Maximizing your returns is easier than you think when you’re working with the right strategy
If you own an eCommerce business, then you understand what a headache the return process can be. Some items that are sold brand new wind up discarded because of damages, defects, or other issues that prevent them from being put “back on the shelf.”
3.5 billion products are returned each
year in the United States alone, creating over 5 billion pounds of waste annually. Those are pretty staggering figures when you consider that those are new items, not even used products being discarded after a normal amount of time. However, if there’s no direct route to repurpose these goods, there’s not much else that can be done.
Environmental solutions exist
One of the most viable and environmentally friendly solutions to the world’s massive return problem is to engage in the resale market, which is already a pretty common practice. People build entire businesses off selling excess inventory and returned or damaged items, so why shouldn’t you use it to boost your existing business?
When you sell your returns directly back to your customers, you’re immediately reducing losses and making a positive impact on the environment. It might seem easier to just hand over all your returns to a wholesaler, but when you do that, you’re also handing over an earning opportunity.
If your business is even receiving returns in the first place it means you have customers, and who better to sell returns to than an audience who you already know are invested in your products?
The benefits of owning customer data
In today’s digital world, data is like gold. The more you know about your customer, the more you can tailor their experience with your brand and market your products in more meaningful ways. When it comes to your Shopify customers, you already have a ton of valuable data at your fingertips, so marketing becomes all that much easier.
Some other benefits include:
Improved customer relationships: you’ll be able to create better email marketing campaigns, respond to spending behavior and trends, and identify new opportunities.
Save time and money: Focus on what increases purchasing behavior and invest in efforts that drive sales.
Drive more sales: When you can still sell your returns instead of offloading them to another reseller, you attract more activity to your store. Customers that may have arrived for a discounted item might stay on your website after seeing something else they like.
When you know more about your customer, you have a better chance of predicting their purchasing behavior, so it makes it easier to focus your marketing efforts where they’ll make the most impact. When you sell returns directly to your customer base, you already understand their customer profile and can create more effective incentives and offers that will result in sales.
Maximize your profits with Returns for Sale
Returns for Sale isn’t new to the eCommerce world. In fact, we’ve been in the business since 1999. With over a decade of experience on the Shopify platform, it became clear that there was a growing need for waste reduction.
We made it our mission to create a simple path to reduce waste on Shopify. Of course, we make it easy as ever for users to sell returns quickly, but that’s just the beginning. What we really aim to do is lead the march towards a more sustainable future while providing businesses with opportunities for growth.
Seamless sales and monitoring when you use our app
The reason integrated apps are so popular is that you don’t have to get yourself used to an entirely new platform. You don’t need to set up a new website or anything that would take up a lot of time. Instead, you can post returns in real-time as they’re processed, saving you time and money.
With the ReturnsForSale app, you’ll get to experience:
Easy to use: With our Shopify app, you can post your returns in less than a minute, making it easy to sell your products faster. It’s quick enough for warehouse workers to do it on the spot!
Discount and DRIP rate: Set up a flat-rate discount and daily incremental discount for each day the product stays online. (Price will always decrease from the value of the day before, not the original price)
Widget: Shopify app will show up as a widget on your new product page—only if you have a return available for sale. Customers will get a clear understanding of the product details to understand the discount and purchase opportunity.
Subtle Options: Hide the widget with the one-line option (similar to what you might see on Best Buy)
Clean data and interface: Don’t worry about cleaning up after you make any sales. The widget will disappear when the item sells and the product along with its page is deleted from your backend.
More affordable: Cheaper, easier, & faster than eBay or Amazon at 5%
Customize: create a policy for your returns (perhaps no returns for return purchases—this way you don’t need to worry about reselling again)
Conclusion
At the end of the day, your business shouldn’t have to suffer because people decide to return something they’ve purchased. It might have nothing to do with the quality of your product at all. That’s why it’s so important to have a strategy in place to handle your returns.
The only way to fail here is to not have a plan, so if you want to improve your financials and make a positive impact, all you need is to implement the right processes and you’ll be well on your way to minimizing losses and boosting revenue.
Luckily, with Shopify-based solutions like Returns for Sale, merchants can focus on what needs to be relisted rather than what losses need to be counted. From small mom-and-pop shops to $50M enterprises, ReturnsForSale is equipped with the tools you need to manage your inventory and get the most out of your returns.