As smooth as online shopping can be, there are, of course, those who have bad experiences. As with any other type of shopping, online shopping may come with challenges like defective products, unsatisfied customers, and unreasonable and demanding shoppers.

To deal with this smoothly, it is recommended that businesses draw up a clear return and refund policy so that all such cases can be dealt with quickly and seamlessly.

Exchanges

Oftentimes, it is not possible to refund the money, especially if there was no tangible reason for the parcel to be returned. To discourage customers from taking advantage of the return policy, some businesses offer exchanges instead of returns. You can return the product you were dissatisfied with but choose something else from the store of the same amount in its place.

Gift cards

Gift cards are another tactic that allows businesses to not make unreasonable refunds and returns, but also keep the customer satisfied and happy. If they are unhappy with their item, you can offer them a gift card of a certain amount that they can use on the store, ensuring that they return to your site and order again or pass the gift card on to someone else to shop from the palace. Opened and returned parcels are often hard to sell out and this is a good way of avoiding having to deal with it.

Vouchers

Vouchers work the same way as gift cards do. With a voucher you can offer the unhappy customer with a discount, or a privilege of any sort on their next purchase. Not only would the customer be appeased with the voucher and shop again, but you will have another chance to make a good impression with your services.

Refunds

Refunds make sense when there is a defect in the product that was shipped out to a client. In such cases, no ethical store would or should refuse a refund. Due investigation is done, and if the claim of the defect is found to be true, businesses offer a complete refund of the amount along with an apology for the bad experience of the customer.

Free return shipping

Some businesses offer free shipping so the customer can send their unsatisfactory parcel back and get a new one in its place as they please. This is an extremely convenient process for the customer as he doesn’t have to pay anything extra for the return. Businesses that offer this usually are very careful with what they send out, and focus on providing the ultimate customer experience.

Paid return shipping

Some businesses, though accept return parcels, ask the customer to pay for the return journey. When the customer has to pay extra to return parcels, they often think before making unreasonable returns and only go forward with returns if there is genuinely a mistake in the product or they are not satisfied due to explainable reasons.

Refund of item with no need to be returned

Retailers and sellers try to avoid this as much as they can without hurting or angering the dissatisfied customer. It is not uncommon to see a customer demanding a refund with a vague explanation of how they weren’t satisfied with the product. If there is nothing wrong with a product, it is a hassle and an added cost to the retailer to bring it back on board and sell it out again. These situations can get tricky and have to be handled with care. Refusing would cost you a potential future customer, but allowing it would also open the door for people to abuse the refund policy without a justifiable reason.

A good return and refund policy can make or break a business. Make sure you draw up a satisfactory policy for your company so you can provide the best customer experience, while also protecting yourself from being taken advantage of.

Are you interested in CloudCafe Technologies and the business intelligence service it can provide for your ecommerce platform? If you are, visit us today at https://cloudcafe.io/ecommerce-services or call us at (847) 235-6443.

About Cloudcafe Technologies

Cloudcafe Technologies is the eCommerce evolution of Aurora Digital which was established in 1998 by Sanjeev Srivastava. Bringing together talent, creativity, and foresight, Cloudcafe utilizes local and offshore development teams to deliver end-to-end solutions. By leveraging high-end technical consulting, custom software development and our own software, we provide more insight and achieve an all-around better customer experience for our clients.

Cloudcafe brewing cloud solutions for the digital commerce age.