10 Top Tips for Managing your E-commerce Business’ Returns

24 Oct
Mosaic

Whether you are the seller or end-customer, no one likes returns.

As returns are an inevitable part of selling products online, it is vital for eCommerce brands to factor-in effective returns management as part of the customer journey.

Not only are returns inevitable, sellers also have minimum legal obligations which they must meet in this regard (www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds). Research also shows that 78% of shoppers will buy more in the long run if a retailer has a clear, free returns policy (www.klarna.com)

If returns are simply an afterthought, you risk frustrating your customers. This, in turn, could lead to negative reviews, harming your reputation and potentially causing you to lose future and repeat business.

You should think of returns management as a key part of your customers’ purchasing experience with your online store. If returns are handled well, you’ll improve shopper confidence and increase repeat purchases.

As e-commerce experts, we specialise in managing returns on behalf of many of our e-commerce clients, so we thought we would share our 10 top tips for handling your online business’ returns:

1. Great Packaging and Reputable Couriers

Products should be packaged well to avoid damaged goods returns, and also to show your customers that you really value their order.

As belt and braces, it is important to use a reliable and reputable courier to deliver your goods. At Mosaic, we partner with some of the most reputable courier companies in the industry today and we only use sustainable, environmentally friendly packaging wherever possible.

2. Clear Returns Policy

One of the key aspects of returns management is being very clear on your written returns policy which reassures your customers upfront. Your policy should be easy to read and accessible. It should answer FAQs about your returns policy and provide transparency between you and the customer. This enables more positive communication from the beginning as your stand on returns will be clear.

Our tip is that you can make your returns policy more readily accessible by linking it on your website’s footer so it can be viewed from any page. You could also include it in the order confirmation email and delivery note.

3. Customers Love Free Returns

Customers respond positively to e-commerce brands offering hassle free returns with free shipping. In fact, according to a study by Klarna, 78% of shoppers said they would buy more with a retailer over time if they offered free shipping, with 86% saying that free returns make them loyal and more likely to return to a brand. So, if you want strong customer retention and repeat business, as well as great reviews, it be a good idea to start offering free returns!

4. Consider setting up a store credit system

Offering store credit as an option instead of a refund can be useful for eCommerce businesses because this means that you don’t have to refund the customer, saving time and money.

It’s also beneficial for the customer as they still get their money back in the form of credit, so they can buy an alternative product that they are more likely to keep. Shopify, one of the most popular e-commerce platforms explains more about giving store credits in this article here.

5. Every picture tells a story

One of the top reasons items are returned is that they don’t match customer expectations based on the pictures provided. Great photos are imperative for e-commerce businesses for this reason. Not only do people rely on photos to see exactly what they are buying, any unwelcome surprises at the point of delivery will result in increased returns.

In view of this, high quality photographs of your products are vital - ideally ones which are taken from different angles and zoomed in.

Video content is also a great addition to showcase your product, whether how to use it or let your customers see what it looks like in use. The more product visibility customers have before buying it, the more accurate their expectations and the fewer their returns. Boldist share their guide on increasing e-commerce sales with product video here.

6. Audit Process for Returned Stock

Do you keep track on the reasons your products are returned? Having an audit process in place, means that you will quickly pick up on return patterns and any recurring and easily fixable issues such as a manufacturing fault.

Having a fulfilment solution provider like Mosaic can help make tasks like these a lot easier. Mosaic can manage your returns and carry out regular audits for you in no time given its tech-driven approach. Return issues and trends such as a recurring fault can be flushed out and resolved quickly with the help of a dedicated account manager, saving your business time, hassle and money.

7. Encourage Reviews

Product reviews are key to building up trust in your brand and can be key in the purchasing decision. Having a review process in place can reduce returns as it helps customers form clearer expectations around the product they are ordering.

Many eCommerce brands gain reviews and testimonials by simply sending an automated email a few days after a customer has received their product, asking them to leave a review.

Many e-commerce businesses use verified customer review platforms such as Trustpilot or Feefo. Research by Feefo revealed that 94% of shoppers read reviews , with 43% trusting verified reviews the most.

8. Customer Feedback Can Improve your Service

By encouraging reviews, you’re also opening yourself up to negative feedback of course. It is however possible to turn negative reviews into positive reviews. The way you handle customer complaints is critical and can make or break a business. Reputation is everything, and this article explains how to turn a negative review into a positive one.

Giving customers a chance to vent can be really beneficial because it helps you identify and fix issues with your products, processes, service or pricing. You also get to see the honest reasons for products being returned, which helps you address the root cause.

If you listen and act promptly on feedback, whether positive or negative, you’ll not only improve customer experience, you should hopefully grow your business and reputation as a result.

9. Manage and Respond to Complaints Quickly

Receiving a complaint can be frustrating, and potentially damaging to your online business’ reputation. But if you respond to the complaint quickly and address the issue behind it, you are far more likely to gain that customer’s respect and have a chance to win them back.

If all of this sounds overwhelming and time consuming, perhaps consider outsourcing returns management to your fulfilment service provider, such as Mosaic, instead. Mosaic’s datahub technology enables speedy reporting and resolution of complaints, thus enhancing the customer experience.

10. Ensure Every Order is Right, First Time

The easiest way to reduce returns is to get orders right first time. Avoid mistakes by investing in your order processing systems, ensuring that the customer receives the right item. It’s also important to have a good quality assurance system in place, so that customers don’t receive faulty or damaged goods.

If you would like to avoid the pitfalls of returns management and outsource this aspect of your business, saving you time, hassle and resource, Mosaic Fulfilment Solutions offer comprehensive eCommerce returns management as part of their fulfilment services.

Get in touch with the team at Mosaic Fulfilment Solutions and we’ll help you get every order right first time.

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MiWorld for eCommerce

Mosaic MiWorld Fulfilment

 

MiWorld for Charities

Mosaic MiWorld Response

 

FMCG

If it moves fast, we’ll fulfil it and fast. Our pick accuracy rate is 99.99% and same-day dispatch rate 99.99% . From alcohol to vitamins to zen yoga products, we cover the whole alphabet of fast-moving consumer goods, delighting your customers as well as your accountants.

Vitamins, Health & Nutrition

From chewable gummies to protein powders, CBD oils and nutritional supplements , we’ll help you keep your customers topped up on their important nutrients. We are organically certified with extensive experience of handling vitamin products. We operate strict FIFO and batch control, allowing you to track and control your stock.

Shelf-stable food & drink

We fulfil a diverse range of food and drink consumables from our clean, ambient distribution centre for several prestige clients, some of whom have Fairtrade and Organic Certification. From teabags, filter coffee and snack bars to wholefood crisps, organic chocolate and mineral water, we understand how important it is to protect these goods, and we handle them with kid gloves so that they arrive in perfect condition. We specialise in handling glass items such as coffee jars and sets of jam too, using specialist packaging which ensures their safe arrival.

Hair & beauty

We understand that hair and beauty products are personal for your customers, and that they want their orders to arrive as quickly as possible and in pristine condition. We can personalise your product with our in-house personalised print-on-demand service or use bespoke packaging which is on brand for you. We have extensive experience of handling hair products and organic hair products including premium shampoos, conditioners, serums – also luxe styling tools. We also fulfil orders for many cosmetics, beauty and perfume brands.

Fashion

Socks, underpants, sandals, shoes, gloves, athletic clothes, streetwear, hoodies, t-shirts – if your clients wear it we’ll fulfil it! We have extensive experience in this field, including specialist fulfilment for prestige sports teams. We even handle orders for pet clothing!

Stationery, Books & Cards

We know that your stationery and card orders need to arrive on time and in perfect condition – our clean distribution centre and immaculate packaging ensures just that. We fulfil stationery orders for over 50 clients, from gift packs, to posters, to pens, books, pamphlets and birthday cards. We even ship Bibles for prestigious clients.

Gifts & luxury products

Fulfilling gifting and luxury orders are our speciality. We understand how important these orders are for your customers, and so we ensure perfect packaging and quick delivery. We’ll collate kits for you, if needed, and we can use your branded packaging. We can even make it personal with our (in house) personalised print-on-demand service.

Pet products

From pet beds to harnesses, from everyday pet food to specialist worming tablets, we have handled it all. We can even fulfil orders for pet clothing!

Home accessories & small electronics

From mugs, teapots and room diffusers, to headsets, phone charging cables and specialist devices, we can help your home accessories and electronic online business grow. We also handle electronic games and specialist hearing protection devices.

Garden products

We’ll handle your orders for garden accessories and equipment, including garden ornaments, tools, accessories, floristry supplies - we’ll even handle your bulbs, seeds and garden gift sets. We can even collate bespoke garden subscription gift sets for you.

Personalised subscription boxes

We have seen massive growth in the popularity of subscription boxes in our clients’ online businesses. We collate and fulfil subscription boxes for several clients of all sizes, using highly branded packaging. We can even personalise orders thanks to our in house print-on-demand service.

Charity trading & virtual gifts

We are charity experts here at Mosaic and we fulfil orders for over 50 well known UK charities. We meet and surpass strict compliance requirements rightly demanded by our charity clients, including handling organic, vegan and Fairtrade products.

Alcohol

We are licenced to store and fulfil orders for alcohol products here at Mosaic, and we have done so for several significant clients for many years. We specialise in fulfilling alcohol subscription orders, and we’ll collate the bespoke kits for you if you like.

Toys, games & sports

We can’t tell you how many orders for toys, games and sports we’ve fulfilled over the past 13 years or so! One of our longest-standing clients is a toy company specialising in educational toys. So we know how important it is for these orders to arrive in time for someone’s birthday or Christmas. Our client list also includes several games, games equipment and electronic games companies. And sports – we have fulfilled orders for clients at the very top of their game!

View our Sports Fulfilment services here

Organic, vegan & fairtrade products

We are passionate about ensuring that our business is as sustainable as possible. We are certified by the Soil Association and we have FSC accreditation. We fulfil orders for many vegan, Fairtrade and organic clients, with years of experience in this area. Have a look at our sustainability policy too.

Advanced Warehouse Management System

Our Advanced Warehouse Management System ensures real-time view of every operation, including stock levels, incoming deliveries, outstanding purchase orders, allocations and despatch. Our Warehouse Automation processes increase efficiency, shrink labour costs and accelerate fulfilment.

We give you end-to-end traceability and visibility:
  • Third-party logistics customer details
  • Delivery method selection
  • Current stock levels of products available
  • Purchase order imports
  • Existing order history
  • Order tracking

Data is automatically updated and adjusted, ensuring fastest customer enquiry response and enhancing customer experience.

Our 3PL Portal
  • Fully integrated with our warehouse management software and management system, OrderWise
  • Specifically set up so you can log in, view your stock levels within our warehouse, book deliveries, place and import orders
  • You have complete control over your deliveries and bookings
  • Direct booking of deliveries, access to the goods inwards calendar
  • Automated delivery and stock updates, advanced shipping notes and stock reports
  • The 3PL Portal eradicates the need for time-consuming ordering methods like spreadsheets, as well as emails and phone calls going back and forth
  • Everything you may need to know is accessible within the portal

Video coming soon!

Medical Products & CBD Fulfilment

Our Soil Association-certified organic distribution centre has capability and experience in fulfilling medical grade products including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and PPE(personal protective equipment). Our processes include strict batch and temperature control to ensure that your compliance and regulatory requirements are met and exceeded. Our cloud-based software ensures total visibility, control and tracking around your Best Before (BBE) End dates, barcodes and serial numbers, so that your stock can be monitored and managed with total accuracy.

We recognise that this is a specialist area and we can (and do) build bespoke solutions around our clients’ specific needs. We would be pleased to discuss how we can help you in further detail. We can also handle the rapidly growing CBD fulfilment sector, whether this is in the form of gummies, tablets, creams, ointments or oils.

Competitive prices

We know our prices are competitive. We also give you value for money with our highly trained and experienced staff, expert processes and state of the art systems.

As a company group we have over 46 years’ experience serving over 200 UK charity clients of all sizes. We give you excellent value for money in return for our efficient charity solutions – as seasoned charity experts, we understand and cater for your needs better than most, at a fair price point for your not-for-profit organisation. Our solutions have been specifically designed around our charity clients’ needs, by our extensive team of charity-expert IT developers. We are also able to deliver economies of scale because we are one of the UKs largest, most comprehensive providers of response, payment, and fulfilment services to the charity sector.

Driven by Technology

Our company group has a team of 19 in house IT developers spread across two university sites. We are tech experts, and we constantly strive for and invest in the best technology, processes and systems. Our cloud-based software and easy to use single platform client portal also gives your charity the edge because of our state of the art insight and reporting functions.

Quality Assurance Guaranteed

We have a team dedicated to quality assurance so that from the start to the end of your projects, quality is monitored and assured when it comes to delivering our solutions.

Dedicated Account Managers

We know how important it is to have a real human being at the end of phone, one who is highly trained, who understands and anticipates your needs and who quietly gets on with inbound call centre work, whilst you focus on your main priorities instead. Your account manager is specifically trained to be a charity-expert, and they will work with you to ensure that you have a smooth client journey, with reporting and updates as standard. We understand that you are outsourcing to us because you are busy, and our account managers ensure a smooth, fast, efficient and cost-effective service which does not add extra complications or layers of work to your working day. For more information on our Account Management services click here.

Compliance Comes as Standard

We fully understand that compliance is of fundamental importance when it comes to your charity’s transactions. Because it is for us too as a business. We also know that electronic security is of the utmost importance. With Mosaic, you will receive watertight compliance and security standards. Take a look at our accreditations, certifications and cyber security here.

Charity Trading & Fulfilment

If your charity runs a dedicated online shop selling cards, homeware, toys, gifts, or anything else for that matter, Mosaic can support your eCommerce fulfilment needs.

Not only do we have vast eCommerce fulfilment experience, but we also have a deep understanding of how charities work.

Mosaic provides tailored charity fulfilment solutions through our IT Ecosystem, MiWorld, offering 24/7 visibility of your orders, courier tracking, and integration with multiple marketplaces and inventory platforms.

MiWorld is our turnkey eCommerce solution for charities, enabling us to support your Head Office staff in delivering e-fulfilment excellence and driving additional revenue.

Our suite of added-value solutions, available via our user friendly IT Ecosystem, also means that we can offer a fantastic customer and supporter journey, from donation processing to order dispatch. With easy access to insights and reporting functionality, to help your organisation spot opportunities and thrive.

Payment Processing

We can handle all your charity’s payment processing needs, whether that’s our charity-friendly, flexible and secure Direct Debit Management service, or Banking and Thanking solutions.

We handle online donations and provide secure online payment solutions.

Our other services include GiftAid capture, In-Mem, building bespoke Customer Fundraising pages, personal supporter communications and customised online shops.

Charity Response Handling

We have the specialist knowledge, capacity and experience required to help charities with all their Response Handling needs. Our omnichannel solutions are delivered with the strictest security standards and in a totally secure, compliant environment.

Check out some of the services we provide in this video.

Best in class for service

We have over 46 years of expertise in the not-for-profit sector as a company group*. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

Let us handle your back-office workflows and work overflows with our painless and seamless solutions. We’ll also help you with your payment processing and your charity’s fulfilment. We can even personalise your print to demand, including your charity’s pack fulfilment, kit collation and virtual gifts.

Our quick campaign onboarding turnaround times will enable your charity to respond quickly and proactively to emerging crisis situations. We will support you with those time consuming but critical back-office jobs, administrative tasks, insights and inbound calls, allowing you to focus your energies on increasing your charity’s impact instead.

*Companies within our company group MFS Group co Limited collectively have over 46 years of experience in serving the not-for-profit sector.

Charity-expert empathetic staff

With our extensive experience in the fundraising sector (over 46 years* to be precise) and our continual investment in the best people, processes and IT security systems, we are confident that we are the most experienced and comprehensive supplier of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions in the UK.

We serve over 60 charity clients of all sizes, always highly trained and working to scripts where needed. Calls can be monitored daily for quality by our experienced managers and we send you regular sample calls, which are selected at random. This is an add on service, so you only have to pay for this if you need it.

*Companies within our company group MFS Group co Limited collectively have over 46 years of experience in serving the not-for-profit sector. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

80 seat contact centre open 24/7

Our 80-seat contact centre team are experienced charity-experts providing specialist, award-winning inbound call centre services to over 60 leading UK charities of all sizes.

With our extensive experience in the fundraising sector (over 46 years* to be precise) and our continual investment in the best people, processes and IT security systems, we are confident that we are the most experienced and comprehensive supplier of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions in the UK.

Our team members are highly trained and work to specialised scripts where the charity requires this. Our contact centre team are treated like human beings and are not on regimented time limits when speaking to clients.

Our team members are given a finite number of charities so that they can get to know and understand the charity, their services and/or products and the charity’s supporters well. Our services are delivered with empathy and a smile.

Calls can be monitored daily for quality by our experienced managers, and we can send you regular sample calls, which are selected at random. This is an add-on service, so you only pay for this if you need it.

*Companies within our company group MFS Group co Limited collectively have over 46 years of experience in serving the not-for-profit sector [link to MFS Group co page]. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

View MFS Group

Emergency & one-off appeals

We understand that charities need to respond quickly to emerging situations when it comes to emergency, one-off fundraising campaigns and appeals.

We exist to support you and your supporters with your work overflows and your back-office tasks when you need us the most. We can also handle your everyday workflows, so you can focus on your charity’s purpose instead.

We can support you during:

  • Your peak campaigns
  • Peak fundraising times such as Christmas or Easter
  • Or when you need to launch an emergency, one-off campaign quickly

We have over 46 years of expertise in the not-for-profit sector as a company group, MFS Group co Limited.This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

Let us handle your workflows and work overflows with our painless and seamless solutions.

Our quick campaign onboarding turnaround times will enable your charity to respond quickly and proactively to emerging crisis situations. We will support you with those time consuming but critical back-office jobs, administrative tasks, insights and inbound calls, allowing you to focus your energies on increasing your charity’s impact instead.

Work overflows

We exist to support you and your supporters with your work overflows and your back-office tasks when you need us the most. We can also handle your everyday workflows, so you can focus on your charity’s purpose instead.

We can support you during:

  • Your peak campaigns
  • Peak fundraising times such as Christmas or Easter
  • Or when you need to launch an emergency, one-off campaign quickly

We have over 46 years of expertise in the not-for-profit sector as a company group, MFS Group co Limited. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

Let us handle your workflows and work overflows with our painless and seamless solutions.

Our quick campaign onboarding turnaround times will enable your charity to respond quickly and proactively to emerging crisis situations. We will support you with those time consuming but critical back-office jobs, administrative tasks, insights and inbound calls, allowing you to focus your energies on increasing your charity’s impact instead.

Lottery & Raffles

Our services include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Processing responses from raffle tickets
  • Fulfilling and managing additional ticket requests
  • Hosting draws for charities
  • Supporting charities as an External Lottery Manager (ELM)
  • Processing and coding all entries after the closing date as donations
  • Providing an electronic ticketing and draw management system
  • Conducting early bird or fast responder draws
  • Granting access to a full stack of reporting tools

For more information please visit our Raffles & Lottery page.

Video coming soon!