Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 3, 2024

Long viewed as a necessary evil, the retail returns process is emerging as an unexpected avenue for growth and customer engagement. In the rapidly expanding ecommerce market, projected to reach $3 billion in 2023, a significant 20% to 30% of online purchases end up being returned. Speed-to-restock is key in the returns cycle.

Returns 278

Returns Drop-Shipping Customer Experience Customer Retention 278

Inside Retail

SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

As economic pressures persist and competition increases, customer expectations for shipping and delivery grow. Shippit’s latest State of Shipping Report for 2024 offers a comprehensive look into current trends and challenges facing retailers, shedding light on how businesses can adapt and thrive in this dynamic environment.

Shipping 278

Shipping Drop-Shipping Fulfillment Checkout 278

Retail TouchPoints

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

GoodwillFinds — the online ecommerce platform of the 120 -year-old nonprofit Goodwill — has teamed up with return assurance platform Seel to better “compete with other digital resale websites” by offering returns. The return assurance allows them to make a seamless, hassle-free return within seven days.

Returns 264

Returns Shipping Customer Experience Shopping 264

Inside Retail

JUNE 8, 2021

With stores shut, customers flooded the company’s support team with questions about product fit, delivery delays and return policies. Meanwhile, the launch of a virtual sales channel – where customers can video chat with a sales assistant before making a purchase – created new pain points, even if it did drive revenue. “We

Customer Experience 246

Customer Experience Fulfillment Returns Shipping 246

Retail TouchPoints

OCTOBER 16, 2020

Free shipping days are behind us. The first wave of ecommerce was mostly about price, while the second wave is all about the customer experience. Does your order fulfillment strategy live up to your customers’ expectations? Frustrated customers won’t consider shopping with you again.

Shipping 290

Shipping Merchant Services Fulfillment Checkout 290

Retail TouchPoints

AUGUST 10, 2020

Although public health officials say it’s unlikely COVID-19 infections can be spread by surfaces or physical objects, retailers are being cautious about how they handle returned merchandise. They are instituting disinfection processes and quarantine periods that keep those items from returning to stock for a varying number of days.

Returns 301

Returns Beauty and Health Shipping Customer Experience 301

Retail TouchPoints

JULY 21, 2022

As a result, many retailers are seeking to scale up their selection through models like drop ship and marketplace. But while these approaches can help reduce the supply chain costs of stocking and shipping millions of single items, they also have many retailers questioning their roles. The truth is, it’s not an “either-or” proposition.

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Drop-Shipping Shipping Marketing Customer Experience 264

Retail TouchPoints

DECEMBER 1, 2021

The pandemic has brought about long-term changes for both business operations and consumer expectations, and 2021 taught us how far removed we are from ever returning to the old “normal.” Shipping and delivery will continue to play a major role in how retailers, both small and large, perform and provide effective customer experiences.

Shipping 305

Shipping Finance Customer Experience Consumer 305

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 10, 2023

DoorDash has introduced Package Pickup, allowing consumers across the country to have the service deliver up to five return items per trip to UPS, FedEx or the USPS. Consumers can attach prepaid shipping labels to their returns or send a shipping QR code directly to their “Dasher” via the DoorDash app. “We

Returns 278

Returns Drop-Shipping Wholesale Shipping 278

Retail TouchPoints

APRIL 3, 2024

For anyone who has made a purchase online, returns are part of the standard online buying process — so much so that, according to a recent U.S. Consumer Study , 85% of consumers check a company’s returns policy before even making a purchase when shopping online, and 68% of U.S. consumers and retain repeat customers.

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Returns Drop-Shipping Shipping Consumer 249

Retail TouchPoints

DECEMBER 22, 2020

Seeking to minimize customers’ return complexities, Walmart has partnered with FedEx for at-home pickup of unwanted gifts or ill-fitting apparel. Customers can schedule returns via the new Carrier Pickup by FedEx service for products that have been shipped and sold by Walmart.com, using either the website or the Walmart app.

Returns 263

Returns Drop-Shipping ATS Shipping 263

Retail TouchPoints

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Online return fraud cost U.S. For every $100 in returned merchandise accepted, U.S. to return fraud, the NRF has calculated. While it is possible for shoppers to commit return fraud innocently simply by mis-reading the returns policy, a significant number of returns are the result of premeditation and malicious intent.

Returns 277

Returns Payment Services Shipping Accounting 277

Retail TouchPoints

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands are constantly stuck between creating indelible customer experiences and turning profits on those relationships. High-fidelity revenue and cost data (ad spend, shipping cost, discount promotions, etc.) According to eMarketer, established brands account for more than three-quarters of U.S.

Customer Experience 277

Customer Experience Promotions Returns Fulfillment 277

Retail TouchPoints

APRIL 25, 2022

It might seem counterintuitive for retailers to focus on returns when they are so focused on trying to convince customers to buy products in the first place (and rightly so). And while establishing customer-friendly return policies might encourage shoppers to return more items, the payoff comes with higher levels of shopper loyalty.

Returns 289

Returns Shopping Promotions Social Commerce 289

Inside Retail

MARCH 19, 2024

Tara Daly, senior director of product marketing at Loop Returns , shares with Inside Retail advice on getting started in the US market, some tips on cross-border shipping and logistics – including managing returns in a way that builds customer loyalty – and how to drive repeat business.

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Planning Shipping Returns Customer Retention 290

Retail Focus

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Retail formats in an omnichannel context ensure a seamless experience . In an omnichannel retail environment, each retail format becomes an active contributor of a positive customer experience. Adopting pop-up stores is ideal to test and experience the brand. What lessons can be learned?

Customer Experience 246

Customer Experience Management Payment Services Clienteling 246

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 7, 2022

It’s been another year of record-breaking ecommerce sales combined with unprecedented snarls across shipping and inventory ecosystems, so it should come as no surprise that return rates for 2021 are expected to have gone through the roof. Getting at the Root of Apparel and Footwear Returns.

Returns 264

Returns Apparel Supply Chain Management Fashion 264

Retail TouchPoints

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

With record-setting online sales looming on the horizon for the holiday season, retailers also are bracing for an onslaught of online returns. Those retailers selling primarily or exclusively online are expecting a corresponding hike in the volume of returns, but not much difference in the return rates they have become accustomed to.

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Returns Merchant Services Shipping Location 222

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 14, 2023

Returns are, like it or not, as much a part of retail operations as the sales themselves. The exact return rate varies among different verticals and individual retailers, but online sales consistently generate higher levels of returns compared to brick-and-mortar. That means you’re out of business.

Returns 263

Returns Markdowns Fulfillment Consumer 263

Retail TouchPoints

JUNE 8, 2021

Also to blame are overly complex checkout processes, invalid discount codes, security concerns, questionable return policies, comparison shopping, etc. The list goes on, but one other barrier to purchasing seems to be a major sticking point for 63% of consumers : shipping costs. The True Cost of Shipping.

Shipping 198

Shipping Checkout Fulfillment Comparison Shopping 198

Retail TouchPoints

JULY 23, 2024

Ryan Kelly, VP of Marketing at FedEx, refers to himself as a “supply chain geek with a contrarian streak” who loves to talk “fulfillment, returns and consumer shopping behaviors with anyone who will listen.” From what we’ve seen, most of these brands still have to use fragmented and inefficient shipping solutions across multiple platforms.

Merchant Services 289

Merchant Services Returns Shipping Fulfillment 289

Retail TouchPoints

JUNE 16, 2020

More than 200 in-person return drop-off locations are operating again at retailers including Paper Source and Cost Plus World Market. Happy Returns had closed its 700+ -store Return Bar network in March due to COVID-19, but the company has reopened this portion with new contactless customer interaction processes.

Returns 178

Returns Drop-Shipping Store Operations Shipping 178

Retail TouchPoints

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

True Classic ’s use of the ParcelLab post-purchase experience and returns management solution has helped the T-shirt and activewear brand boost its email click-through rate (CTR) and open rate by 1.87% and 6.55% respectively compared to the brand’s previous provider.

Shipping 264

Shipping Returns Customer Experience Management 264

Inside Retail

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Building a future-proof tech stack To survive and thrive during Black Friday, retailers must invest in tech solutions that integrate seamlessly with their current systems – inventory management, CRMs, and shipping tools. Optimising shipping with automation Shipping logistics are a make-or-break factor during Black Friday.

Drop-Shipping 264

Drop-Shipping Shipping Fulfillment Inventory Management 264

Retail TouchPoints

JUNE 10, 2020

Consumer-friendly and flexible return policies can be the difference between getting a new customer and losing a sale. According to proprietary research conducted by Forter, 23% of shoppers will abandon their carts if returns options are poor. Returns Abuse And Customer Expectations.

Returns 177

Returns Merchant Services Drop-Shipping Accessories 177

Retail TouchPoints

MAY 27, 2024

Make sure your mobile customer experience is optimized. With 64% of online shoppers completing at least half of their customer service on mobile devices, a mobile-first experience is mandated. I hate to pay to return an order, and the more options I have for making my return, the happier I will be.

Returns 285

Returns Shipping Customer Experience Location 285

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 2, 2021

It was the kind of “-geddon” that could be seen coming from a mile away — a perfect storm combining an ecommerce boom; retailers, fulfillment centers and shipping providers that were already stretched thin by a global pandemic; and the historically hectic holiday season looming. More Online Sales Means More Returns.

Returns 328

Returns Merchant Services Drop-Shipping Consumer 328

Retail TouchPoints

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

On-time shipping rates for the major carriers have declined significantly year-over-year, and longer-than-usual shipping times have been a source of pain for both retailers and their shoppers. Adjust to Return Reluctance. Customers also expect retailers to communicate about the return process.

Shipping 290

Shipping Fulfillment Returns Sporting Goods 290

Inside Retail

MAY 29, 2024

For most retailers selling online, returns generate their greatest customer service challenges and inevitably drain profitability. Leaders in the industry understand they need to strategically address the post purchase journey and optimise for cost at each step while continuing to deliver a seamless customer experience.”

Returns 147

Returns Merchant Services Drop-Shipping Shipping 147

Inside Retail

MAY 29, 2024

For most retailers selling online, returns generate their greatest customer service challenges and inevitably drain profitability. Leaders in the industry understand they need to strategically address the post purchase journey and optimise for cost at each step while continuing to deliver a seamless customer experience.”

Returns 147

Returns Merchant Services Drop-Shipping Shipping 147

Retail TouchPoints

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

While we’ve returned to some sense of normalcy, the VUCA [volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous] proposition has become a reality,” said Dr. Thomas Goldsby, Professor and Chair in Logistics in the Supply Chain Management Department of the University of Tennessee. RTP: What impact do returns have on supply chain costs?

Returns 306

Returns Supply Chain Management Fulfillment Customer Experience 306

Retail TouchPoints

MARCH 25, 2024

As ecommerce sales continue to grow, so does the focus on logistics, enabling retailers to meet the rising demand for shipping. Today’s retailers need to focus just as much on the logistics side of their business operations to streamline processes, maintain profitability and provide the best possible customer experience.

Shipping 312

Shipping Supply Chain Management Fulfillment Returns 312

Inside Retail

MAY 10, 2022

Shipping strategy has a direct impact on consumer satisfaction, and for many buyers the decision to purchase again is directly correlated with the shipping experience. Critically, 70 per cent of consumers say that poor delivery experience negatively impacts the impression of the retailer, rather than the carrier.

Shipping 130

Shipping Merchant Services Returns Customer Experience 130

Retail TouchPoints

JULY 15, 2022

In the longer term, it gave us this ability to grow and add things like ship-from-store, in-store pickup and same-day delivery through Shipt , which is another key component of what we wanted to do for last-minute gift givers.”. Creating Joy Amid Uncertainty.

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Fulfillment Shipping Inventory Management Location 306

Retail TouchPoints

JULY 12, 2021

Above all, they must keep the customer experience top of mind, and Amazon sets the benchmark for customer experience and expectations when it comes to online shopping. New Solutions for Ecommerce Fulfillment (and Returns).

Merchant Services 279

Merchant Services Fulfillment Shipping Inventory Management 279

Retail TouchPoints

OCTOBER 6, 2023

To succeed in the holiday peak season and ensure seamless fulfillment, deliveries, and returns, it’s essential for these partners to monitor key metrics, analyze operational data and maintain communication. 4: Return rates. Returns are an inevitable part of retail. Consider the following six metrics as North Star indicators.

Fulfillment 310

Fulfillment Returns Shipping Promotions 310

Retail TouchPoints

DECEMBER 11, 2024

While this longer shopping season may benefit the consumer, it also poses sales tax complications for retailers that can last well into the new year when return season strikes. Experience Gifting The Vertex survey also found that 58% of consumers are opting to purchase gift cards and experiences this holiday season versus physical items.

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Point of Sale Returns Checkout Shipping 242