The global coronavirus pandemic saw a surge in online shopping, which has resulted in a spike in product returns. Product returns are a major issue for businesses and their customers – they are expensive for both. They are more common for ecommerce stores than for physical stores and affect their profits.
As we stated in our earlier blog, convenience is a major factor that affects the purchase decisions of customers. They now also want the product returns process to be as smooth as the purchase process. This is where “Buy Online, Return In Store” (BORIS) comes in. BORIS is an omnichannel service that allows customers to return their online purchases to their nearest physical location of a store instead of mailing the products back.
BORIS, like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In Store), is becoming increasingly popular with customers due to convenience and speed, and with retailers because it increases their in-store traffic. BORIS does not help retailers to prevent returns, but it reduces the costs involved in the process.
How BORIS Improves Customer Satisfaction And Revenue For Your Brand
Reduces Shipping Costs
Product returns are inevitable for a brand irrespective of its size and the type of product. No matter how good your product is, not every customer would be happy with it. If a customer who is trying to return a product is asked to pay for the returns, it will only add to his dissatisfaction. You should make returns as easy and quick as possible for your customers.
Free returns are a major purchase driver for customers. Shipping purchased products back to businesses requires customers to pay for it and purchase their own packaging material. Returning products to the nearest physical location of a store helps them to save on these costs. It also helps you to avoid shipping fresh orders to your customers and save revenue as you can replace products in-store.
Provides An Opportunity To Sell Instore Products
You can use BORIS to turn your product returns into returning customers. Many customers are impulse buyers – after returning their online orders in-store, they end up purchasing additional instore items that catch their eye on their way out of the store. You can use this opportunity to offer your customers colour/size options and related product suggestions for their returning products to purchase in-store.
Increases Customer Convenience
A brand’s returns policy is the first thing most customers check before making a purchase with it. However, as mentioned before, the returns process can be a hassle for customers. They need to wait for their order to be picked up and for their refund to reflect in their accounts, and then place a fresh order, which can take days and can be frustrating for them. BORIS removes all these hassles as it allows customers to return their purchase, collect their refund, and purchase a replacement, all at the same outlet. This increased convenience leads to increased customer satisfaction levels, increased repeat purchases and recommendations, and, in turn, increased revenue for your business.
