Product Returns

As a long-time supply chain professional, it was humbling and exciting to watch the revolutions that took place amid the huge shift in consumerism over the past 18 months. Unfortunately, the circumstances were dire and distressing. But the agility, the innovation, the resiliency that consumer-facing brands showed in finding new ways to serve their customers…

E-commerce is hot. In fact, U.S. consumers spent a total of $861 billion online in 2020 alone, which was a 44 percent increase from the year prior. However, this also meant that returns from those e-commerce purchases rose 70 percent year-over-year (YoY) in 2020. Which begs the question: How different is the e-commerce return rate…

Consumer modelling and segmentation have never been more critical in retail, as the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom has put customer acquisition and retention under the spotlight like never before. With shopper behaviors under scrutiny, retailers are continuing to focus on fraud prevention and loss minimization, particularly when it comes to returns. Preventing fraud and minimizing excessive…

Buy now pay later (BNPL) companies like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna have been quietly building a loyal customer base for the last few years. Today, 56 percent of U.S. consumers say they have used BNPL providers for retail purchases — up nearly 50 percent from July 2020. Thanks to budget concerns, credit card mistrust, and…

As we conclude the back-to-school shopping season and prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season, e-commerce sales continue to show tremendous secular growth. The search for online solutions has only intensified with the closing of brick-and-mortar locations across the globe. This flurry of unprecedented shifts carries both risks and opportunities for retailers as they grapple…

On Tuesday, Amazon.com updated its longstanding returns policy, referred to as the A-to-z Guarantee, to address defective product claims, reports CNBC. Beginning in September, consumers can contact Amazon with a personal injury or property damage claim, and the company will then connect the consumer with the seller. Currently, buyers are encouraged to contact the seller…

During the pandemic-induced online shopping boom, retailers invested in e-commerce capabilities out of necessity. As consumers shifted to retailers with online ordering, merchants were scrambling to provide new digital order and delivery options. These investments helped capture more market share, but now that stores are reopening and there's little market share remaining to capture, retailers…

In February, Doddle undertook its latest survey of more than 1,200 U.S. consumers, conducted by YouGov, to understand how important the e-commerce returns experience is to shoppers. What it found should raise some red flags for retailers. When comparing Doddle’s February survey to its initial research conducted in May 2020, a couple of months after…

Demand sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in 45 percent growth for e-commerce in Q2 of 2020, accounting for over 16 percent of total retail sales. For years, e-commerce sales hovered around just 10 percent of overall retail sales, while in-store shopping remained consumers' primary shopping method. As the world was stuck at home and…

Soon after the holidays are over we shift from the season of giving to the period of returns. The 2021 returns period post-holidays was different from others; extended return deadlines caused a massive backlog with regards to shipping and processing. In addition to the extended deadlines, retail companies such as Walmart made it easier for…