According to Shopify, up to 20% of online purchases are returned. That means one-fifth of all purchases. That is a lot, isn’t it?! Unless you are a very large online shop, the chances are that this can seriously affect your e-commerce business.
While the possibility to return items represents an advantage for the shopper, it can be bad for your business. Whenever a shopper returns an item, your shop loses the sale, but also time and money due to transport fees.
§1. Why do shoppers return their purchases?
Whenever a shopper makes a purchase from your jewelry store, they have the possibility to return that item. As we have already pointed out, many of them choose to do that. But why does that happen?
As you can see, 52% of the returns can be justified easily, by choosing the wrong size. This problem can be partially solved by offering detailed descriptions regarding product sizes. The other reasons, however, are a bit more subjective. Truth be told, a purchase can be returned simply on a whim. It is usually a mindset problem - shoppers return items because they know it does not cost them anything to do it.
Sometimes shoppers even order more items than they actually need, planning to return the items that they like less. The law requires online shops to accept returns and cover the costs. This has already been enforced for many years and as such all shoppers have a strong expectation to be able to return products for free. There is nothing you, as a jewelry shop can do about it. Or is there?!
§2. How can you deal with a high return rate?
Because they cannot refuse a return, some e-commerce businesses have experimented with a “penalty fee” for returns - forcing the shopper to cover all or part of the costs involved.
While this may work up until a certain point, enforcing such a policy won’t help improve the shopper’s experience. On the contrary, it can make the experience a negative one, as shoppers aren’t usually used to these policies. Such a policy can essentially damage your brand.
At the same time, when dealing with returned items, your jewelry shop may need to resell the items at a discounted price. This only adds to the losses.
But there is another way to approach the task of lowering your return rate. The best way to do that is by offering your shoppers the possibility to choose personalized jewelry.
Your shoppers' purchases are not only rational, they offer an emotional experience. They want jewelry that truly represents their style and personality. They want their jewelry to show who they are. And that can easily be achieved with personalized jewelry.
§3. No returns with personalized jewelry
Offering your shoppers personalized jewelry will help your shop stand out. It will allow you to offer your audience jewelry that they can - up until a point - design themselves. While this is an obvious advantage if you wish to differentiate your business from the competition, it can also help you lower return rates.
If you are dealing with high return rates or simply wish to optimize your sales, personalized jewelry can be a good answer to your needs.
Offering your shoppers the chance to personalize their jewelry according to their style and needs can, in the long run, help your store increase customer satisfaction & increase profitability.
Would you like to find out more about how personalized jewelry can help your online shop?