Reasons a Customer Returns a Purchase

As a business owner, one of the most important things you need to do is learn more about your customer. When you understand the customers, you can then build a solid strategy to form relationships with them and build trust.

Did you know that e-commerce stores see more returns than a brick and mortar location? This is mainly due to the nature of shopping online. Customers can’t physically see the product until after it is purchased. Below we have a few of the more common reasons that a customer requests a return on items they have purchased online.

Bought the Wrong Item or Changed Their Mind

People make mistakes, and this includes when they are shopping online. When they receive the item, they may find that it just wasn’t what they expected. To help minimize this risk as a business owner, you need to make sure that all of your product information is accurate and clear, so the customer knows what they are purchasing.

The Wrong Item was Shipped

A minimal error during the picking, packing, and shipping process can result in the wrong item being sent to the customer. When this happens, the customer will typically reach out. It is illegal to bill the customer for a product they didn’t even order in the first place, so they are not obligated to send the item back. However, if they offer to, you should be paying the shipping and handling charges in addition to offering them their refund.

Shipping Took Too Long

Late arrival also results in returned products. Sometimes the customer gets tired of waiting and has to purchase the product elsewhere to have it sooner. To help this, make sure to provide up to date, real-time shipping information as well as tracking numbers.

Damaged Products

Defective or damaged merchandise results in returns as well. If this happens often, you may need to reevaluate your storage areas and your shipping and packing procedures to see what could be causing the problems.

While there are many common return reasons, there are still a few things you can do as a business owner that are mentioned above to try to minimize the returns and ensure you have satisfied customers.