The importance of Return Analysis for your E-commerce

The analysis of returns is a practice that any merchant has to face sooner or later.

Examining the different reasons why your customers return the products they have purchased can generate great benefits for your e-commerce.

However, analyzing each return and finding a pattern can take a long time. So using software to manage returns will help you speed up this process.

Today we will explain the importance of analyzing the statistics of your returns and which KPI take into account.

With this data you can improve your e-commerce and offer a quality service that will undoubtedly position you ahead of the competition.

What is Return Analysis?

The analysis of returns is the collection of all data about the return of a product to make graphics that help  understand why.

A customer may have one or many reasons to return he just bought.

He may not be satisfied with the product, have chosen a wrong size or received an item other that the one he expected.

Regardless of the reason the product is returned, you will have to offer excellent customer service to manage returns and find out the cause.

So, when a customer makes a return, you can create a small questionnaire, with a couple of questions, to investigate the reasons behind the return.

Once you have this information, you will have to study it and look for patterns. You can do this by creating statistics on the rate of returns.

How? Entering the data in a table to make a graph. Visualizing the data graphically you will be able to examine the weaknesses of your e-commerce and improve them in order to offer a better service.

Why is it so important to analyze returns?

E-commerce returns are a real problem for merchants. As your e-commerce grows, you will have to adjust the management of returns and update your policy to suit your needs and those of your customers.

Returns generate monetary losses and, if you don’t manage them properly you can also end up losing customers.

To avoid these problems, you will have to analyze the returns of your customers. Performing this analysis is key for your e-commerce to be successful in the long term.

How can I analyze the returns of my e-commerce?

Well, very easy. You will have to focus on the Return KPI (Key Performance Indicators) to analyze the statistics of your e-commerce. 

The data you must collect to carry out a complete analysis are:

1. Total returns. With this figure you will know, exactly, the total number of items returned.

2. The total value of returns. You will have to add the price of the products to know the exact amount you have back.

3. The percentage of the reason for returns. When you get these figures, you can see the reasons why your customers return the items. You will also know which ones are the most repeated and work to improve them.

4. The percentage of returns per courier company. The statistics of returns management in e-commerce will help you evaluate the service of the carrier and decide if it is the best for your business.

You will be able to know if a certain courier company always delivers the products in poor condition or if after the established deadline. These are reasons why customers can complain and return their purchase.  

5. Total returns per country. If you sell outside your country you have to take this point into account. You may have to modify your return policy if in a given country people are used to returning their purchases – if you do not, you may have losses in the long run. 

How can we automate the analysis of returns?

There is no doubt that returns analysis s a laborious task that takes time. Once you have the details of the return, you will have to enter each data in a table to create a graph. 

Then, you will have to look for patterns that help you see the flaws that may be in your e-commerce. 

But between managing your stock, providing quality customer service, keeping your online store up to date and talking with carriers, you will not have much time to analyze the data you will be collecting. 

Use a software to manage your e-commerce returns

Therefore, automating the return of items is one of the best decisions you can make for your business. A system to manage your e-commerce returns can help you save time. 

With a specialized software, you can create a return form to collect the data, manage your return policy and adjust it to the needs of your store. You can also make it easier for customers to print the labels and create statistics with the data you gather. 

By using a software to manage your e-commerce returns, you can analyze the different reasons why your customers return the products and offer a better service. 

For example, if return’s reason is because you sent another product, you can offer to replace it with the correct item in a jiffy.

Or if on the contrary the cause of the return is because the customer changed his mind, you can offer a cheaper return service. 

You can easily manage all this with ShippyPro Easy Return. Our tool is designed to help you make better decisions and save time and money.

With this tool you can convert returns into new purchases and expand your customer base. In other words, you can expand your business and increase your sales quickly and easily.

Automate your return process and manage your returns without stress!