurprisingly 56% of respondents identified a trip to the post office as being their main irritant, whilst 30% of respondents (who were mainly young adults) found the re-packaging of goods the most frustrating part of the process.



You might not be able to do much about the trip to the post office but helping your customers repackage their returns can vastly improve the experience and offer a number of other benefits:

1. Increase your positive feedback:  Looking at the current breakdown of customers that have returned ASOS marketplace orders, 32% of these people go on to leave positive seller feedback. So, by handling returns smoothly and efficiently, evidence suggests that you can create a really positive experience of your brand and actually increase your feedback score.

2. Make your packaging reusable: Adding a double glue strip to your mailing bag allows consumers to re-use the packaging to send their unwanted product back to you in the post. This improves the customer experience and is environmentally friendly.

3. Reduce damage caused by inadequate packing: Make sure your packaging can withstand the weather and the rough and tumble of the sorting office. Damaged packaging can lead to damaged goods and poor impressions; almost 95% of consumers claim poor quality or damaged packaging negatively impacts on their perception of a business.

4. Recycle your returned packaging: While cardboard is widely perceived as a recyclable commodity, other types of packaging, including polythene are also easily recycled. In the UK there is a shortage of good quality polythene scrap leading to an increase in the price per tonne, this means recycling makes economic sense as well as fulfilling CSR aims and reducing landfill tax

Source: www.duo-uk.co.uk

If you have any questions about any of the topics raised in this post you can email me on rachelhumphreys@asos.com