Customers expect your products to perform as advertised, and to be able to file a warranty claim easily when needed – ReturnGO is here to help you provide the best post-purchase customer experience possible.

What is Warranty Automation?

Warranty automation involves using technology to streamline and simplify the warranty process for both customers and your business. The goal is to create a seamless and efficient experience for all parties involved.

Managing warranty claims manually is a laborious and error-prone process, involving handling paperwork, coordinating with service providers, and ensuring customers’ claims are adequately addressed.

As your eCommerce business grows and the volume of warranty claims increases, manual management becomes increasingly challenging. Automation offers a better solution. 

By automating the warranty process, you can boost efficiency, reduce errors, and improve the customer experience.

Warranty as a Return Type

In the world of returns management, warranty requests and regular returns have often been treated as separate entities, leading to missed opportunities for streamlined operations and enhanced customer satisfaction. The only real difference between them lies in the customer’s intention.

When a customer files a warranty claim, their main goal is to resolve a specific issue with the product they purchased – they want help fixing the problem while keeping the product. On the other hand, regular returns happen when a customer wants to return or exchange the product entirely.

Despite their differing intentions, the operational aspects of warranty requests and regular returns share several similarities. 

In both scenarios, it’s important to identify the issue, whether it’s a defect, damage, or sizing issues. Gathering detailed information about the original order is part of processing warranty claims as well as facilitating refunds or exchanges for regular returns. Both types of returns also require a well-organized system for reverse logistics, to efficiently handle the flow of products back through the supply chain.

Due to these similarities, the industry is moving toward an integrated approach to returns management. By bringing these previously separate processes together, ReturnGO creates a cohesive post-purchase ecosystem that combines it all together.

Customers experience a seamless self-service interface, with either one combined portal or separate return and warranty portals, while you can easily manage and approve requests in the backend, with everything all in one place.

How Does Warranty Automation Work?

Warranty automation streamlines the process of handling returns, including warranty returns. ReturnGO’s automation platform provides a user-friendly portal, a comprehensive management system, and powerful analytics, all rolled into one.

Filing Warranty Claims and Requesting Service

With a self-service warranty portal, your customers can easily file warranty claims online, without needing to contact customer service.

When customers encounter an issue with a product, they can access the warranty portal, which guides them through the claims process step-by-step. 

They provide necessary details, such as purchase information, product serial numbers, and descriptions of the problem, and photos or videos to back up their claim. 

By providing customers with direct access to an online warranty portal, you can reduce the burden on your customer support team. Customers can track the progress of their claims in real-time, eliminating the need for customer support queries and reducing wait times.

Processing Warranty Claims and Providing Service

On the business side, ReturnGO enables you to process warranty claims and provide service through its online platform. 

As customers file their claims, your team can access and review them in real-time. You can automate your workflow to boost productivity and streamline your processes.

The system can automatically validate eligibility based on purchase history and product details. Automating this process minimizes the risk of fraudulent claims and ensures that only valid warranty claims are approved.

By automating warranty returns, you can efficiently track and manage the status of each claim. This visibility helps you identify bottlenecks, monitor service provider performance, and ensure timely resolutions to customer issues.

Analyzing Warranty Data and Improving Products

Data is the backbone of informed decision-making. Beyond providing a great customer experience, warranty automation also empowers you to analyze your data and improve your products. 

For example, the system can aggregate data on the types of issues reported, the frequency of claims for specific products, and how they were resolved. By analyzing this data, you can identify recurring issues and trends and take action to optimize your workflow.

With these insights, you can take proactive measures to address potential problems before they escalate. Improving product quality reduces the number of warranty claims while boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Why Should You Automate the Warranty Process for Your eCommerce Business?

Now that you understand how warranty automation works, let’s explore why it makes sense to adopt this approach for your eCommerce business.

Increasing Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

Automating the warranty process with ReturnGO makes it easier and faster for your customers to access warranty information and request service. The self-service portal enhances the overall customer experience, providing a seamless and user-friendly interface for filing claims.

Imagine a scenario where a customer receives a defective product and needs to file a warranty claim. With manual processing, they might have to call customer support, wait on hold, and then fill out paperwork. This cumbersome process can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction.

With a self-service warranty portal, the customer can initiate a claim from the comfort of their own home with just a few clicks. This streamlined approach instills confidence and trust in your brand, as customers know they can rely on hassle-free support if needed. 

81% of customers say that they want more self-service options, so offering self-service can keep customers satisfied and keep them coming back.

Reducing Operational Costs and Risks

Manual warranty processing requires significant labor and paperwork, which can add unnecessary costs to your business. By automating the process, you save time and money, allowing your team to focus on other tasks.

Moreover, automation minimizes the risk of human errors and fraudulent claims. When processing warranty claims manually, there’s a higher chance of overlooking crucial details or mishandling information, leading to delays and potential customer disputes. 

An automated system enforces consistency and accuracy in processing claims, reducing the likelihood of costly mistakes.

Automated tracking and reporting also help identify potential issues early on, enabling you to take proactive measures and prevent the recurrence of warranty claims.

Improving Product Quality and Performance

Consistently delivering high-quality products is crucial for eCommerce success. By automating the warranty process, you gain valuable insights into the performance of your products.

Using data analytics, you can track the frequency and types of warranty claims for each product category. This information enables you to identify patterns, recurring issues, or design flaws that may require attention. 

Armed with this knowledge, you can collaborate with your suppliers or manufacturers to implement product improvements and reduce the likelihood of future warranty claims.

Customers appreciate products that are durable and perform as expected, leading to higher satisfaction and fewer product returns. Over time, this focus on product quality and reliability can become a competitive advantage for your eCommerce business.

Automate Your Warranty Process Now

Automating the warranty process is a game-changer. It simplifies the claims process for customers, reduces operational costs, and elevates product quality. 

ReturnGO offers a comprehensive solution that includes a user-friendly returns and warranty portal, efficient warranty management, and powerful analytics.
Automate your warranty process with ReturnGO and experience the power of efficient, streamlined operations. Elevate your eCommerce business to new heights and ensure customer satisfaction every step of the way.

Discover how this simple yet effective product can make a significant impact on customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and business growth. Let’s dive in.

What is Order Tracking?

Order tracking enables you to keep customers up to date on the status of their orders in a branded, customizable way.

Send order tracking notifications via email or SMS to keep your customers updated throughout the customer journey. Then take them back to your order tracking portal to see the status of their order shipments, while keeping your brand at the forefront of their minds.

Benefits of an Order Tracking Portal

Implementing an order tracking portal brings various benefits that can positively impact your eCommerce business:

Reduce Customer Anxiety and Frustration

By providing real-time updates on shipments, you alleviate customer concerns and build confidence in your brand. 

When customers can easily check the progress of their shipments and receive delivery notifications, they feel more in control of the process.

Providing proactive order tracking updates enables you to reduce Where Is My Order (WISMO) calls, freeing up your customer service team to focus on other tasks and creating a positive perception of your brand.

Encourage Repeat Purchases

One of the significant advantages of having the order tracking portal directly embedded in your store is that it brings your customers back to your website. 

Every time they check their order status, they’re interacting with your brand and immersing themselves in your online store. This increased engagement boosts the chances of them making additional purchases, thereby increasing your revenue.

The order tracking page also presents a valuable opportunity for strategic marketing. You can include promotional materials such as banners, sales advertisements, or product recommendations on the tracking page, turning the order tracking portal into an additional source of revenue.

Build Brand Awareness

When customers interact with a well-designed and branded tracking portal, they subconsciously associate the positive experience with your brand as a whole. This consistency in branding throughout the customer journey reinforces your brand’s identity and values.

The more confident customers are about your brand’s reliability and attention to their needs in the post-purchase process, the more likely they are to recommend your business to others. 

Increase Customer Loyalty

The experience of tracking an order enhances the overall customer journey. It keeps customers engaged and informed, resulting in higher customer satisfaction rates. 

Satisfied customers are more likely to become loyal customers, which is essential for the long-term success of your eCommerce business.

They’re more likely to leave positive reviews and share their positive experiences with others, contributing to increased word-of-mouth referrals.

Build Customer Trust

By enabling customers to track their orders in real-time, you empower them with the information they need. They can see when their package is shipped, out for delivery, and has been delivered. 

This level of transparency creates a sense of trust among customers and increases the likelihood that they’ll be satisfied and buy again. 

97% of customers say that delivery tracking is important to them, so the experience you provide can make a big difference.

Understanding the Order Tracking Portal

ReturnGO offers a wide range of customization options for the order tracking portal, allowing you to align it with your brand image. You can adjust font colors, settings, and other design elements for a seamless and branded user experience, reinforcing your brand’s image and instilling confidence in customers.

Add the Order Tracking Portal to Your Store

Integrating the order tracking portal into your store is simple and efficient with ReturnGO. By embedding the portal directly within your website, customers have easy access to their shipment information without redirects or extra steps. 

The seamless integration of the portal ensures that customers stay within your brand’s ecosystem throughout their entire shopping experience.

Define Search Options

Customizing the search options is another valuable feature of the order tracking portal. You can define the search criteria of tracking number, order number, or zip/phone/email, making it easier for customers to easily track their order. 

Taking a user-friendly approach improves the overall customer experience and reduces the likelihood of issues coming up.

Send Order Tracking Notifications

Real-time order tracking notifications are a game-changer when it comes to keeping your customers engaged and informed. 

ReturnGO offers the flexibility to customize notifications for your customers, providing automatic updates on order status, shipping details, and delivery information.

When customers receive real-time order tracking notifications with relevant information about their order, it provides reassurance and reduces Where Is My Order (WISMO) calls to customer support.

Integrating with Klaviyo for Personalized Email and SMS Notifications

ReturnGO also provides integration options with popular platforms like Klaviyo. By leveraging Klaviyo’s powerful capabilities, you can take your email and SMS notifications to the next level. 

Utilize advanced segmentation and automation features to create highly targeted and personalized communication for different customer segments, resulting in higher engagement rates.

How the Order Tracking Portal Works

The order tracking portal consists of two screens:

Search Screen

The search screen is where customers enter their order number and tracking number, which helps the system locate and display their order. This reduces customer frustration and anxiety by providing immediate access to their shipment status.

Order Tracking Information Screen

The second screen presents comprehensive details related to the order. Customers can view all shipments associated with the order, including the tracking number, status, estimated time of arrival (ETA), and shipment history. 

This comprehensive view enables customers to track multiple packages from the same order simultaneously.

Opt-Out Option for Further Notifications

Another valuable feature of ReturnGO’s order tracking portal is the opt-out option. Customers have the freedom to choose whether they want to receive further notifications about their order. 

This choice respects their preferences and ensures that you are not bombarding them with unwanted updates.

Tips for Using the Order Tracking Portal

To maximize the benefits of the order tracking portal, consider implementing these tips:

Promote the Convenient Order Tracking Portal

Promote the use of the order tracking portal to your customers through emails, social media, and your website. 

Educate them about the ease of staying updated on their shipments and how it will improve their overall shopping experience.

Ensure User-Friendliness

The portal is designed with a user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation, so customers can find the information they need without any confusion or frustration. 

Test the portal from the perspective of a customer to see how it works. Gathering feedback from customers can help you identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to enhance the user experience further.

Present Clear and Concise Information

When it comes to order tracking, clear and concise information is key. Instead of using technical jargon or complicated language that may confuse customers, ReturnGO uses simple and straightforward language to communicate order status and delivery updates, and you can customize the text to fit your brand voice.

Relevant details such as tracking numbers, estimated delivery dates, and shipping carrier information are included in an easy-to-understand format.

Use Order Tracking to Improve the Post-Purchase Experience

Order tracking and notifications play a pivotal role in enhancing the post-purchase customer journey for your eCommerce business. 

So what are you waiting for? Improve your post-purchase experience today with ReturnGO’s order tracking, and let your customers experience the convenience and satisfaction of staying informed every step of the way.

And the reason chargeback is becoming increasingly popular among cardholders is the fact that once a cardholder files a dispute, banks see the merchant as guilty until proven innocent.

Merchants suffer significant losses due to chargebacks. In addition to losing money from a valid sale, retailers also lose money due to chargeback fees, shipping and fulfillment expenses, and other ancillary costs.

Just Google it. The numbers will make your head hurt.

• According to industry records, retailers lose almost $4 for every $1 charged back, with the average chargeback cost of a $90 transaction value reaching $190.
• Friendly fraud has been spiking by 41% every two years – and the cost of chargebacks stands at $117.47 billion as of this year, 2023.

Keep reading for battle-tested tips to protect your online store from chargebacks. 

Why Do Chargebacks Happen?

There are three reasons why chargebacks occur: merchant missteps, criminal fraud, and friendly fraud.

• Merchant Missteps involve clerical errors like double entry, order handling mistakes in shipping and delivery, or substandard customer service. These addressable internal errors can lead to buyer frustration and eventual chargebacks.
• Criminal Fraud chargeback is when fraudsters steal a cardholder’s identity to make unauthorized transactions. And the cardholder seeks remediation with a chargeback, leaving the merchant with losses.
• Friendly Fraud is an intentional or unintentional abuse of the chargeback mechanism, either due to buyer’s remorse, misunderstanding with seller’s policies, or bare-faced greed. Friendly fraud is the leading cause of chargebacks.

Aside from knowing why chargebacks happen, understanding how to protect your business from such losses is of utmost importance. If we’ve learned anything from these past years of helping merchants protect their hard-earned revenue from online shoplifters, it’s the fact that specific actions can help you limit dispute exposure.

7 Tips to Protect Your Online Store from Chargebacks

Use the tips below to plug any revenue leak in your business.

1. Have a Clear Policy for Cancelations and Returns

The first step is to offer your customers the option to cancel or return their orders if they wish to do so. Sometimes, chargebacks occur when buyers cannot opt out of their subscriptions. 

Studies indicate that 80% of cardholders initiate a chargeback because it’s more convenient than seeking a refund from the merchant. 

Craft air-tight returns and cancelation policies and ensure your customers can readily find those guides. Working with ReturnGO, a returns management system, also helps you track and analyze returns data such as return reasons, return rates, and purchasing behavior to limit returns fraud.

2. Ensure Customers Can Quickly Identify Your Billing Statement

Sometimes customers file unauthorized transaction chargebacks because they don’t recognize the merchant’s billing statement or forgot about subscription packages. You can avoid such inconvenience with an excellent billing descriptor. 

An excellent billing descriptor should display your business name, contact information, and website URL. Avoid generic or vague descriptors that might confuse customers. If you want to be fancy, you could take things slightly higher with automated pre-notification emails before charging customers. Such emails should include the bill amount, charge date, and what the charge is for.

3. Frustrate Online Shoplifters with Authentications

While implementing order authentication and anti-fraud instruments seems like an after-thought – something you can tack into the mix after securing the sale – it can be a lifesaver when dealing with fraudulent actors. Any unauthorized transaction you process will cost you at least 3x as much.

Follow industry best practices; obtain customer signatures, PINs, or CVV codes for Card-Not-Present transactions. And use anti-fraud tools like country code blocking, Blacklisting, velocity checks, and IP whitelisting on your website. You can also use pre-authorization holds to ensure the right person is making the order. It’s estimated that CNP fraud costs could reach $130 billion by the end of 2023. False declines, a significant headache for the eCommerce industry, drain between $118 to $331 billion from merchants in the U.S. alone.

4. Ship Orders with Tracking and Provide Insurance for Your Shipments

This should be second nature for all vendors selling physical goods. Ship high-value orders with insurance and tracking to ensure safe delivery. And provide your customer with these details so they can easily track the status of their shipment. Once the transaction is complete, obtain delivery confirmation for your records. 

Some cardholders use chargebacks to recoup their money when they’re uncertain about the status of their order. You can avoid that by helping them track their order. 

Another reason this point is crucial is that order tracking details and delivery confirmation are two vital pieces of evidence to present when the buyer claims they did not receive a delivery. And if you sell digital goods, you can keep track of download logs, time stamps, and device information to show the buyer accessed the software or service.

5. Educate Your Staff About Fraud Patterns

eCommerce fraud is on the rise. And as fraud leaves patterns, you and your workers are the first defense line for catching fraudulent activities. Educate your workers on fraud patterns and red flags. Have templates for processing higher-risk orders and ensure everyone on the team understands the risks involved. 

For example, you could establish a process that if an order is suspicious or raises the risk level to a certain point, you do not accept it. And double-check entries to minimize clerical errors that can result in double billing. 

Another standard due diligence to limit fraud exposure includes checking recurring transactions made to the same address but with different cardholder names or numbers. More so, if you notice multiple transactions charged to a single card within a short period or a decline code, request an alternate form of payment, such as a bank account transfer. 

It’s equally best to refrain from splitting charges for a single order using multiple credit cards. And for new customers, avoid delivering goods to a post office box and verify the photo identification provided.

6. Pre-empt Disputes with Better Customer Service

While practicing excellent customer service will not deter scammers from trying to steal money from you, you’ll be sure that legitimate buyers will talk to you first before seeking remediation from their banks. 

Provide clear and concise product descriptions, promptly address customer concerns or issues, have multiple channels for buyers to reach you, and pay attention to your social media mentions and DMs. Another thing we’ve seen our merchants do is constantly evaluate chargeback data with Chargeflow’s order insight to track down loopholes that might cost them money. Such proactive measures help you find cracks before scammers take advantage of them to rip you off.

7. Automate Your Chargebacks to Recover Disputes without Lifting a Finger

You know it; I know it: no matter how careful you are in preventing chargebacks, consumers will STILL try to misuse the chargeback system.

Aside from that, about 40% of chargebacks result from preventable internal issues. Unfortunately, many retailers lack the tools and resources to address these problems effectively. 

With Chargeflow’s automated chargeback system, you can integrate your merchant account with the chargeback monitoring software to stay on top of your disputes. You’ll get timely alerts and emails whenever a customer disputes a transaction and detailed transaction data to help prevent fraudulent chargebacks and manage cases on your behalf. 

The fun part of chargeback automation is that you prevent revenue losses and learn how to avoid missteps that lead to more cases. By simply clicking a few tabs on the dashboard, you program the system to understand your customers’ behavior and easily safeguard your sales.

If history teaches us anything, fraud goes through the roof with shifts in markets and global economies, as we see happening nowadays. Whether you’re just a mom-and-pop online store or a high-tech eCommerce vendor, these tips will help you protect your sales from chargeback losses. In the final analysis, it’s not how many sales you make but how much you retain at the end of the day that matters.

About the Author

Tom-Chris Emewulu is Chargeflow‘s Digital Evangelist. With 8+ years of digital marketing experience, he crafts compelling, data-driven SEO articles that put brands on page 1 of Google search. Forbes, DW, Business Insider, Businessss2Community, and many other publications have featured his works. You can find him on Social Media via @tomchrisemewulu.

Therefore, when thinking about starting your own business, there are a few things you need to think about, and financial management is one of them. 

Let’s dive deeper into this article to learn more about the most important financial tips you should consider when starting your new business. 

8 Financial Tips to Follow When You Start Your New Business 

1. Define Your Business Concept 

If you want your business to be profitable, you need to know what you are good at. Most businesses that fail at financial management also have a business that isn’t as profitable. If you don’t have any ideas on what you want your business to be, ask yourself some important questions: 

• What are you good at? 
• What is something you have always been wanting to do? 
• What do you love and hate to do? 
• Can you think of something that makes things easier? 
• What kind of advice do people ask from you? 

After answering these questions, you can have a better idea about your business. Once you have your idea, it’s now time to expand it and see if it’s profitable or not. Having the right business concept is what contributes to your financial management. If your idea isn’t profitable, your financial management won’t be either. 

2. Don’t Overdo Your Budget 

It’s always highly important to stick to your budget and prevent your small business from getting into debt. This is where you can differentiate between the “must-haves” and the “wants”. In fact, most small businesses will spend around $40,000 in their first years. Creating a budget for your business and sticking to it is what helps you pay off loans and avoid any unnecessary expenses that might harm your business in the long term. 

3. Consult With Professionals 

Experience is the best teacher of them all. Giving yourself enough time to research and learn about something is excellent, but paying a professional who always deals with financial management is even better for your long-term profits. 

In this case, here are some professionals you can consider hiring: 

• Attorneys: These are excellent for providing guidelines on how you can structure your business and deal with legal paperwork. Also, they can tell you about all local laws that are impacting your business. Many businesses might find it hard to find the time to deal with paperwork, but attorneys are excellent for this. After all, avoiding legal compliance can have a negative long-term effect on your business. 

• Accountants: Before you start a business, accountants can inform you based on which type of business you are running. You need to know your type of business in order to know which financial plan to follow and pay attention to the taxes. 

• Insurance agents: As we mentioned before, insurance agents can save you thousands to even millions of dollars. They can inform you of all the different types of insurance you can get and how they’ll cover you. One common mistake most businesses make is not getting insured. 79% of insured drivers will buy comprehensive coverage, so they can save money from long-term damages. Imagine if you had physical damage to your vehicle and it wasn’t covered. The long-term costs will add up much more than you might think! 

Consider Getting Insurance 

Moreover, if you want to securely avoid overdoing your budget, you can consider getting insurance. One of the most popular types of insurance, provided you are in the trucking business, is motor truck cargo insurance. This type of insurance will ensure the value of heavy loads as they work up from point A to B. Therefore, anything that is carried over is undercover. 

This type of insurance is mainly used for covering the liability of paying thousands to even millions of dollars worth of goods. In order to ensure you get the right type of insurance, you need to talk to an experienced firm. For instance, motor truck cargo insurance by CoverWallet allows you to gain their trucking insurance expertise in three simple steps: 

• Receive your free quotes from expert insurance advisors 
• Talk to your personal agent that they’ll offer you 
• Get insured and save thousands of dollars 

Financial management is important, but what contributes to it are also the external factors that might cause long-term damage to your finances. 

4. Reinvest 

Many might underestimate the power of reinvesting. However, it’s a method to promote financial growth and increase profits. Reinvestment is a hidden effective financial management strategy that helps you with your long-term goals. Moreover, never lose sight of your long-term goals and always make sure to reinvest your capital back into the company, so you can continue to grow it. 

Reward your team for your hard work and don’t try to overdo it. Hire more people when there’s a need, invest in your marketing, and even try to use technologies that contribute to your business, such as returns management automation.

Investing in a reliable returns management system can improve the customer experience, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. By allocating resources towards implementing powerful returns management technology, you are making a strategic investment that can yield long-term financial benefits for your business. 

5. Manage Your Cash Flows 

More than 80% of businesses will fail because they have cash flow issues. Starting a business costs money and if your money is not coming from other sources, it’ll cause many major issues for you. 

Regardless of your revenue source, you need to track your expenses and balance them out, so you can ensure your cash flow is covering the company’s costs and keeping it running. If expenses overtake your business, your bank account will easily collapse and you can after say goodbye to your finances. 

Effectively managing your cash flow requires a combination of keeping your assets under control. As a business owner, you need to make careful decisions, and having the right cash flow is one of them. However, keep in mind that you need to take care of your cash flow from the start of your business. 

6. Keep Your Business Credit Healthy 

As your business keeps growing, you’ll have to make many more purchases along the way. If you have poor business credit, getting transactional approval and acquisition becomes much more challenging. 

If you want to keep your credit at a good level, you have to aim to pay off your debt funding as soon as you can. Try to avoid letting your business credit cards run on a balance of more than a few weeks. Moreover, don’t take out loans with high-interest rates because it’ll hurt your finances in the long term. 

The simple rule to follow is to seek funding that you can afford and to repay it as quickly as you can. 

7. Don’t Forget About Emergency Funds

Emergency funds are something important to pay attention to. They help you get through your personal or family crisis without having to worry about financial management. However, keep in mind that you should use separate emergency funds for your personal and professional life. Many businesses will make the mistake of using their personal emergency funds for their business as well. 

You’d be surprised that around 44% of businesses actually don’t have any emergency funds. In case of a crisis, these businesses usually go bankrupt, or have to take a loan to survive. 

8. Separate Fixed and Overhead Expenses 

Before you commit to larger expenses, you need to ensure that your revenue is enough to support your costs. One way to keep a well-structured balance is to completely avoid any expenses that’ll be larger fixed costs to your business. 

What kind of costs are these? It includes office space, equipment, and new hires that are made. Whenever you add the fixed costs to it, it increases the minimum amount of revenue that is required to break out even. 

You can consider the cost savings of using co-working spaces or continuing to run your business online, or from your own home. Overall, the more focused you are on productivity and reducing unnecessary expenses, the better it’ll be for you in the long term. 

Why Does Financial Management Matter?

If you don’t know where your money is going, you can never run a successful business. You need to carefully monitor your finances and be aware of them. If you can’t do this, you’ll run into numerous issues in the long term. 

Going bankrupt is easy to do if you don’t have the right management skills and this isn’t something you want to happen. Therefore, be sure to keep an open mind and pay close attention to these tips.

By implementing the right strategies, you can turn eCommerce returns into an opportunity to increase revenue and retain customers. 

Understanding the Financial Impact of eCommerce Returns

Returns can be costly. Processing returns manually can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. 

Let’s break it down: If, for example, each return request requires 10 touchpoints, each taking 12 minutes to process, that’s around two hours of wasted time and productivity per return, in addition to the associated labor costs.

In addition to the cost of processing the returns, there are costs such as shipping and restocking items and the cost of managing inventory.

However, the financial impact of returns is not just negative. With the right strategy, returns can also be an opportunity to increase revenue and profitability.

How to Turn a Negative into a Positive

The potential ROI of product returns is often overlooked. Returns can be an opportunity to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. By offering hassle-free returns and exchanges, you can show customers that you value their satisfaction and are committed to providing a positive shopping experience.

By optimizing your returns process and automating it where possible, you can turn returns management into a profitability booster. 

Boost Your ROI Using eCommerce Returns

By implementing a few key strategies such as maximizing the value of returned items and retaining revenue with exchanges, you can maximize your ROI through returns and turn a potential liability into a profitable opportunity.

Maximize the Value of Returned Items

Maximizing the value of returned items is a key strategy for increasing your ROI on returns. While some returned items may not be able to be resold as new, there are still ways to extract value from them. 

Here are some strategies for maximizing the value of returned items:

• Resell –  Instead of throwing away returned items that are in good condition, you can resell them at a discount. This prevents waste and offers customers an opportunity to purchase sustainable items.

A great way to do this is to work with third-party repair companies and reCommerce companies. 

Reselling returned items can help you get back some of the money you lost and even generate additional revenue.

• Recycle – Incorporate recycling into your returns process to reduce waste and prevent materials from ending up in landfills. 

Returned products can be recycled and used as raw materials for new products, thereby extending the product’s life, reducing waste, and helping the environment.

• Donate – Encourage customers to donate returned items instead of shipping them back. This can help reduce waste and demonstrate social responsibility, and generate customer trust.

Instead of letting returned items go to waste, find ways to reuse and repurpose items to create a circular economy, which both maximizes the value of returns and contributes to a more sustainable world.

Retain Customers Through a Positive Experience

When a customer returns an item, it’s an opportunity to engage with them and provide a positive experience so they’re more likely to come back and shop with you again.

Customer loyalty is one of the most valuable assets your business can have. Loyal customers spend an average of 67% more per purchase than new customers. 

To retain customers through a positive returns experience, it is important to make the process as easy and straightforward as possible. 

Provide a self-service return portal to make it easy for customers to request a return or exchange. 

Offering customers the convenience of initiating and tracking their returns online empowers them to feel in control of the process. This helps to reduce the frustration and anxiety that can come with returning a product and can lead to a more positive experience. 

Some ways to create a positive return experience:

• Make returns easy – Provide a hassle-free returns process, with clear instructions and an easy-to-use online return portal.

• Offer free returns – Offer free returns or return shipping to show your customers that you value their business.

• Provide fast refunds – Process refunds and exchanges quickly to keep your customers satisfied.

• Personalize the returns experience – Use personalized messaging to communicate with your customers throughout the returns process.

• Offer incentives – Offer loyalty points or discounts on future purchases as a way to incentivize customers to shop with you again.

• Analyze returns data – Analyze returns data and customer feedback to identify ways the returns process can be improved to improve the customer experience.

By providing a positive returns experience and showing your customers that you care about their needs and concerns, you can build customer loyalty and keep them coming back to your eCommerce store.

Increase Revenue with Exchanges

When a customer returns an item, you can offer them the option to exchange it for a different item rather than issuing a refund. This can help you retain revenue and even generate additional revenue if the customer chooses a more expensive item as a replacement.

For example, let’s say a customer purchases a shirt for $50 and then decides to return it. If the customer asked for a refund, the store would lose the entire $50 in revenue. 

However, if the customer requests an exchange instead, the customer might choose to exchange the shirt for a different one of equal value, in which case the store retains the $50 in revenue. 

Alternatively, the customer might choose to exchange the shirt for a more expensive one that costs $60, in which case the store retains the original $50 in revenue and generates an additional $10 in revenue from the exchange.

Here are some tips for using exchanges to retain revenue:

• Make the exchange process easy – To encourage customers to choose an exchange over a refund, make the process as easy and convenient as possible. 

Provide clear instructions for how to initiate an exchange, and consider offering free shipping on the replacement item to sweeten the deal.

• Offer discounts or incentives – To incentivize customers to choose a replacement item of equal or greater value, offer discounts or other incentives. 

For example, you could offer a 10% discount on the replacement item, or offer free return shipping.

• Use data to personalize exchanges – Use customer data to personalize the exchange and make it more relevant to the customer’s needs. 

For example, if a customer is returning a blouse in a particular size or style, suggest similar items in that size or style.

• Cross-sell or upsell – Use the exchange request as an opportunity to cross-sell or upsell related items. 

For example, if a customer is exchanging a pair of shoes, you could recommend a matching handbag or accessory.

By offering easy exchanges, you can retain revenue and even generate additional revenue from customers who choose to exchange their returned product for a higher-value product. 

Streamline Returns With Automation

Automating your returns process is a powerful way to reduce costs and increase efficiency since processing returns can be a labor-intensive and time-consuming task. Automating the process can help streamline the entire process from start to finish.

With an automated returns management system, you can automatically generate return labels, keep track of return shipments, and issue refunds instantly. 

By automating these tasks, you can save time and resources that would otherwise be spent manually managing returns.

Automating your returns process also improves accuracy. Returns management systems ensure that data is captured consistently and accurately, minimizing the chance of returns being processed incorrectly. This can make inventory records more accurate and reduce costs associated with incorrect or fraudulent returns.

By automating your returns, you can improve profitability and ROI in the following ways:

• Reduce costs – Reduce costs associated with manual returns processing and free up your staff to focus on other tasks. 

• Streamline return processing times – Speed up the returns process, from approving the return to issuing the refund to validating the returned items.

• Prevent errors and inaccuracies – Minimize the risk of errors or inaccuracies that can lead to additional costs.

• Gain data insights – Get insights into return trends and customer behavior, helping you make informed business decisions to optimize your operations and profitability.

By reducing the amount of time and resources required to process returns, automating your returns can help you reduce costs, improve efficiency, and maximize profits.

Case Study: How One Project Turned Returns into Revenue

One example of a store that successfully turned returns into revenue is One Project, a multi-brand eCommerce fashion platform that uses exchanges and gift cards alongside refunds to retain and increase revenue.

Previously, One Project only offered refunds, which made it difficult for customers to exchange products. If customers wanted to exchange a product, they would have to go through a complicated process of receiving a refund and then purchasing a new product.

Because customers couldn’t easily exchange products, there was an increased level of frustration among customers and a higher workload for the team.

Using ReturnGO, One Project was able to offer an easy exchange process, making it quick and simple for customers to exchange items. This saved the company a considerable amount of refund revenue and greatly reduced customer frustration.

In addition to offering exchanges, One Project also started providing gift cards instead of refunds, which helped them retain even more customers and keep the revenue within the store.

“By allowing customers to exchange products, and not refund them, we manage to save a lot of money on customers who don’t make a refund and just make an exchange. This helps us achieve our KPIs from a revenue aspect.”

– Shmulik Konforty, CTO, One Project

By implementing these changes, One Project has reduced their average refund rate by 10% and kept the revenue within the store for 40% of return requests. 

With easy exchanges and gift cards, One Project has been able to generate new revenue and retain revenue that would have otherwise been lost through refunds.

Check out the full case study here.

Why Returns are an Opportunity, Not a Liability

With the right strategies in place, you can actually turn returns into an opportunity to increase your revenue and retain happy customers. 

Use strategies such as making the most of returned items, offering easy exchanges, and automating the returns process, to make returns management painless and profitable. 

Instead of fearing returns, embrace them as a chance to grow your business.

These suppliers hurt dropshippers as they often provide faulty or low-quality products, resulting in numerous returns and refunds. This not only hurts the business’s profitability, but also gives dropshipping a bad reputation.

The negative consequences of unreliable dropship suppliers are not limited to the dropshippers themselves; it also affects the customers who receive faulty products. These customers are often left angry and dissatisfied. This leads customers to leave negative reviews, undermines their trust in the brand, and discourages them from coming back to buy more. 

That’s why it is essential for dropshippers to have a reliable supplier that can consistently provide high-quality products and a positive customer experience.

To help dropshippers avoid returns and refunds caused by bad dropship suppliers, we have developed a research method to select reliable suppliers. By following our method, dropshippers can find trustworthy suppliers who can provide high-quality products and a positive customer experience, which will ultimately lead to greater success in their dropshipping business.

In this post, we will discuss in detail our research method for selecting reliable dropship suppliers and provide helpful tips and insights for dropshippers to avoid returns and refunds caused by bad suppliers.

How to Discover Dropship Suppliers

Before we dive into the research method, let’s talk about finding the right dropship supplier for your business. Before you select reliable dropship suppliers, you need to know where to find them. There are many ways to find dropship suppliers and we are going to reveal the best places to find them.

Method 1: Search Engines

One way to discover dropship suppliers is by using search engines like Google. When you use Google, enter keywords related to your niche so that you can find potential suppliers who offer the products you are looking for. 

You can then create a list of the suppliers that you have found on Google on a spreadsheet to keep track of who you can potentially work with.

Picking out a dropship supplier from the Google search results will allow you to find dedicated dropship suppliers in your niche. However, there are a few problems, such as:

• It is time-consuming – checking out each and every dropship supplier site in the search results is tedious
• You cannot integrate their product directly to your Shopify store – supplier sites normally do not have built-in tools to help you integrate their product directly into your store, so you would have to add their product to your store manually
• Fulfilling orders is manual – every time you get an order, you will have to manually go to the supplier’s site and place the order to dropship. Imagine if you are sourcing from the independent sites of multiple suppliers…it will be a nightmare.

That’s not to say that you can’t work with an independent dropship supplier site you found on Google. But there are certainly other alternatives to make your life easier when sourcing and fulfilling products from your dropship supplier.

Method 2: SaleHoo 

Using a dropship tool like SaleHoo Dropship can make your dropshipping journey a breeze. SaleHoo Dropship offers a pre-vetted list of AliExpress suppliers and allows for easy one-click integration for products to be added to your Shopify store.

Not sure what product to sell? No worries! You can use product research tools like SaleHoo Labs. SaleHoo Labs offers advanced search filters to find hot products to sell, so that you can decide on what hot dropship product to sell before finding your supplier on SaleHoo Dropship. 

SaleHoo Labs Advanced Search Filters

Method 3: AliExpress

Another alternative is Aliexpress. Aliexpress is like a marketplace full of dropship suppliers. So instead of scouring the internet for suppliers, you can just head to Aliexpress and find all of them there.

Aliexpress is a great site to use, but it is also infamous for having a lot of scammy suppliers that can send faulty products to your customers.

Hence, it is best you use Aliexpress alongside tools that filter out the scammy suppliers and leave you with the reliable ones. Tools like SaleHoo Dropship do this.

How to Evaluate Dropship Suppliers

Now that you know where to find dropship suppliers, it is time for you to learn how to evaluate their reliability.

Step 1: Look at Reviews

First, you will want to look at the Google reviews of the supplier. This is so you can check what the experience of others was like working with that supplier. If there are many good reviews, great! You can then proceed with checking out that supplier’s product offering.

When checking out the supplier’s product offering, ensure that the product photos are high quality with detailed descriptions of the product so you know what to expect in terms of product quality.

Step 2: Check Order Count

Take it a step further and take a look at their order count. Ensure that multiple people have ordered from them in the past. This can give you assurance that they have a track record of success fulfilling your particular product. You don’t want to be the first customer they are fulfilling the order for the product you want to sell.

Step 3: Compare Price

Price is also an essential factor in selecting a dropship supplier. Check if the supplier’s prices are reasonable and comparable to competitors. Some suppliers may offer discounts for larger orders, so it is worth exploring this option if it is available.

Step 4: Explore Shipping Options and Times

Timely and consistent shipping times are also essential in ensuring that your customers receive their orders on time. If you are getting a sample, make sure that it arrives on or before the expected shipping time stated by the supplier.

Also, check if the supplier provides multiple shipping options with transparent pricing. 

Step 5: Contact Supplier

The next step is to reach out to potential suppliers to ask questions and gather more information. Inquire about their policies and procedures for returns, refunds, and exchanges.

When in contact with the supplier, you should expect:

• Prompt and professional customer service
• Clear communication
• Quick resolution of issues

It is also essential to confirm their inventory level and their willingness to work with you.

Step 6: Order Samples

Next, you should order samples from suppliers you shortlisted to test product quality, packaging, and shipping times. Then you will know what the customer experience will be like if you dropship with that supplier.

How to Develop Your Brand and Ensure Customer Satisfaction

Transition from Dropship to Wholesale Suppliers

One way to reduce refunds and returns in the long run is to transition from dropshipping to wholesale suppliers. With wholesale, you will have more control over the quality of the products you sell and you can ensure that they meet your customers’ expectations. 

Additionally, private labeling products with dropship or wholesale suppliers can increase the perceived value of your brand and help you stand out from your competitors. If you are looking for Private Label Suppliers, you can find them in supplier directories like the SaleHoo Directory.

Dropship Supplier Offering Private Label Options in The SaleHoo Directory

Ensure Customer Satisfaction

Choosing a reliable dropship supplier is not enough to reduce refunds and returns if you don’t take care of your customers on your end. 

To ensure customer satisfaction, you should provide clear and detailed product information to set expectations with your customers. This can include accurate details of the product. 

You should also respond quickly to customer inquiries and issues and offer transparent return, refund, and exchange policies. 

Being transparent on shipping times is also important to set expectations with your customers. By prioritizing your customers’ satisfaction, you can build a strong brand reputation and increase customer loyalty.

Grow Your eCommerce Business With Reliable Suppliers

Selecting reliable dropship suppliers is crucial for the success of your eCommerce business. 

Doing thorough research and evaluation of potential suppliers is necessary to ensure that they meet your needs and standards.

It’s also important to consider the transition from a dropship supplier to wholesale suppliers as your business grows to reduce refunds and returns in the long run. You can even further increase perceived value by private labeling products. 

Taking these steps will help ensure customer satisfaction and the long-term success of your eCommerce business.

It’s often considered the best marketing channel by those in the industry. After all, for every $1 spent, it drives an average ROI of $36. That’s pretty impressive, right?

However, to achieve an ROI like this, you’ll need to use email marketing wisely. This involves a careful and considered approach. Below, we’ll reveal some practical and actionable tips you can use to take your email marketing game to the next level. 

Why Email Marketing is Important for eCommerce Businesses

There are a number of reasons why email marketing makes sense for eCommerce businesses:

• Increased sales – Email marketing allows you to promote your products to a large audience quickly and easily. You can send targeted emails to customers who have shown an interest in specific products or categories, resulting in increased sales.

• Retain more customers – You can stay in touch with customers on a regular basis by using email marketing, ensuring they’re engaged with your brand. This helps build consumer loyalty and increase the chances of a repeat purchase.

• Personalization – Email marketing allows you to personalize your messages based on customer data such as purchase history, browsing behavior, and preferences. This personalization can help increase the relevance of your emails and improve engagement rates.

• You don’t need a huge budget – Email marketing is a cost-effective marketing channel. Unlike traditional marketing channels, email marketing does not require a significant investment in resources or budget to get started.

• You can target your messages for better engagement – It’s possible to segment your audience and send targeted messages based on specific criteria such as age, location, or purchase history. This targeting and segmentation can result in higher engagement rates and more effective marketing campaigns.

• It’s measurable – You can track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to understand the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy.

Email Marketing Tips for Boosting eCommerce Sales and Minimizing Returns

Now that you have a good understanding of why email marketing is important, let’s take a look at how you can use it to boost sales and lower returns. 

1. Re-Engage Customers With Win Back Customer Email Templates

Win back customer email templates and examples are a powerful way to re-engage with customers who have not made a purchase or interacted with your brand in a while.

The goal of a win back email campaign is to remind customers of your brand and incentivize them to make a purchase. These templates can be customized to fit your brand voice and messaging.

Win back email campaigns also provide an opportunity to gather feedback from customers who have not made a purchase in a while. You can use this feedback to improve your products, customer service, and overall shopping experience, which can help reduce the likelihood of returns in the future.

2. Personalize Your Message

By tailoring your message to the individual recipient, you can make your email more engaging and increase the likelihood of conversion.

Here are some of the ways you can achieve this:

• Segment your email list – Segmenting your email list based on factors such as past purchases, interests, and demographics can help you create more targeted and relevant messages for each group.

• Use dynamic content – Dynamic content allows you to personalize specific parts of your email based on the recipient’s interests or past behavior. For example, you can show product recommendations based on their browsing history.

• Leverage past purchasing data – Use the recipient’s past purchase data to create personalized recommendations and promotions. For example, if they previously purchased a certain product, you can send them an email promoting a related product.

• Make the most of behavioral triggers – Behavioral triggers such as abandoned cart reminders and post-purchase follow-ups can be used to create personalized messages based on the recipient’s actions.

3. Offer Incentives to Entice More Sales

Offering incentives is a powerful way to increase engagement and drive sales in your email marketing campaigns. There are numerous ways you can go about this:

Discounts

Offering a discount is a common incentive that can encourage recipients to make a purchase. You can offer a percentage off the total purchase price or a dollar amount off a specific product.

Free Shipping

Free shipping is another popular incentive that can reduce the barrier to purchase for recipients. Consider offering free shipping for a limited time or for purchases over a certain amount.

Free Samples

Offering a free sample can encourage recipients to try your products and potentially make a purchase in the future.

Exclusive Promotions

Offer special promotions that are exclusive to your email subscribers, such as early access to new products or limited-time offers.

Rewards

Consider implementing an email loyalty program that rewards customers for making purchases or engaging with your brand on social media.

Personalized Incentives

Use recipient data to create personalized incentives, such as offering a discount on a product they’ve previously viewed or purchased.

4. Leverage Social Proof

Using social proof in your email marketing campaigns is an effective way of building trust and credibility with your audience.

Image source

Social proof is the idea that people are influenced by the actions and opinions of others, and it can be used to encourage recipients to take action and make a purchase.

There are a number of different ways you can use social proof in your email marketing campaigns to boost sales and lower returns:

• Customer reviews – Include customer reviews or testimonials in your email campaigns to showcase the positive experiences of other customers. This can help to build trust and credibility with recipients who may be on the fence about making a purchase.

• User-generated content – User-generated content, such as photos or videos of customers using your products, can help to showcase your products in a real-life context and provide social proof of their effectiveness.

• Social media mentions – Social media mentions of your brand or products can show recipients that others are talking about your brand and encourage them to engage with your social media accounts.

• Influencer endorsements – Consider partnering with influencers in your industry to promote your products and services. Including endorsements from these influencers in your email campaigns can provide social proof and help to build credibility with your audience.

• Awards and recognition – If your brand has won awards or received recognition for its products or services, include this information in your email campaigns. This can help to build credibility and trust with recipients, encouraging them to buy from you.

5. Optimize Your Emails for Mobile Use

Optimizing your emails for mobile is crucial in today’s digital age, as more and more people are accessing their emails on their mobile devices. In fact, almost 1.7 billion users check emails on their mobile phones. 

Here are some tips when optimizing your emails for mobile use:

• Keep it simple – Use a simple, easy-to-read font and avoid using too many images or graphics that can slow down load times on mobile devices.

• Choose a responsive design – A responsive design will ensure that your email is optimized for viewing on all screen sizes, from desktop to mobile.

• Use a clear, concise subject line – Make sure your subject line is short and to the point, and make sure it’s visible on mobile devices.

• Use short paragraphs – Break up your text into short paragraphs that are easy to read on a mobile screen.

• Choose a single-column layout – A single-column layout can be read on a mobile screen with greater ease when compared with a multi-column layout, which can be difficult to navigate.

• Use buttons instead of links – Buttons are easier to click on a mobile screen than links, which can be difficult to select accurately.

• Utilize alt text for images – Make sure to include alt text for your images so that mobile users who have images turned off can still understand what your email is about.

Lower Returns and Boost Sales With These Email Marketing Tips

So there you have it: the tips and strategies you can use to take your email marketing campaign to the next level. If you follow the advice provided above, you can increase your sales and lower the chances of a return too.

About the Author

Kerry Leigh Harrison has over 11+ years of experience as a content writer. She graduated from university with a First Class Hons Degree in Multimedia Journalism. In her spare time, she enjoys attending sports and music events. 

Just as ReturnGO’s returns management system helps you manage and track your eCommerce returns more efficiently, financial platforms such as Floodlight can help you streamline your eCommerce finances.

Having a bird’s eye view of your business, in terms of both returns and finances, helps you stay ahead of the competition and grow your business.

What is an eCommerce Financial Dashboard?

An eCommerce financial dashboard is a software tool that provides a centralized view of your business’s financial data, enabling you to monitor and analyze key metrics such as revenue, expenses, and profit margins in real-time.

With a financial dashboard, you can quickly identify trends and potential issues before they become a problem. 

Financial dashboards for eCommerce combine financial services, analytics, and domestic and international payments into a comprehensive dashboard to make it easy for you to track and manage your store’s finances.

Using a financial dashboard is essential for store owners and managers who want to keep track of their eCommerce store’s financial performance and optimize their profits. 

Providing real-time transparency into your store’s finances, eCommerce financial dashboards enable you to identify cost-saving opportunities and areas for improvement.

Metrics to Track on a Financial Dashboard

A financial dashboard can be a useful tool to help you visualize your store’s finances and track key metrics. 

Financial dashboards help you track eCommerce metrics such as:

Revenue

Track how much revenue you make each month and where it comes from, and use this information to make strategic decisions about pricing, promotions, and products.

Knowing how much money is coming in and where it is going can help you make informed decisions as your business grows.

Expenses by Category

Track how much you spend on different categories such as marketing, shipping, inventory, and other business expenses, and follow trends of your overall spend per category.

Using a financial dashboard gives you a clear overview of your expenses by category so that you can track your spending and identify cost-saving opportunities.

Profit Margins

Monitor your profit margins to understand how much money you are making on each sale.

You can use this information to make informed decisions about pricing, promotions, and products.

Top Channels

Identify which channels bring you the most revenue, and which aren’t performing as well. 

Having a bird’s-eye view of your various channels helps you see what’s most profitable and take action to strengthen your weak points.

The Benefits of Using an eCommerce Financial Dashboard

For your eCommerce business to grow with confidence, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your finances. 

By tracking your eCommerce finances on a financial dashboard you can gain valuable insights into your business’s financial health and make informed decisions to drive growth.

1. Control Over Your Business

Keeping track of cash flow, categorizing your expenses, and understanding revenue trends can be overwhelming. A financial dashboard helps automate these processes and provides a clear view of the financial health of your business.

Floodlight’s financial platform enables you to track all of your revenue and expenses in one place, including multiple business accounts, Google Ads, bank accounts, PayPal, and more.

By managing multiple business accounts, eCommerce stores, and virtual cards all in one place, you can be better organized and more confident in your finances. 

2. Save Time and Money

A financial dashboard can help you save time and money by providing you with real-time visibility into your eCommerce finances. With all your financial data in one place, you can quickly and easily analyze your sales, expenses, and profit margins without having to manually compile reports or dig through spreadsheets. 

Using a financial dashboard can help you identify areas where you can cut costs and optimize your spending, which will help you maximize your profitability. 

By having a clear understanding of your financial situation, you can focus your time and resources on the areas that are most important for the growth of your eCommerce business. 

3. Make Data-Driven Decisions

Analytics and insights into your eCommerce store finances can help you make data-driven decisions about where to allocate your resources.

One of the key benefits of using a financial platform like Floodlight is that insights are presented in an intuitive, visual, and user-friendly way. You don’t have to be a financial expert to understand the data.

Data-based insights can help you identify areas where your store is performing well and areas that need improvement. You can use these insights to identify which products are most popular, which marketing channels are driving the most traffic, and where you can reduce costs to improve your bottom line.

4. Monitor Profit Margins

Tracking profit margins can help you identify which products or categories are generating the most revenue, enabling you to adjust your fulfillment and marketing strategies accordingly. 

Profit margins can be calculated by analyzing data like the cost of goods sold, revenue, and expenses. Knowing your profit margins can help you find ways to optimize them and drive growth for your eCommerce business.

5. Identify Bottlenecks and Take Action

Identify areas where you can reduce costs and better manage your finances.

For example, high return rates can negatively impact your revenue trends, since when a product is returned, the revenue from the initial sale is lost. If your store has a high number of returns, this can have a significant impact on the overall revenue. 

6. Optimize Your Finances

Optimize your eCommerce finances by tracking revenue trends and investing in growth-generating activities such as expanding your product offerings or entering new markets. 

Analyzing your revenue trends and taking action to improve them can help you achieve maximum profitability throughout your business, from marketing to pricing to returns and everything in between.

The Financial Impact of Returns

Product returns often result in hidden costs (which can be difficult to track) that can have a significant impact on your store’s profits.

Tracking your return data with ReturnGO can help you manage your return costs and improve your return rates.

To get a clear picture of your store’s costs, it is important to track all expenses related to running an eCommerce store. Floodlight provides a complete view of all your revenue and expenses, making it easier to manage your finances.

Taking into account the costs associated with returns, like return shipping, the labor of receiving and validating returned items, and warehousing for returned items, and looking at your overall expenses broken down by category, can help you better manage your workflows and resource allocation.

Optimize Your eCommerce Finances

With all the moving pieces of managing an eCommerce business, it can be hard to stay on top of your finances. That’s where a financial platform like Floodlight comes in. 

Floodlight’s financial platform gives you insights into key areas of your eCommerce business, helping you make more informed decisions, identify issues, and track your finances across all of your departments and channels.

Using Floodlight, you have access to an automated multichannel eCommerce financial dashboard that provides a comprehensive overview of products, customers, promotions, inventory, fulfillment, and more, all in one place.

Tracking your revenue trends and analyzing everything about your finances will help you make your eCommerce business more profitable.

3 Money Management Tips for eCommerce

With the right approach to money management, you can streamline your financial operations, reduce costs, and increase profits. 

Here are 3 tips to help you improve your eCommerce store’s profits with better money management:

1. Know Your Costs

In order to maximize your profits and improve your bottom line, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of all of your costs. This includes the cost of goods sold, as well as operational costs such as shipping and marketing, as well as overhead costs. 

Keep track of your costs on a regular basis in order to identify areas for improvement. Tracking business expenses is made easy today with accounting software like Floodlight instead of using receipts and spreadsheets. 

Tracking your business costs will help you make informed decisions about pricing, product sourcing, and other key aspects of your business.

A few considerations when it comes to costs include:

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

COGS is a key metric that measures the direct costs associated with producing and selling your products. It includes the cost of materials, labor, and any other expenses directly related to the production of your products. 

Keeping a close eye on your COGS is important because it directly affects your profit margins. Make sure you continuously review your COGS to identify opportunities for cost savings.

Operational Costs

Operating costs are the expenses incurred by operating your eCommerce store, including expenses such as shipping, returns, marketing, and customer service. 

Make sure to track all of your operational costs and regularly review them to identify areas for improvement, such as using a fulfillment service that offers lower shipping rates or reducing packaging materials to lower your shipping costs.

Overhead Costs

Overhead costs are indirect expenses that are not directly tied to the production or sale of your products. This includes expenses such as rent, utilities, and insurance. 

It is important to track your overhead costs and allocate them to your products or services appropriately. This will help you get a more accurate picture of your overall costs and improve your bottom line.

By accurately tracking and understanding your costs, you can make informed decisions about pricing, product sourcing, and other key aspects of your business. This will help you reduce costs, increase profits, and grow your business. 

Make sure you regularly review your costs and look for opportunities to reduce expenses and improve profitability.

2. Automate Everything

Automation is key to improving your bottom line in eCommerce. By automating key processes and tasks, you can reduce costs, streamline operations, and increase profits.

Here’s a closer look at how automation can help:

Returns Management Automation

Handling returns can be a time-consuming and costly process. By automating your returns management, you can reduce the time and effort required to process returns and improve your bottom line. 

You can use automated software such as ReturnGO to streamline the returns process, from tracking returns to processing refunds. This will help you reduce the costs associated with returns, increase efficiency, and generate more revenue.

Financial Tracking Automation

By automating your financial tracking, you can reduce the time and effort required to manage your eCommerce finances, and improve your bottom line. 

A money management tool such as Floodlight can help you track and manage your eCommerce finances. This will help you stay on top of your expenses, identify areas for improvement, and make your business more profitable.

Automation is a powerful tool for eCommerce businesses looking to improve their bottom line. By automating things like returns management and financial tracking, you can reduce costs, streamline operations, and focus on growing your business. 

3. Reduce Return Rates

Returns can be a significant cost to your business, eating into your profits and affecting your bottom line. 

Here are some strategies to help you reduce your return rates and improve your bottom line:

Accurate Product Descriptions

Detailed and accurate product descriptions are essential for reducing return rates. When customers have a clear understanding of what they’re buying, they’re less likely to return items due to incorrect sizing or product expectations.

81% of customers think that better product descriptions would help reduce false expectations and returns.

Provide clear and detailed information about your products, including size, color, materials, and any other relevant details. 

Consistent formatting across your product descriptions will help customers find the information they’re looking for and make informed purchasing decisions. Use bullet points and headers to break up the page and make it easy to skim.

Clear Return Policy

Having a clearly-defined return policy can also help reduce return rates by setting expectations.

Outline the process for returning items in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. Include information on how to initiate a return, the conditions under which returns are accepted, and the time frame for returns.

Make it clear who is responsible for shipping costs associated with returns, and define any additional fees that may apply. 

A clear return policy can help set customer expectations and reduce the number of returns due to confusion or misunderstandings.

Maximize Your eCommerce Profits

Effective money management is essential for a successful eCommerce business. By following these tips you can improve your bottom line and achieve financial stability and growth. 

Track your costs and invest in automation software and systems to help you manage your eCommerce finances more efficiently and effectively. 

By implementing these strategies, you can ensure the long-term success of your eCommerce business.

What are Post-Purchase Emails?

Post-purchase emails are emails that are sent after a customer has completed their purchase. Post-purchase emails can include transactional emails (order confirmations, return request updates, etc) and marketing emails (upsells, loyalty program promotion, etc).

The purpose of post-purchase emails is to keep customers engaged and informed after checkout and to continue the customer relationship.

Why are Post-Purchase Emails Important?

Post-purchase emails are a great way to boost customer loyalty and build brand awareness, as well as to keep customers coming back and increase their lifetime value.

Increase Customer Lifetime Value

Post-purchase emails can be a powerful tool to help increase customer lifetime value (LTV) and can be used as an effective marketing tool to drive future sales. 

Maintaining customer engagement post-purchase is a great way to increase sales, and utilizing post-purchase emails to upsell and cross-sell is an effective way to maximize customer lifetime value.

Build Customer Trust and Brand Awareness

Sending branded and personalized post-purchase emails is one of the most effective ways to create a consistent brand experience throughout the customer journey. 

Create brand awareness and customer trust by providing branded post-purchase emails, so customers recognize your store’s emails immediately and know what to expect since it matches the rest of their shopping experience.

Boost Customer Loyalty and Retention

Keeping customers engaged after the purchase is a key component of customer retention. Sending post-purchase emails is an effective way to engage customers and keep them coming back.

By providing customers with engaging content and timely shipping updates, post-purchase emails can help to build an ongoing customer relationship that leads to repeat purchases and increased customer loyalty and retention. 

10 Post-Purchase Emails to Keep Customers Coming Back

Post-purchase emails can be used to build customer relationships, remind them of the value of their purchase, and encourage them to continue shopping with your business. 

From discount offers to product recommendations, there are a variety of post-purchase emails you can use to keep customers engaged. Knowing which to send and when can help ensure that your post-purchase emails are effective. 

Keep your customers engaged with these post-purchase emails.

Transactional Emails

Transactional emails such as shipping, order, and return emails are the most basic kind of post-purchase emails sent after a customer places an order. 

Post-purchase transactional emails are informative and typically contain details such as the customers’ order and product details. 

Providing timely and accurate updates about the status of customers’ orders builds trust and makes customers feel valued, helping to create a positive customer experience.

1. Order Confirmation Emails

Order confirmation emails inform customers that their order has been processed, confirm the details of the order, and lets them know what to expect next.

More than just confirming product details, order confirmation emails represent your brand and are often the first emails that your customers receive after making a purchase.

Send branded, personalized order confirmation emails to provide customers with peace of mind about their purchase and create strong and lasting customer relationships.

2. Shipping Updates Emails

Keep your customers informed by sending them email updates regarding their shipments and return shipments. Update your customers about the progress of their orders by sending shipping confirmations, delivery notifications, and tracking information.

3. Return Request Emails

Notify your customers throughout each stage of the return process, from when they request the return to the point when the refund or exchange is approved and issued. 

Keeping your customers informed about the status of their return requests in real-time by including return notification emails in your post-purchase flow will help provide a smooth return process.

ReturnGO makes it easy to customize your return emails according to your brand’s colors, voice, and style, and automate your return update emails to keep your customers informed throughout the entire return process.

4. Return Shipping Update Emails

Provide customers with real-time updates on the status of their return shipments. Let them know when their returned items are in transit, received, and processed.

Keeping your customers in the loop reduces the number of customer support queries your team has to handle.

Marketing Emails

You can use post-purchase marketing emails to increase customer retention and lifetime value, upsell and cross-sell, and establish your store as a trustworthy brand.

5. Thank You Emails

Demonstrate your appreciation for your customers by sending them a dedicated thank-you email in addition to transactional emails.

Send a separate thank-you email to promote your brand, provide more information about your products, remind them of your return policy, and reassure customers that they made the right choice by buying from your store. 

6. Educational or How-To Emails

With post-purchase educational or how-to emails, you can provide tips on how to care for, use, and assemble your store’s products.

Educating customers about how to use the products they bought can increase your repeat purchase rate and decrease the number of returns. Your how-to emails are also a great opportunity to reassure customers that they can return their purchased items if necessary.

7. Loyalty Program or Loyalty Rewards Emails

Send post-purchase loyalty rewards emails inviting customers to your loyalty rewards program if you have one, or sending them a special discount for their next purchase. 

Customer loyalty is important as loyal customers are more likely to recommend your business to others and make repeat purchases, which helps increase sales and revenue

Loyalty rewards give you the opportunity to demonstrate your appreciation for your customers. Having customers earn rewards for their purchases is a great way to capture their interest and keep them coming back.

8. Review Request Emails  

The best way to get more reviews is to ask for them. Send a clear review request email to your customers, asking them to leave a review of the products they bought.

86% of customers see reviews as an essential factor in their purchase decisions. Reviews increase conversion by helping your customers make more confident purchases, leading to an average of 65% conversion increase.

Keep your review request emails short and to the point. Include a direct call to action to leave a review, and avoid other marketing elements, links, or banners that might distract customers from writing a review.

When sending review request emails, it’s important to get the timing right – before your customers’ excitement over their new purchase has worn off, but after they’ve had time to use the products.

Combining asking for feedback with asking for a review can help you gain insights into your products, website, and return process. See how your products and customer experience can be improved by getting a sense of what your customers think and how their experience was.

The more frequently customers interact with your store, whether by purchasing, returning, or repeat purchases, the more opportunities you have to ask them for feedback and reviews, and the more loyal they are likely to become.

9. Cross-Sell or Upsell Emails

Post-purchase emails are an effective way to cross-sell or upsell to customers. 

For example, a certain amount of time after a customer has placed an order, you can suggest that it might be time to reorder, or suggest a related product or an upgraded version of the product they bought. These emails can increase sales and customer loyalty by encouraging customers to purchase more from your store.

Personalizing your cross-sell and upsell emails to each customer is key to creating a positive customer experience. Show your appreciation by sending them emails that are relevant to their interests, based on their purchase history.

10. Product Recommendation Emails

Send personalized product recommendation emails to customers after their purchase to increase customer loyalty, boost brand awareness and drive sales.

Use your customers’ purchase history and demographics to personalize their product recommendations.

5 Tips for Writing Effective Post-Purchase Emails

After customers make a purchase, keeping them engaged is key to providing an exceptional customer experience and keeping them coming back to buy again. To ensure your post-purchase emails are effective and successful, here are some practical tips to keep in mind.

1. Get Creative With Your Copy

Don’t let your emails get lost in customers’ inboxes – make them stand out by investing in good copywriting.

From your subject lines to your calls to action, your email copy should be engaging, creative, and most importantly, in line with your brand voice. 

2. Include Personalized Information

Personalizing your post-purchase emails is an effective way to boost customer retention and satisfaction.

Include the customer’s name in the subject line and body of the email, information relevant to their recent purchase, or offers tailored to the customer’s interests to create a personalized experience.

By personalizing all your post-purchase emails, you can see up to 81% increase in click rates, 133% increase in conversion rates, and 22% increase in open rates compared to only sending static, generic emails. 

3. Consider the Timing of Your Emails

Creating a positive post-purchase experience that anticipates customer needs and questions is dependent on getting the timing of the different emails right. 

Consider when to send each type of email in relation to the purchase, delivery, and other emails.

4. Segment Customers Based on Behavior

Segmenting customers based on their behavior is an effective way to send relevant post-purchase emails. 

You can segment your customers by tracking data from customer interactions to identify patterns in behaviors and preferences. By segmenting customers into different groups, you can tailor your post-purchase emails to their interests. 

Customer segmentation can help your store provide a better customer experience, increase customer loyalty, and boost sales.

5. Automate Your Post-Purchase Emails

Automating your post-purchase emails is a great way to streamline the post-purchase process and improve customer satisfaction. 

In addition to providing fast and accurate information about orders, shipment status, return requests, and more, automating your post-purchase emails will drastically reduce the amount of time spent manually managing your emails, enabling you and your team to spend more time on other tasks.

Additionally, automated emails make it easy to give customers a personalized post-purchase experience.

Create a post-purchase email flow with triggers for each email to create a positive customer experience and increase customer loyalty.

Use Post-Purchase Emails to Keep Customers Engaged

Post-purchase emails can be an effective way to engage with your customers even after checkout. 

From transactional emails updating customers on the status of their shipment or return to marketing emails thanking customers for their purchase, encouraging them to leave a review, or promoting other products, post-purchase emails can add value to customers and keep them in the loop even after they leave your site.

By continuing the customer relationship beyond the initial purchase, you can build customer loyalty and increase customer lifetime value.

The more confident customers are in their decision to buy a product, the less likely they’ll be to return it later on. It’s worth taking the time to create clear, scannable, detailed product descriptions to provide customers with as much information as possible before they place an order.

Why Are Product Descriptions Important for Reducing Returns?

Product descriptions are important because they give potential customers a clear idea of what a product is and what it does, reducing the likelihood of returns due to miscommunications or false expectations. 

Since your customers can’t physically touch your products before buying, your product descriptions become an important factor in whether or not they buy from your store. 81% of customers think that better product descriptions would help reduce false expectations and returns.

When customers have a clear understanding of a product and know what to expect from it, they are more likely to be satisfied with their purchase and less likely to return it.

Product descriptions are more than just a list of features; they are an opportunity to communicate values, increase engagement, and build customer trust.

What’s the Difference Between a Clear and Unclear Product Description?

Whether a product description is clear or unclear can make the difference between a customer buying the right product and buying one they later return.

A clear product description will be clear and concise and give customers a good sense of what the product is and what it can do for them. An unclear product description, on the other hand, will often be vague, hard to understand, and likely to turn potential customers away. 

To make sure your product descriptions are helping you make sales and reduce return rates, ensure they’re clearly written, benefit-focused, and give a good overview of the product. Customers should be able to see at a glance what the product is and what its benefits are.

If customers read a product description and still have questions about it, then it didn’t do its job.

What to Include in a Product Description

A product description should describe the product’s features and benefits, and answer common questions about the product.

Product descriptions should include:

• Descriptive product title to entice customers.
• Detailed paragraph that explains and tells a short story about the benefits of the product.
• Bulleted list of technical product features.
• Answers to any questions your customers may have about the product.

7 Steps to Writing a Clear Product Description

Follow these steps to write a clear product description that will help reduce returns.

1. Define Your Target Audience

The first step to writing clear and powerful product descriptions is to define your target audience – who is going to buy your product?

For example, if you sell high-end, professional computers, you probably have a different target audience from a store that sells gamer laptops or kids’ tablets. It is important to consider your customers’ intent and motivation in buying these products when you write about them.

As you write your product descriptions, keep these questions in mind:

• How did your customers arrive on your page?
• What are their interests?
• Why would they be interested in your product?
• How would they describe the product to a friend?
• What features or benefits would interest them most?

Considering these questions will help you write product descriptions that are tailored to the type of customer who will purchase the product, increasing the chance they will be satisfied and reducing the likelihood they will return it.

2. Tell a Story

Besides giving relevant product details and convincing customers of its benefits, product descriptions should pack an emotional punch and tell a story.

When writing product descriptions, it’s important to remember that emotions influence customer behavior. Therefore, your product description should be written in a way that elicits emotions. 

Lead your customers to imagine what it would be like to own and use your product. How would they feel? How would their lives be improved?

3. Focus on the Product Benefits

Features are technical information about a product, while benefits describe how the product can improve the customer’s life. While features are important, it’s not enough to just list out the product’s features – customers want to know how those features benefit them.

Explain in relatable terms what effect your product will have on the customers, how it will make them feel, and what result they will gain from using your product.

4. Make Product Descriptions Easy to Scan

Nowadays, people have short attention spans and read only a fraction of the text on a page, so it’s important to make your product descriptions scannable and clearly formatted. 

• Use bullet points to highlight the most important features and benefits.
• Make sure your product descriptions aren’t too long.
• Include plenty of white space.
• Use headers and bolding to break up the page.

Make your product descriptions easy to read by designing them in a clear, scannable format.

5. Use Photos and Videos

In addition to describing your products with words, it can be better in some cases to show than to tell. Consider incorporating product photos and videos to describe the product more clearly. 90% of customers say that product images influence their buying decisions.

Display your products using icons, images, and mixed media such as video to get across as much information as possible and reduce returns.

6. Reflect Your Brand Values and Voice

Is your brand voice casual or professional? Do you like to use tongue-in-cheek humor, or do you keep things more straight-laced?

Use a consistent tone that matches your brand to build customer trust and make your brand memorable.

The way you write about your products should also reflect the values your brand stands for. For example, if your brand has a focus on sustainability, write about how your products are eco-friendly in your product descriptions.

7. Include Sizing Charts

Customers are often hesitant to buy online because they can’t try on the products before purchasing, and each store has slightly different sizing, which can be difficult to determine from images. One of the most common reasons for returns is sizing issues. Providing accurate sizing charts/guides will ensure customers get the right size, which will lower the chance of returns.

Make the sizing charts easily accessible by displaying them clearly on your product pages, and include as many details as possible. Help customers make confident and informed purchasing decisions so that they won’t need to return their products later.

In addition to sizing charts, it is also important to include information about the fit of a specific product in its product description. For example, use descriptive words such as oversized, flowy, or stretchy when describing the product. This will give customers a better idea of what to expect when they purchase the item. 

It Pays to Have Clear Product Descriptions

Product descriptions play a huge part in conversion and in reducing returns. Invest the time and effort into writing powerful product descriptions, and you will quickly see results.

Make product descriptions easy to read, and use complementary resources like sizing charts and media to give customers a clear idea of what your products are and how they can benefit from them.

The more confident customers are in their decision to buy a product, the less likely they’ll be to return it later on. Make sure your product descriptions are clear, scannable, and detailed so customers can get as much information as possible before placing an order.

Follow these tips to keep your return rates and return costs low, and maximize your profits from the holiday season.

What’s the True Cost of Holiday Returns?

Factoring in transportation, processing, and other costs, holiday returns cost online stores anywhere from 17-66% of the price of the original item. 

Regardless of whether the returned item is in good condition, the entire return process can still be expensive due to labor, transport, and inspection costs, as well as the environmental impact of returns.

Because of the high cost of returns, it’s essential to know how to reduce your holiday return rates and properly handle product returns in order to increase your profits this holiday season.

Reverse Logistics Costs

Reverse logistics costs include shipping, labor, processing, and restocking costs. Expect reverse logistics costs to rise during the holiday season as a result of increased sales and returns.

The influx of returns can slow down distribution centers during the peak holiday season. During the holiday season, the focus is more on delivering outbound products, so accepting returns can slow down operations.

Finding ways to make shipping, warehousing, and processing returns more efficient is essential for reducing your return costs. 

Loss of Customers

If it’s a pain to return products, customers are likely to stay away from buying holiday gifts from your store in the future. In fact, 84% of customers would stop buying from an online store after a negative return experience.

Losing customers comes at a great cost to your store, as it is more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones.

The lost lifetime customer value (LTV) and the expense of winning back customers or acquiring new ones add up to a significant cost in both revenue and reputation.

Damaged Reputation

Returns can have a negative impact on your store’s reputation if not handled properly. If someone receives a holiday gift and can’t easily return it, they are unlikely to recommend your store to their friends and family.

Each customer you lose can have a ripple effect, costing you further business down the line, as negative reviews can prevent future customers from completing their purchases.

If your reputation is damaged, you could lose potential customers and referrals, which can have a long-term negative impact on your business.

Environmental Cost

While nearly half of customers and gift recipients will return unwanted gifts in the weeks after the holidays, what many holiday shoppers may not know is that shipping back returned products contributes to carbon emissions, and each year, billions of pounds of returned products end up in landfills. Returns have a huge environmental cost unless handled wisely.

Online returns typically result in more emissions and waste than returns made to brick-and-mortar stores, due to the extended transportation process required. 

When customers return items bought online, they often have to ship them back to the retailer or drop them off at a designated location, after which the product is shipped to a warehouse and then very often to a landfill. 

Tips to Reduce Your Holiday Return Costs

This holiday season, reduce your holiday return costs by following these tips.

Offer “Just Keep It” Returns

Give customers the option of keeping items instead of shipping them back with a returnless return. By eliminating the shipping, processing, handling, and restocking of returned products, your store can save on reverse logistics costs and reduce the environmental impact of returns.

The “just keep it” option is great for products you can’t resell and is based on customers’ purchase history, the value of the products, and the cost of processing the returned products.

It often makes sense to let customers keep lower-priced items as processing the return of these items often isn’t worth it. Products that are difficult or unhygienic to repackage are also often eligible for a returnless return.

Returnless returns during the holidays are already implemented by many leading eCommerce stores such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

Give the Option to Buy Online, Return In-Store (BORIS)

Providing customers with the option to return online purchases to brick-and-mortar stores can reduce transportation, labor, and processing costs. 

More than half of customers plan to do their holiday shopping online. Customers are more likely to shop online if they can return an item in-store. If they’re buying a gift, they’ll want their gift recipient to have the choice of how they can return the gift if they don’t like it.

Offer the option to buy online and return in-store to create a seamless shopping experience and increase customer satisfaction, while reducing your return handling costs. 

Reduce Return Rates

Reducing your return rates minimizes the costs associated with returns. Reduce your holiday return rates by optimizing your eCommerce store to ensure customers have as much information as possible up-front and optimizing your workflows to reduce the likelihood of returns after the holidays.

• Create a Special Holiday Return Policy

It’s important to have a well-thought-out holiday return policy in place, as 44% of customers say that return policies influence what holiday gifts they purchase. 

When creating your holiday return policy, take into account that some customers may be purchasing gifts well in advance of Christmas, and a return policy with a 30-day return window may not be sufficient. 

Consider making your holiday return policy more lenient, with a 60- or 90-day return period, so gift recipients have plenty of time to return items.

Display your holiday return policy clearly on your website and make sure to highlight any special rules in place for the holidays. 

• Optimize Your Delivery Times

Every year, overwhelmed supply chains, unexpected weather events, and understaffed delivery drivers lead to millions of packages not arriving in time for Christmas. This is a problem, as no one wants to receive their Christmas gifts in January.

Reduce post-holiday returns by guaranteeing on-time delivery. Make sure you check your shipping carrier’s cut-off dates and update the holiday shipping cut-off dates on your product pages. 

•  Learn from Last Year’s Holiday Returns

To reduce post-holiday returns, collect holiday return data from past years and determine what you can learn from it. 

Look at data such as: 

• How many items were returned? 
• What were the most common reasons for returns? 
• Which items were most often returned?

With in-depth return data and customer feedback, you’ll have the information needed to implement new workflows, forms of communication, and ways to ensure product integrity. All of these can help you reduce the number of holiday returns this year.

Automate Returns Management

An automated returns management system like ReturnGO can reduce your holiday return costs by automating the return process from start to finish. This saves you time and money by reducing the need for manual processing, and improves customer satisfaction by providing an efficient returns process. 

Automating your return process during high-volume seasons like the holidays can free up your team to focus on other tasks such as fulfillment and customer service inquiries, which often peak during the holiday shopping season.

Reduce return rates, encourage repeat business, bring down costs, and improve your store’s reputation by automating your returns process.

Optimize Your Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics during the holiday season can be tough for even large, well-established eCommerce stores because with returns come increased shipping costs, disruptions in warehouse operations, and questions about what to do with returned products.

Having efficient reverse logistics processes in place before the holiday return rush is essential for reducing return costs and environmental damage.

A great way to optimize your reverse logistics processes is by using a third-party logistics provider (3PL). 3PLs handle inventory management, return shipping, and returned product processing, which can save you time and money compared to managing these tasks yourself or using multiple different providers.

Using a 3PL for reverse logistics is becoming an increasingly popular choice for eCommerce stores – 40% of retailers use a 3PL to handle returns.

Integrating your 3PL with your returns management system gives you a complete and efficient solution for handling the reverse logistics process during the busy holiday season.

Reduce Your Return Costs This Holiday Season

Make sure your store is ready for the holiday return rush. Provide cost-effective return methods and optimize your returns process to reduce the costs of holiday returns, maximize your profits, and start off the New Year ahead of the game.

The Importance of Sustainability During the Holidays

There is an increasing emphasis on sustainable shopping among customers. 78% of customers say a business’s environmental practices influence their buying decisions. For holiday shopping, that number is even higher – 83% of customers look to shop sustainably during the holiday season.

Sustainable eCommerce practices can help you reduce your environmental impact and build customer loyalty during the holiday season.

How to Make Holiday eCommerce More Sustainable

From more eco-friendly packaging to greener delivery options, here are a few practical ways to make a difference to the environment this holiday season.

Use Sustainable Gift Packaging Materials

With all the gift-giving during the holiday season, packaging waste accumulates quickly. In fact, Americans average 43% more waste during the holiday season.

Switch to recyclable, compostable, and reusable packaging materials this holiday season to be more eco-friendly. 67% of customers consider sustainable packaging to be important when buying products.

• Offer compostable gift packaging options, like flexible poly mailers, kraft paper mailers, and corrugated boxes, made from compostable materials such as recycled paper or biodegradable polymers that decompose quickly when composted. This saves a lot of waste from going to landfills.

• Fill empty space inside your packages with compostable tissue paper, while adding an extra touch of branding to the gift unboxing experience.

• Use shipping boxes of the right size to reduce costs and waste. When using boxes that fit the products, a greater volume of packages can be shipped at once, saving both time and money, since shipping costs are often determined by the weight and volume of packages. 

Make sure the boxes you use are the right size for your products to avoid wasting materials and increasing shipping costs.

Choose your packaging wisely to help your holiday gift packaging be as sustainable as possible.

Provide Green Shipping and Return Options

Throughout the year, customers expect fast fulfillment, and even more so during the holiday season. How can you balance quick fulfillment with sustainability? 

Providing eco-friendly shipping options is an excellent way to reduce your carbon emissions.

A third-party logistics provider (3PL) can help you shorten delivery routes and reduce emissions by sending deliveries from a nearby fulfillment center.

3PLs such as Deliverr can also manage your reverse logistics, saving you time, money, and energy with an interconnected network of warehouses that enable you to easily receive returned items across the country. Fast and efficient return processing gives you a huge competitive advantage and reduces environmental impact.

The concept of sustainable delivery is no longer limited to small or specialty businesses – everyone is getting involved, from Amazon switching to electric vehicles to Shopify offsetting their delivery carbon emissions.

Offer the Option of Carbon Offsetting 

During the busiest season for eCommerce, adding the option of carbon offsetting to your online checkout shows your customers that your store is committed to sustainability.

Carbon offsetting refers to reducing carbon gas emissions or storing more carbon by restoring land or planting trees, as a way to compensate for unavoidable carbon emissions.

If every eCommerce store would offset its emissions, it would make a huge environmental impact. Transportation is the biggest source of carbon gas emissions, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency – more than electricity or industry. 

While many eCommerce stores offer the option for customers to add a small amount at checkout to offset their carbon footprint, you can take this one step further by covering carbon offset costs during the holiday season. Communicate this message with an announcement on your website, product pages, and checkout page, such as:

Holiday special – carbon-neutral shipping on all orders!

However you want to get the word out, let your customers know that your store offers carbon-neutral shipping over the holidays. 

Communicate Your Sustainability Efforts

Many online stores publicly report taking sustainability initiatives. However, only 23% promote sustainable practices for the holidays in their shipping options, on the homepage, or on product pages.

Customers are actively looking for eco-friendly eCommerce stores to buy holiday gifts from, so make sure you clearly communicate your commitment to sustainability through photos, guides, animations, tools, and videos.

For example, you can create a series of short videos that outline your store’s eco-friendly practices. If you use compostable packaging, you can create a short explanation teaching customers how to dispose of it correctly. Another great idea is to highlight products that are sustainable and made with eco-friendly materials.

Most importantly, be transparent about what you do to reduce your store’s environmental impact during the holidays.

Reduce Return Shipping

The process of sending back returned gifts results in many unnecessary transportation trips every year.

Directing returned products through a streamlined pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) network can reduce your environmental impact. Multiple packages dropped off at one location for the shipping carrier to pick up saves time, fuel, and carbon emissions. 

Another option for sustainable returns is to allow customers to keep the items, and send them a refund or exchanged item.

Reducing the number of return shipments will help to reduce the environmental impact returns have during the holiday season.

Resell Returned Products to Reduce Waste

Reselling returned products online is known as reCommerce, and is a great way to prevent returned items from going to waste. Many customers are looking to buy used or second-hand products as gifts, to reduce the environmental impact of the holiday season.

By reselling returned products, you create a circular economy that reduces the environmental impact of eCommerce returns significantly.

It has become increasingly popular for eCommerce retailers to resell returned products online. In fact, 50% of second-hand sales are expected to come from online resale by 2024. 

There are many ways you can resell your returned products; in bulk, on third-party reCommerce sites, to liquidation companies, and more.

One easy way to resell returned products is to add a reCommerce section to your online store, where you sell returned products at a discounted price. For example, Best Buy has a section of its online store dedicated to used, clearance, and refurbished products.

ReCommerce can be a winning holiday strategy, as customers are likely to embrace the opportunity to save on their holiday shopping by buying used products, with the added benefit of staying sustainable. 

Reduce Waste With Sustainable eCommerce Practices

This holiday season, help reduce your store’s environmental impact by implementing these sustainable eCommerce practices. 

From optimizing your packaging and shipping to reselling returned products, there are many ways to make your holiday season more sustainable.

Take action this holiday season to reduce waste and promote sustainability.

Why is it Important to Implement Personalization?

Offering a personalized shopping experience is important because customers like to feel seen, and to feel that your business knows and cares about them.

When customers have a positive interaction with an online business, they are more likely to seek out that experience again the next time they want to buy something. 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase when provided with a customized experience.

Customers prefer shopping with eCommerce stores that recognize them as individuals at every step of their journey. 

When customers have personalized interactions they are more likely to spend more. Personalized shopping experiences drive impulse purchases and encourage customers to spend more. In fact, customers spend an average of 34% more when their shopping experience is personalized.

Only 15% of retailers have implemented personalization strategies, so now is the time to set up a personalized customer experience and stay ahead of the game. 

21 Ways to Implement Personalization in eCommerce

Personalizing your customer experience can be as simple as using the customer’s name in emails, or as advanced as offering AI-driven product recommendations.

Take advantage of eCommerce personalization by delivering personalized content throughout the customer journey. Here are a few ways you can personalize your online shopping experience.

1. Offer Tailored Product Education

Provide personalized product training and information for the specific products your customer purchased. 

If your customers don’t have all the information they need to use the product successfully, they will need to reach out to your support team for help or they might even turn to your competitors if they can’t easily figure out how to use your product.

Make sure your customers have all the content they need to succeed, from the ‘whys’ to the ‘hows’. Each of your customers should know how to best utilize your product for their specific needs.

When creating tailored products education, answer these questions:

• What challenges are customers having and how can your product help?
• What will customers be able to accomplish with your product?
• In what ways can your product be used?

Customer-facing knowledge bases and on-demand training material are the two most common forms of product education.

2. Automate Your Customer Experience

Automation can help provide a tailored, personalized customer experience while saving you time and money.

Many parts of the customer journey can be automated, from order fulfillment to customer service, to returns processes, and more.

Essential elements to automate:

Inventory

Inventory management is an integral part of eCommerce and automating your order tracking and stock management can make a huge difference to the customer experience.

Everything from generating and printing shipping labels to marking orders as dispatched to creating order tracking numbers can be automated. 

When you automate your inventory management and fulfillment process, you get your customers their orders faster and more efficiently, while giving them more options on shipping, payment, and stock.

Customer Service

Accelerate customer support with automatized personalization and self-service features.

Using an app like Gorgias, you can set up your live chat so that customers can track an order, initiate a return, or cancel their purchase, without ever chatting with a live agent. Set up personalized templates so that customers will feel like they’re speaking with a human.

Returns

Automate and personalize your returns process with an automated returns management system. 

Using a branded return portal, you can provide a convenient self-service way for customers to request a return or exchange. Customers input their order details and automatically see the items they purchased, and then they can select which items to return and why.

Using customizable eligibility conditions you can personalize the returns process and only show customers return options that are applicable to them.

Offering a convenient returns process makes customers more likely to come back and buy from you again.

3. Develop Customer Profiles

Customer profiles are created to represent the types of customers who would typically use your products and to help make customer-focused decisions.

One of the most important parts of delivering a personalized customer experience is taking the time to understand who your customers are. 

A popular way of defining customer profiles is by creating semi-fictional personas that represent your target audience’s shared characteristics. 

To develop customer profiles:

1. The first and most crucial step in creating customer profiles is fully understanding your own products, services, and your business mission. 

2. Survey your customers to get their feedback on your products and on their perception of your business.

3. Identify your customers’ demographics, psychological characteristics, and behaviors.

Once you have gathered all the information you can, it is important to document your findings in a database using an easy-to-read template. Your customer profile template should include sections for demographics, behaviors and habits, psychological characteristics, and environment. 

Developing customer profiles help you better understand the characteristics shared by your target customers, so that you can market to them more effectively and personalize their customer experience. 

4. Send Personalized Emails

Stores that send personalized emails have better performance across the board, including an 81% increase in click rates, a 133% increase in conversion rates, and a 142% increase in revenue per email compared to stores that send only static one-time emails. 

Make sure to send the right emails at the right times, depending on where the customer is in the customer journey.

Segment your email list based on factors such as:

• Demographics
• Purchase history
• Email opening times

Beyond using the customer’s name, make sure to provide personalized content, messaging, intent, and visuals. Incorporating direct links to the customer’s account page, wishlist, or recent orders is an easy way to instantly make each email more personal and relevant to each customer.

5. Offer Personalized Product Recommendations

Personalized product recommendations can help increase revenue and session time, and make you stand out from your competitors.

There are a number of places on your eCommerce site where product recommendations can be effective.

Homepage Recommendations

Your store’s homepage is the first thing that customers see when they visit your site. Homepage recommendations inform customers about the latest deals and discounts, display a selection of products, and provide personalized offers. 

Product Page Recommendations

Personalized product recommendations on your product pages entice customers to continue browsing, moving from one product they liked to another that complements it.

Shopping Cart Recommendations

Product recommendations in the shopping cart enable you to recommend accessories or products frequently bought together. Make it easy for customers to add recommended products directly to their cart so they don’t have second thoughts and abandon their cart.

Product Category Recommendations

Filters don’t help customers who aren’t sure what they need, especially when there are a large number of products in each product category. Product category recommendations can be used to direct customers towards what they might want to buy based on what you know about them.

Offering personalized product recommendations can be extremely valuable in driving more revenue, increasing average order value (AOV), and providing a positive customer experience.

6. Provide an Omnichannel Experience

Provide a personalized and consistent customer experience across all channels.

Providing an omnichannel customer experience means engaging customers through multiple channels, treating each touchpoint (e.g. social media, SMS, chatbots) as part of a single seamless, frictionless experience.

Whether it’s face-to-face or by phone, email, social media, or live chat – customers expect your business to be there when they need something. 

Using an omnichannel approach, your customers can start their experience on one channel and continue it seamlessly on another. 90% of customers use multiple channels to engage with a business throughout the process of placing an order. 

Businesses that use three or more channels have a 494% higher order rate than those using a single channel.

An omnichannel marketing strategy doesn’t have to mean being everywhere. It means being present and available where your target customers are and delivering a positive and personalized customer experience.

7. Develop a Self-Service Process

Offering a self-service customer experience reduces frustration by enabling customers to find the answers they need quickly and easily.

A self-service customer experience can include accessible information such as FAQs, guides, how-to videos, and a knowledge base. You can also include tips, hints, and best practices to help customers.

Benefits of offering a personalized self-service experience:

• Helping customers solve issues themselves by using their past data and automatically suggesting solutions and tools. 
• Providing easy problem resolutions, tools, and guidance strengthens brand loyalty and gives customers a positive shopping experience.
• Addressing each customer by name, keeping a record of their past purchases and using customer data to create relevant content makes customers feel cared for.

81% of customers want more self-service options. Customers who are able to solve issues on their own are usually more satisfied with their experience and give a high customer service rating. 

8. Follow Up on Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment emails help re-engage customers who created but then abandoned online shopping carts. Abandoning online carts is pretty common – almost 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before the customer completes the purchase. 

Ask yourself the 5 C’s when creating cart abandonment emails:

1. Customer – Is the email tailored to the customer using their name and other elements that make them feel seen and cared about?

2. Context – Does the content of the email address the reasons the customer might have abandoned their cart?

3. Customization – Does the email include personalized elements such as unique subject lines or product recommendations?

4. Concise – Is the email engaging, short, and to the point?

5. Call to Action – Is it easy to find a button or link to the checkout page?

Personalization adds flavor to cart abandonment emails – the trick is to make what may seem like an unwanted marketing message feel like a life-saving, last-ditch opportunity.

9. Speak Your Customers’ Language

To communicate effectively with your customers, you need to speak their language. Using technical jargon will confuse and deter them. Remember that while you may be an industry expert, your customers are not necessarily – so fit the language you use to how your customers think and speak.

Make sure your message doesn’t get lost in a sea of buzzwords and technical jargon. We often become so familiar with our products that we lose sight of the simpler terms that our customers are using. Build trust with your customers by communicating with them the way that they communicate with each other.

To better understand how your customers speak:

1. Read industry publications and see how situations are described. 

2. Attend customers’ events and listen to the phrases and words used to describe challenges.

3. Track current and potential customers on social media to see the phrasing they use. 

4. Join LinkedIn and Facebook groups relevant to your customers’ industries and monitor the discussions and the most commonly used words.

5. Follow industry blogs, online articles, and discussion boards, and see what people are writing about and what they care about.

The goal is to figure out how to communicate your products in terms and phrases that your target customers already use. 

10. Reward Loyal Customers

One of the best ways to keep your eCommerce customers coming back is to reward them for their loyalty. Offer discounts, free shipping, or exclusive access to new products. 

Let your loyal customers know that you appreciate their business and want to keep them coming back for more. 

Everyone loves presents, and your customers are no exception. While traditional loyalty programs are limited to points for purchase, you can add a level of personalization to your customer experience by offering points for social media sharing, uploading images, leaving reviews, and answering surveys. Offering a variety of options for earning points allows the customers to interact with your brand on their terms.

Ensure that you are offering relevant rewards by collecting customer feedback and checking in with your customers.

11. Identify Customer Needs and Motivations

Understanding what your customers want and need enables you to more effectively market to them and provide what they are looking for.

For example, fashion shoppers looking for dress shoes are more likely to want to filter by color than durability, whereas the opposite may apply to a factory worker looking for work shoes (prestige motivated vs safety motivated).

You can identify customer needs and motivations by running surveys, collecting feedback, performing competitor analysis, and doing other market research.

Analyze which pages your customers view the most and do A/B testing on marketing messages that target different customer motivations.

Turn insights into action by tailoring your eCommerce store’s visuals, navigation, and content according to the information you gathered about your customer needs and motivations.

12. Focus on Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation involves grouping customers based on shared qualities, taken from existing data. 

Factors by which to segment your customers:

Demographic 

Group your customers by demographics such as age, gender, language, or occupation.

Geographic 

Use geographic information to segment your customers by location.

Behavior 

Leverage your customers’ behavior and product usage such as purchase frequency and login sessions per month to segment your customers.

Customer Journey

Your customers can be grouped by the stage of the customer journey they are in.

Segmenting your customers enables you to more easily communicate with customers in a way that resonates with them, and personalize their shopping experience in a way that suits them best.

13. Collect Customer Data

Making sure that personalization is respectful and helpful, and not unwanted or creepy depends on designing the right customer data foundation and strategy.

Your personalization experiences are only as good as your data. 

Look at it this way – a personalized customer experience is a meal that you serve, and customer data is the raw ingredients that you’re using in the kitchen. To deliver eCommerce personalization that drives business, you need to start with the right data foundation. 

There are 3 main types of customer data you can collect:

1. First-party data is provided directly by customers through your channels, such as your website or mobile app.

2. Second-party data is provided by an external source for whom that data is first-party.

3. Third-party data is bought, collected, and sold by a data aggregator.

Increased regulations over the last few years have made it more important to ensure that your personalization efforts are based on compliant customer data. 

As consent preferences of data from third-party sources can be unclear, it’s preferable to focus on collecting first-party customer data, which you can track.

Data-driven personalization in eCommerce requires a delicate balance between improving the relevance of the customer experience and respecting data privacy.

To find that balance, follow these rules:

• Collect customer data responsibly
• Keep a customer-centric focus
• Don’t overstep

14. Check In on Your Customers

Take the time to check in on your customers to send a clear message that you care about their experience with your business. This can go a long way in building customer loyalty and creating a positive reputation for your eCommerce store.

You can send customers personalized emails about delivery updates, special promotions, or product recommendations to remind them that you haven’t forgotten about them, that you’re available if they have questions, and that you’re committed to their satisfaction.

Ask your customers for a review after they receive their order or recommend similar or complementary products they may be interested in. Checking in on your customers reminds them that you care and that you see them as individuals. 

15. Be Available Around the Clock

Nowadays it is more important than ever to be available around the clock for your customers. With the click of a button, customers can purchase products and services at any time of day or night, and they expect the same level of customer service and support.

To meet these expectations, your eCommerce store needs to have customer service and support available 24/7. This can be accomplished by using a combination of live customer service representatives and automated systems.

By being available around the clock, you can provide your customers with an exceptional level of customer service, which helps build customer loyalty.

16. Gather Customer Feedback

Gathering customer feedback provides valuable insights into what is working well with your products and what can be done to improve the customer experience. 

Customer feedback is a great way to listen and learn from your customers. You can gain valuable insight into what customers feel is lacking in your business by collecting feedback in a systematic manner. 

When gathered effectively, customer feedback can be used to optimize your customer experience to make it more personalized. 

Methods for gathering customer feedback:

• Customer feedback surveys
• Email and customer contact forms
• Customer interviews
• Social media listening
• Website activity analytics

Think about your most important goals and start with one simple method for collecting customer feedback before branching out to more complex methods such as analytics.

Customer support channels are a great place to begin collecting customer feedback; you can approach every interaction as an opportunity to collect feedback.

17. Create a Customer-Focused Vision Statement

When creating a customer-focused vision statement, it is important to consider what your business wants to achieve and who your target customers are (based on your customer segmentation). Your vision statement should be aspirational yet attainable and should serve as a guide for your team as you work to grow your business. 

Keep your customers at the forefront of your mind as you develop your vision statement. With a customer-focused vision statement, you can ensure that your company is always working to meet the needs of your target market.

A good vision statement will be:

Ambitious

Great vision statements are aspirational and ambitious, conveying a sense of passion for the ideal future toward which the business is working.

Feasible

Your vision should be something that your business will have to strive for while still being achievable.

Broad

Zoom out and broaden the scope of your vision instead of making it finite or specific.

Strategic

Be strategic in selecting the ideas that feel the most relevant – your vision statement should focus on objectives that relate to your business’s mission and purpose.

A vision statement will adapt and change as your business achieves goals, grows, expands its offerings, and updates its mission. Once a year, review your vision statement to make sure it still accurately describes your business’s vision.

18. Offer Customer Support via Social Media

Social media is a customer support channel that is becoming increasingly popular in eCommerce.

1 in 3 social media users would rather use social media customer service than telephone or email customer service.

Social media has become key to multichannel initiatives because it provides a convenient way for customers to engage with eCommerce stores. 

Social channels provide a valuable source of information and insight that your business can use to personalize your online customer experience.

19. Regularly Evaluate Your Products and Services

It’s important to regularly evaluate your eCommerce products and customer service to make sure to keep offering a personalized experience. By understanding your customers’ needs and wants, you can make sure that you meet their expectations. 

Consistently review your customers’ preferences and seek feedback from every available source. Use the insights you gain to develop more customized customer interactions.

By taking the time to evaluate your eCommerce products and customer service, you can ensure that your customers have a more positive and personalized shopping experience.

20. Use AI for Real-Time Personalization

Real-time eCommerce personalization is now possible thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

AI can help recommend products that a customer might be interested in, using AI-based algorithms that heavily rely on real-time behavioral data of the user, providing them with hyper-personalized experiences.

In addition, AI can be used to provide customer support, by answering questions or resolving issues. As AI technology continues to advance, more and more businesses will use AI to create personalized customer shopping experiences.

By using AI for real-time eCommerce personalization, you can provide your customers with a better overall experience, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and higher sales.

21. Close the Personalization Loop with Returns

Provide a personalized online return process to create an overall positive customer experience.

Use data from your returns process to improve the customer experience. Look at which products are being returned and why, and then use those insights to improve the customer experience even more.

For example, if you notice that certain products are being returned frequently for the same reason, you can take steps to address the issue.

Give customers a choice in how they return or exchange products, and make the returns process as easy as possible. Use an automated return management system to provide a personalized return experience.

Personalizing Your Customer Experience Goes a Long Way

From the initial look through your site to the final checkout, an excellent customer experience must include personalized content that appeals to your customers’ wants and needs in order for them to be satisfied and come back and buy from you again.

Digital technology has paved the way for eCommerce businesses like yours to go the extra mile to make every customer feel special by implementing personalization.

Pick one element to personalize and get started on improving your eCommerce shopping experience and creating a competitive advantage.

There are many ways to make packaging more sustainable, from using recycled materials to choosing packaging that can be reused or recycled.

Customers are becoming increasingly aware of what businesses are doing in terms of sustainability, so using eco-friendly packaging can be a huge factor in your success. 

Why is Eco-Friendly Packaging Important?

Eco-friendly packaging is important for reducing the environmental impact of eCommerce because it uses fewer materials, is more environmentally friendly to produce, and is easier to dispose of in a sustainable manner. 

By reducing your carbon footprint, promoting sustainable business practices, and using eco-friendly packaging materials, you can ensure that your eCommerce store aligns with your customer’s values and that no huge environmental damage is caused.

Here are some of the benefits of using eco-friendly packaging in eCommerce.

Decreased Carbon Footprint

Switching to eco-friendly packaging reduces your business’s carbon footprint.

Packaging production is hugely energy-intensive and emits greenhouse gases that damage the environment and contribute to global warming. Creating new packaging from existing materials uses less energy than using raw materials.

In spite of their convenience and affordability, plastic, styrofoam, and other non-biodegradable packaging materials negatively impact the environment by clogging water drains, raising global temperatures, polluting water bodies, and adding to landfills.

Choosing sustainable packaging helps the environment and decreases your carbon footprint.

Improved Brand Image and Increased Sales

Your packaging is the first experience your customers have with your products. Using eco-friendly packaging shows customers that your brand is committed to sustainability.

There has been a growing awareness of the need for sustainability in recent years, to the point where 83% of customers consider the environment when making purchasing decisions and 78% think that businesses could be doing more to be eco-friendly. 

In a world where customers increasingly prefer buying from eco-friendly brands, using eco-friendly packaging improves your brand image and increases your chances of attracting environmentally-conscious customers.

Reduced Waste

More and more eCommerce stores are taking measures to reduce packaging waste and use more recyclable or reusable materials.

Over 2 billion tons of waste end up in landfills worldwide every year, with 91 percent of packaging waste being sent to landfills. 

Certain states in the US have established regulations around packaging waste, especially in regard to single-use plastics, shopping bags, and increased recycling.

To reduce the amount of packaging that ends up in landfills, switch to compostable or recyclable packaging, or reuse packaging from returned products.

Types Of Eco-Friendly Packaging Solutions

Choosing the right packaging material will help your online store reduce its carbon footprint, improve its brand image, and increase sustainability.

Corrugated Packaging

Corrugated packaging is made up of around 70% to 100% of recycled material.

Manufactured from paper pulp, corrugated packaging is commonly made from pine trees and can also be created from woodchips and by-products of many types of paper-making processes.

The materials used in corrugated packaging usually come from sustainable forests, where harvested trees are replaced with seedlings to start the process again. This makes corrugated packaging highly renewable. 

Besides being easily recyclable and renewable, corrugated packaging can also be reused, helping to further reduce packaging costs and environmental impact. Many corrugated boxes are designed to be easily collapsible and fully reusable.

Compostable Packaging

Compostable packaging is made from organic materials that break down in a reasonable period of time and leave no toxic chemicals or harmful particles behind. 

The most popular type of compostable packaging is bioplastics, which are plastics made from renewable resources. Bioplastics help reduce the use of fossil fuels for plastic production and can be made from materials such as corn, wood, algae, sugarcane, and more. 

One of the most commonly used bioplastics in packaging is PLA, which is a functional, renewable, and comparable replacement for traditional plastic packaging often made from cornstarch or sugarcane.

Another example of a compostable packaging alternative is mushroom-based packaging called mycelium packaging, which is used as a replacement for Styrofoam.

Recycled Packaging

Recycled packaging is made of recycled materials, as part of a circular economy. By using recycled materials you give a second life to plastics or cardboard that have already been produced and used.

By using recycled packaging you can reduce the use of natural resources, decrease landfill waste, and prevent pollution by minimizing the need for raw materials.

Recycled Plastics

Using 100% recycled plastic is a great way to maintain your commitment to sustainability even in cases where plastic packaging is the most practical solution for your business and shipping needs.

You can reduce the need for raw materials by using recycled plastic for your packaging. It is important to note that most plastic can be recycled only 2-3 times, which means that even recycled plastic packaging will eventually end up in landfills.

Recycled Paper and Cardboard

Paper and cardboard are among the most recyclable materials that prevent waste pollution. When striving to maintain a high level of eco-friendly packaging, be sure to use recycled cardboard and paper that have been obtained from post-industrial or post-consumer sources.

Sustainable Packaging is the Future

Take part in reducing the environmental impact of eCommerce by shifting to eco-friendly packaging.

From recycled plastics to biodegradable packaging, there’s a wide variety of options available for eco-friendly packaging, and you can choose to use whatever suits your products best. 

Assess the packaging your eCommerce store uses and see what you can change to make your business more sustainable.

There are a variety of reasons for split shipments, including having inventory stored in different places or not being able to fit everything into one box. Split shipments cost money, generate environmental waste, and are generally an inefficient way to ship out orders. 

Let’s take a closer look at split shipments and how to reduce them.

What are Split Shipments?

A split shipment is when an order of multiple products is sent in a few separate shipments. The customer receives multiple packages even though they ordered everything together.

Why are Split Shipments Used?

Sending out an order in separate shipments can happen for the following reasons:

Products are Sent From/To Different Locations

Products may need to be shipped from a few different warehouses/fulfillment centers or at different times, and customers may request to receive different parts of their order to separate addresses.

An order of multiple products may need to be fulfilled from two fulfillment centers if one doesn’t have enough stock to fulfill the entire order. This gets the products to the customers more quickly, instead of waiting for one fulfillment center to get more inventory.

Similarly, if the products for the order aren’t all ready at the same time, you can ship them in parts, starting with the items that are ready.

Another reason for split shipments is when customers want to split up their orders to be sent to multiple addresses. While many customers will create separate orders for each location, some customers may want to purchase a few products in a single order. This is particularly frequent during the holiday season when people are buying a lot of gifts.

The Items Won’t Fit into One Package

You might want to split your shipments when dealing with heavy or large products – equipment, furniture, etc.

For example, an order of four watch straps will usually fit into a single package. Conversely, if you order two couches, you wouldn’t expect to receive one huge box containing both. It would make more sense for them to come in two separate boxes because each product is so big and heavy. 

When calculating your packaging size and weight, you also need to make sure to leave space in the box or package for dunnage and protective materials, especially when shipping fragile items.

Another thing to take into account is that different shipping carriers have their own rules and limitations, such as maximum weights and heights for shipments. 

The Downside of Split Shipments

Some of the main reasons you would want to avoid eCommerce split shipments include:

Packaging Waste

Shipping a few boxes instead of one wastes packaging, which can be a big issue for brands who want to be eco-friendly.

Even when using eco-friendly packaging, regularly sending out split shipments isn’t environmentally conscious.

83% of customers consider the environment when making purchase decisions, and shipping multiple packages separately might not sit well with those customers who care about shopping sustainably.

Shipping Costs

Sending out split shipments ends up costing more since you (or the customers) are paying for transportation to the same location twice or more times per order.

Another factor to take into account is that depending on where the separate shipments are sent from, the final cost to the same destination may change based on shipping zones.

How to Reduce Split Shipments

Optimizing your supply chain can help you reduce the need for split shipments.

Here are some steps you can take to reduce eCommerce split shipments:

Have Enough Products in Stock

Making sure not to run out of stock will reduce your split shipments.

In order to make sure you always have enough inventory in stock, you can track:

• How much inventory you have at each fulfillment center.
• How much time you have to reorder each product before running out.
• How your inventory is affected by seasons and sales.
• How much money you can save on shipping by moving your inventory to a different fulfillment center.

In addition, you can ensure you always have the relevant products on hand by recommending products to your customers that can only be fulfilled from the same location as the main item in their order. By consolidating the order, you can reduce the packaging and shipping costs.

Spreading out your inventory across your different fulfillment centers can improve your shipping costs and times. Avoid running out of stock by planning ahead and tracking your inventory.

Understand Customer Behavior Patterns

Improve your eCommerce logistics process and provide a better customer experience by understanding your customers’ shopping behavior patterns.

Think through the following questions:

• Where are most of your customers located? 
• Can you distribute your inventory to multiple fulfillment centers?
• Which products are often bought together? 
• How often do customers come back and buy again? 

It’s important to understand how your customers shop in order to adapt your inventory and shipping processes accordingly.

If certain products are often purchased together, you can group them as bundles and increase your average order value. Or if you have repeat customers purchasing the same products frequently, it might be worth offering a subscription plan.

You can also consider giving customers a choice of consolidating all of their ordered products into one shipment. Customers may choose to wait longer to receive everything together instead of getting several separate shipments.

For example, Amazon lets customers choose to receive multiple orders together at a later time rather than automatically getting the fastest shipping method. 

Streamline Your Shipping

From packaging to inventory management, it’s important to understand why split shipments are used and how to reduce them.

Reducing split shipments saves you money, reduces waste, and makes your supply chain more efficient.

Generally, profit margins depend on the type of products you sell. If you are a reseller (of other brand products), your gross profit margin could be 25%. 

For a direct-to-customer eCommerce business, the gross profit margin could be 40-60% or higher. The more the profit margin, the better for your business. 

There are various ways to increase the profit margin for an eCommerce business. Let’s get to know them: 

1. Brand Awareness

It’s estimated that there are 12-24 million eCommerce websites worldwide, with more stores adding up each day. Amidst such a high range, the competition is high too. So, you must focus on a branding strategy that raises awareness. 

The rule of thumb is to familiarise people with your eCommerce brand, so they buy more from you. These repeated purchases and leads can improve both incremental sales and market share. All in all, it can increase your profit margin and give you a better edge in the competitive market.  

2. Reducing Your eCommerce Return Rates

The average online purchase rate for an eCommerce business is 18.1%. Moreover, about 80.2% of returns occur because of damaged/broken products. With such statistics, you must know that high return rates have a huge impact on profit margins.

If it keeps increasing, you may soon face backlash in business-customer relationships. It may also discourage the buyers from returning to your website.

That’s why it’s important to reduce the return rate for your eCommerce business. Reducing rates will create value for both the shoppers and retailers. It will also ensure more profit and a happier customer base. 

The best way to reduce your eCommerce return rates is by ensuring that the products meet your customer expectations.

For that, you can analyze the customer return pattern, define return policy, and introduce exchange over returns. 

3. Try BeProfit, the Profit Analysis Dashboard

The best way to improve your eCommerce profit margin is by having a clear picture of where your business stands. And how could you do so? Through BeProfit. 

BeProfit is a top-rated profit analysis dashboard that can interpret your eCommerce data for better profits and business growth. It integrates all the performance KPIs on one board for a complete overview. Also, it helps to understand business metrics by breaking complex data into precise graphs/charts. 

BeProfit is trusted by the sharpest eCommerce minds and is quick to set up. You just need to get the app, sync the platforms, and start making data-driven decisions. It’s that easy!

Its precise profit analysis, full customizability, and seamless integration make this tool even more convenient. BeProfit can cut down your extra efforts and help you discover the true eCommerce profits at a glance. 

4. Customer Loyalty Programs

Customer retention is the base of earning good profit margins. The more customers you retain, the better sales you drive. So, you must introduce loyalty programs that engage the customers and encourage them to buy frequently from you. 

About 48% of shoppers say that the most critical time for any company to gain loyalty is during their first purchase. In that phase, you can try out several types of loyalty programs, including point-based, hybrid, and perk programs. 

You can also advance loyalty programs through gamification. Say, by offering badges to the members who log in multiple times (weekly).

Loyalty programs can encourage repeat consumers and reduce marketing spending. It can also increase revenue which can result in higher profit margins. 

5. Boost Sales by Selling High-Margin Products

Selling products with high-margin profit is better than low-margin ones. That’s because low-margin products make you work hard for fewer returns. Meanwhile, if you sell high-margin products, you earn greater profits with minimum sales. 

If you want your high-margin products to sell, you must increase the visibility for the same. For example, you can create a hybrid catalog that involves both high and low-margin products. But in the list, you can emphasize the high-margin products more, so they receive more exposure. 

You can work on your backend and configure the high-margin products to appear more commonly in the site search results.   

6. Work on Product Content

Did you know that 40% of consumers have returned an online purchase due to poor product content quality? Similarly, more than 90% of online shopping carts were abandoned, with poor product descriptions being one of the reasons. 

That’s why, as an eCommerce business owner, you shouldn’t miss on producing premium quality content for good profit margins. Customers are likely to buy products that seem legitimate. 

It should have proper information/details along with high-quality images. As people are buying your product online, poor product content is a big turn-off for the customers. You must also optimize your website to be mobile-friendly so that customers can stay longer.  

7. Right Number of Stock

As an eCommerce business owner, you know the importance of product stock for profit margins. Your inventory should have the right number of stock. It should neither be overstocked nor understocked. 

If it’s understocked, you might miss on loyal customers and good sales. Similarly, if it’s overstocked, you will be draining unnecessary cash. Moreover, there is the risk of products getting out of fashion or degraded over time. 

That’s why you should research your customers and stock up accordingly. You can add up some extra stock but do not go overboard with it.

Final Words 

These are the seven effective ways by which you can increase the profit margins for your eCommerce business. See how your profit margins improve when you combine all or a few of these methods!

The chargeback mechanism was introduced many years ago to help build consumer trust in Card-Not-Present transactions. 

And it worked. When a buyer falls prey to an unauthorized transaction, if there’s an order misrepresentation or delivery issue, the buyer can file a chargeback to seek remediation from their bank; if they couldn’t reach a clear consensus with the seller.

As eCommerce evolves, cardholders begin to see many loopholes around chargeback laws. So instead of using chargebacks to avoid fraud and transaction abuse, many cardholders now use chargebacks for gaming the system and getting freebies.

Go ahead and Google it. The numbers will make your brain hurt. One estimate says that chargebacks cost eCommerce businesses ~$200 billion annually.

Can a Merchant Prevent Chargebacks?

First, it’s crucial to re-emphasize that most chargebacks are illegitimate. It could be that the customer had buyer’s remorse and thought to get their money back by filing a chargeback. In other instances, the cardholder did not recognize the billing statement and assumed it was fraudulent. But there are scenarios where the buyer makes a transaction with the single purpose of filing a chargeback. These are classified as friendly fraud, and each successful case means you lose the sales revenue and goods shipped and incur other ancillary charges.

Also, if your chargeback rate goes above the predetermined card network threshold, that means more trouble. Your business will enter a chargeback monitoring program or the Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants list, meaning you will no longer get the standard payment processing account.

 So, can a merchant prevent chargebacks?

The answer is yes. Even though friendly fraud accounts for over 75% of all transaction disputes, Chargeflow research has found that merchants can avoid ~40% of all chargebacks with informed mitigation strategies.

The logic is simple. If you realign your chargeback approach and close internal loopholes that often trigger disputes, you could make it difficult for even determined criminals to gain access to your store. 

That said, the following passage highlights seven huge mistakes merchants make when fighting chargeback and how to avoid those revenue-draining blunders.

7 Rookie Mistakes Merchants Make When Fighting Chargebacks

1. Not responding on time.

When a customer files a chargeback, you have a definite timeframe to respond, depending on the card network you’re working with. Visa merchants have 30 days to respond to a chargeback, while MasterCard gives 45 days. Over at PayPal, merchants have 10 days to submit their PayPal dispute evidence. 

Failure to respond promptly means you’re guilty as charged. Hence, if you wish to fight the chargeback, do your best to stay updated with each payment platform’s chargeback time limits and send your documentation promptly.

2. Poor paperwork

Aside from being prompt with your chargeback response, the quality of your documentation also matters. The chargeback remediation process is a daunting uphill battle with ever-changing rules. But you will be fighting amiss if you don’t do your due diligence to assemble tangible, compelling evidence to establish the transaction’s legitimacy. 

Ideally, you should keep track of all purchase receipts, shipping and delivery confirmations records, and all relevant customer correspondence. Such an organized system might mean spending some extra subscription bucks, but it’ll surely pay off when a customer files a dispute.

3. Not communicating with the customer.

Assuming all chargebacks that come your way are the fault of the cardholder might create blind spots in your mediation approach. Merchants without consistent, reliable strategies also open back doors for disputes, as we noted earlier.

Therefore, before sending in your chargeback response, you should contact the customer to hear their side of the story. And if you’re about to find a middle ground with them, and they agree to withdraw the case, it’s advisable to still respond to the chargeback and include the agreement with your customer.

4. Not having well-crafted Refund, Return, and Exchange Policies.

Not having a well-drafted order return, refund, and exchange policy is one of the reasons merchants incur buyers’ wrath. And even when you have such a policy and don’t display it where the buyer can quickly locate it, you will still be shooting yourself in the foot. When challenging a chargeback, an obscure policy isn’t the best recourse.

If you make your policy clear, accessible, and flexible to underscore what constitutes a sales-final and returnable items, you might save yourself the burden of chargeback representment.

5. Not understanding the chargeback reason code.

The chargeback reason code, an alphanumeric code given by the card issuer involved in a chargeback, helps you understand what you’re fighting. It helps you know how to adapt your strategies to the battle at hand.

The problem with these codes is they don’t always show the cardholder’s intent. For example, suppose you are dealing with an online shoplifter whose sole purpose for the transaction is to file a chargeback. No reason code their bank provided will tell you their actual intent. Also, the trail of documents between the various parties involved in the chargeback might cause significant discrepancies between what the cardholder specified and what the merchant received.

Either way, it’s advisable to tailor your documentation to that reason code. And ensure you’re familiar with the changing reason codes across networks and the documentation required for each code.

6. Writing off chargebacks as a cost of doing business.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but research shows that ~43% of merchants say they have no chance of winning a dispute, and 34% lack the confidence of ever winning a dispute. Yet, 51% of merchants have seen an uptick in their chargeback volume.

Industry records show that global chargeback costs could reach $117.47 billion by 2023, with the average industry cost per chargeback expected to reach $191. 

Merchants write off chargebacks as a cost of doing business for the lack of strategic chargeback remediation strategies to combat disputes and recover losses. Get educated on industry best practices to limit dispute exposure. And when scammers force their hand, you should know how to put the fear of god into those scoundrels.

7. Not automating chargebacks.

Responding to chargebacks in the given time frame and providing a thoroughly detailed response to help win the case is a challenge for most merchants. Plus, the chargeback mediation process is highly time-consuming, so you often put other urgent tasks on the back burner.

Most merchants find that their chance of winning hovers around 12%, no matter how hard they fight. Yet, Chargeflow’s fully automated chargeback solution is helping merchants recover disputes without lifting a finger, with up to a 75% win rate. And the success-based pricing model means merchants only pay when they win cases.

Chargeback fraud is a growing challenge for the entire eCommerce ecosystem

The global pandemic and its antecedents have created a worsening fraud situation. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and Grant Thornton, 51 percent of their research respondents uncovered increased fraud since the beginning of the pandemic; 71 percent expect fraud levels to increase over the next year. What’s more? A similar report surveying over 300 merchants found that 65% of respondents saw an increase in chargeback fraud in 2022. 

Educating yourself on these issues makes sense. And having the necessary frameworks to ensure you don’t spend your working hours fighting to recover lost revenue is how you scale.

In eCommerce, profit is what matters. Your Shopify store may be generating huge amounts of sales from Google Ads or social media marketing, but if you’re not seeing the difference on your bottom line, it’s not worth anything. 

Instead of becoming overwhelmed trying to figure out profit margins, net vs growth, and other profitability factors, it’s time to leave the profitability calculations to someone else and actually learn how to increase your business’ profits.

Perform a Profitability Analysis

Metrics. Everyone wants them, and everyone needs them. 

Measuring your online store’s profitability factors can help you figure out what strategies are worth spending time and effort developing.

Many eCommerce businesses determine profitability with the help of a profitability analysis such as BeProfit, which calculates your costs and profits, and provides insights into how you can improve your Shopify store and make it more profitable in the long run.

Through a profitability analysis, you can determine your outgoing costs, such as:

• Shipping
• Marketing
• Employee Wages
• Warehousing
• Taxes

Analyzing your outgoing costs, revenue, and profit enables you to direct your focus to customers, campaigns, and products that are bringing you the largest profit.

With the right analytics, you can ensure your budget is spent on strategies that will generate a positive return on investment.

5 Tips to Improve Your Store’s Profits

1. Increase Your Store’s Trustworthiness

Being a trustworthy brand is essential for generating sales and increasing profit margins. Building trust between you and your customers encourages them to make purchases from your Shopify store which, in turn, increases your profit. 

In today’s world of misleading privacy practices and misinformation, establishing your online store’s trust is essential. 

For example: Customers might abandon their shopping carts if they see hidden charges when they reach the payment page.

If you are transparent and earn your customers’ trust, your profits will grow tremendously.

Customers are more likely to trust your store if you:

• Share your brand story to help customers feel like you’re an authentic and relatable business.
• Show social proof such as reviews, user-generated reviews, photos, and customer statistics.
• Be transparent about costs and pricing.
• Clearly display contact information to show that there is a real person behind the screen who can be approached with questions and concerns.

Building a good eCommerce site that functions well and communicates your message is essential, and gaining your customers’ trust will have a huge impact on your conversion rates and profit.

2. Automate and Outsource Time-Consuming Tasks

Time spent doing repetitive (yet essential) tasks is time that could instead be used to generate more business such as figuring out how to reach new customers, executing marketing plans, and expanding your business.

So how can you keep the wheels of your business turning without having to spend large amounts of your day on basic repetitive tasks? 

The answer is automation and outsourcing. 

Many parts of your eCommerce business can be automated, from return management to customer service to data management, saving you considerable amounts of time and money that can be devoted to more effective tasks.

Additionally, you can outsource tasks such as order fulfillment, advertising, and administrative work, which saves you the time and effort that you would need to spend if you managed everything in-house.

3. Write Detailed Product Descriptions

A well-written product description has the power to propel your customers through your sales funnel. Incorporating creativity and product benefits into your product description, your store becomes more likely to convert first-time shoppers. 

The goal of product descriptions is to give the customer enough information to make them want to buy the product immediately.

When writing your product descriptions, some questions to take into account are:

• What do customers gain from using your product?
• What problems does your product solve?
• What separates your product from others on the market?

Providing your customers with all the important information about your products reduces your customer service inquiries and helps them decide whether the product is right for them, which in turn helps lower your return rates and saves you time and money.

4. Offer Perks to Loyal Customers

Incentivizing customer loyalty is an important aspect of your eCommerce business because it’s cheaper to retain existing customers than to look for new customers. 

Offering rewards can increase customer retention by keeping customers engaged with your brand. 75% of customers say that receiving an incentive increases the likelihood of making another purchase. 

Rewards can be discounts, free shipping, or exclusive access to new products. Offering loyalty rewards can have a significant impact on the customer experience by evoking an emotional connection with your customers.

Offer rewards to loyal customers to show that you appreciate them and to keep them coming back to buy more. 

5. Use Data to Optimize the Customer Experience

Data is essential for making smart business decisions, especially in eCommerce, where good data enables you to significantly increase sales, margins, and profits. 

Tracking your data helps you always be on top of what customers prefer, what’s selling, and what’s not moving.

With the advantage of data analytics, you can set the right pricing for products and target high-value customers to increase profit for your Shopify store. 

Data can provide insights into how customers behave and what they prefer, which can show you which products you need to focus on and where you need to provide better service.

Identify Your Weak Points and Take Action

Doing a profitability analysis can provide you with information that you can use to optimize your eCommerce store.

Once you know where your costs are highest, you can take action to reduce those costs by automating or outsourcing certain aspects of your business, and increase your profits by focusing on your customers and giving them what they need.

A chargeback is a payment refund that occurs when your customer disputes a credit card transaction via their credit card company or bank instead of contacting you directly for a refund. Dealing with chargebacks can be a difficult and time-consuming process that can greatly impact your profit and reputation. 

Chargebacks often occur due to a lack of communication between the customer and the merchant. While chargebacks should be used as a last resort, some customers jump to initiate a chargeback when it’s not clear to them how they can get a refund from the merchant. Having a clear, accessible, and well-implemented returns and shipping policy can help minimize chargebacks.

When do eCommerce chargebacks occur and how can they be prevented?

We will answer these and more questions, and provide tips and strategies to reduce avoidable chargebacks.

Why do chargebacks happen?

Before diving into ways to prevent chargebacks, let’s take a look at the top reasons customers initiate a chargeback.

• 30% – Chargebacks resulting from transactions made with a stolen card.
• 26% – Chargebacks resulting from undelivered orders.
• 15% – Chargebacks initiated due to retailers shipping the wrong product.
• 8% – Chargebacks resulting from orders not as described.

Learn more about Shopify Chargebacks and How To Fight Them.

As you can see, there are many reasons customers might want a chargeback. By implementing a few best practices you can turn those chargebacks into refunds, or avoid them altogether and improve customer satisfaction.

3 Most Common Chargeback Reasons 

1. Poor Product Descriptions

If the products purchased are not what was advertised, your customers may complain to their credit card company, which could result in a chargeback being issued. This is called friendly fraud and is an example of a situation that could be avoided by directly issuing a refund or product exchange.

Solutions:

Write accurate and detailed product descriptions

Make sure your product descriptions are clear and accurately describe the item. Adding photos and reviews to the product page can reassure customers that the product fits their needs.

Make returns and refunds easy

Display your returns policy clearly on your website, so your customers can be confident that if they are unhappy with their purchase, they can return it instead of initiating a chargeback. Not sure how to write a detailed return policy? Check out our guide on how to create a clear returns policy.

2. Wrong Product Shipped/Undelivered Orders

This chargeback reason occurs when the item your customer ordered never arrived, arrived damaged, or the wrong product was shipped. This can happen due to merchant errors, defective packaging, or delivery mistakes.

Solutions:

Have a clear shipping policy 

Merchants that do not have a well-drafted shipping and order fulfillment policy are susceptible to this kind of eCommerce chargeback. Let your customers know how long shipping will take, and make sure you request confirmation upon delivery. Avoid these common shipping mistakes to make sure your shipping process is streamlined and efficient.

Avoid miscommunications 

Provide your customers with shipping and tracking information, send updates throughout the shipping process, and be available to answer any questions they may have. 

3. Fraudulent Transactions

Fraud is the number one reason for chargebacks. Customers can claim a chargeback in instances where a charge was made on their credit card without their authorization. Stolen credit cards are the most common form of fraud in this case.

Solutions:

Verify your customers’ information

Use 2-factor authentication, require proof of delivery, and keep records of all transaction information.

Use a chargeback mitigation tool

Instead of having to handle inevitable chargebacks yourself, you can choose to automate the chargeback mitigation process with an app such as Chargeflow, that manages eCommerce disputes and chargebacks for you.

Conclusion

Having clear product descriptions, constant communication with your customers, and clear refund and return policies will help you minimize chargebacks in your Shopify store.

Make things simple for yourself – put your customized returns policy in place using ReturnGO so your customers won’t think of chargebacks as an option, then automate the chargeback mitigation process with Chargeflow so you won’t have to handle chargebacks yourself. 

Chargebacks are a difficult part of eCommerce, but that doesn’t mean you have to take it lying down. By knowing what steps you can take, you can reduce your online store’s unnecessary chargebacks.

To boost your profitability, you need to assess every part of your business, identify areas for cost savings, and determine ways to improve the customer experience.

It’s time to craft a long-term profitability strategy in order to remain competitive and continue growing your business.

4 Strategies To Improve Your Profitability

Take action to generate new, sustainable revenue streams while optimizing existing processes to save time and money.  

1. Focus on Customer Retention

Customer retention is the ultimate growth strategy and should be a key focus for all eCommerce businesses. 

Keeping customers loyal to your store is way more cost-effective than acquiring new customers.

In a world where mediocre service is the norm, customers are blown away when a company goes the extra mile to resolve an issue in a proactive manner or offers personalized emails, discounts, and designs.

• Create a welcoming homepage that makes a good first impression on new shoppers.
• Provide detailed product descriptions and precise search results.
• Share your brand story to help customers get to know you.
• Offer customer loyalty programs and personalized recommendations.
• Display social proof such as reviews.
• Make costs and pricing transparent.

By going above and beyond to make your customers trust your store and have confidence in you, you’ll score life-long customers and receive referrals and recommendations that are extremely valuable.

If you want your eCommerce store to stand out, create an unforgettable experience for your customers.

2. Increase Your Average Order Value

To increase your profits, focus on increasing your Average Order Value (AOV). Your AOV is the average amount of money your customers spend each time they order from your eCommerce store. 

To calculate your Average Order Value, divide your total revenue by the number of orders.

For example, if your total revenue this year was $20,000 and you fulfilled 1,550 orders, your AOV would be $12.90: 20,000 / 1,550 = 12.90

Strategies you can use to increase your Average Order Value: 

• Add product recommendations to product and checkout pages. 
• Upsell or cross-sell complementary products. 
• Provide order minimum incentives such as free shipping or a discount on orders over a certain amount. 
• Offer coupons or deals on higher-margin products.

A great way to implement these strategies is to segment your customers into groups such as small and big spenders or low and high-frequency customers, depending on purchase history – then target each group with different offers.

The higher your AOV, the more you get out of every customer.

3. Automate and Outsource Your Supply Chain

You can generate significant profitability gains in fulfillment and returns by refining your supply chain. 83% of eCommerce retailers do not yet use AI technology to support their supply chain and returns management. Be one of the first to jump on the wave that is the future of eCommerce. 

Even small changes can significantly reduce your costs and make your business run more efficiently.

Outsource Order Fulfillment

Optimize your fulfillment costs by outsourcing your shipping and inventory management to a 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) company. Minimizing losses, delays, and stockouts as well as utilizing the most cost-effective fulfillment options can help to improve your bottom line.

Automate Product Returns

Automate your returns process through a returns management system. A strategic approach to reducing returns is crucial to eCommerce success, and automating your returns helps you manage your returns more effectively and reduce your return rates.

A high return rate can have a big impact on your profit margins, and can often signal the end of customer relationships. 

Streamline your returns process to reduce return rates, encourage repeat business, bring down your expenses, and reflect well on your store.

4. Provide an Easy-to-Navigate Website

Your website is the face of your business and so it needs to be enticing enough to lure customers into your eCommerce store. 

In order to grab your readers’ attention within the first few seconds, your site needs to be interesting and easy to read. Make it easy to browse through your online store, and make every page skimmable.

Focus on optimizing:

Checkout Process

When customers decide to purchase a product, the last thing they want is a long checkout process. Make sure your checkout process is streamlined and easy to navigate.

An average of 81% of customers abandon their carts before buying, and half of your customers are less likely to go through with the purchase if the checkout process takes longer than half a minute. 

Focus on making the checkout experience seamless for your customers, and offer easy payment options to ensure higher conversion rates.

Return Policy

Returns have a huge impact on customer loyalty. Clearly defining how your returns process works and advertising it appropriately will let your customers know what to expect. 

Clearly display your return policy on your website. Use a visible button or place links in easy-to-find places, such as in your website footer, on the checkout page, and in emails to your customers. 

66% of customers read the return policy before purchasing, so make sure to display your policy in a way that’s impossible to miss.

Craft a Long-Term Profitability Strategy

Running a profitable eCommerce business isn’t a matter of luck – it’s a calculated effort that requires continual work.

Technology, trends, and customer taste all change over time, and you must evolve with them if you want to succeed in the eCommerce world. 

Take steps to reduce your costs and enhance the customer experience to ultimately boost your business’s profitability.

With A/B testing you can drastically improve your customers’ online shopping experience, resulting in better click-through rates, conversions, customer loyalty, and more.

When done well, A/B testing can be a powerful way to improve your business’s most critical metrics.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing, also known as split testing, presents 50% of users with an alternate version of a webpage in order to test the effectiveness of a particular variable. The idea is to see which of the two options achieves better results. 

A simple example of A/B testing is creating two different web design variations, and each customer will be shown one of two different landing pages. By comparing conversion rates of the two different versions of the page, you can see which is more effective.

Things that can be tested by A/B testing include:

• Which product page layout is better for conversion?
• Does offering free return shipping make customers buy more?
• Where should the call-to-action button be located?
• What images and video clips do customers prefer seeing?

Using actionable data, you can get a feel of how your customers react to certain scenarios and what needs to be changed to improve the customer experience and conversion rates. 

Who Should Use A/B Testing?

Everyone in the eCommerce industry can benefit from A/B testing, from marketers to web designers to business owners. The largest companies in the world are constantly A/B testing right under your nose. 

Consider Amazon, which grew from being a small eCommerce store that sold books to being the largest online retailer in the world. Amazon’s success can be attributed largely to CEO Jeff Bezos’s enthusiasm for constantly testing, experimenting, and innovating the way the company works.

Look at the ways Amazon has revolutionized the online shopping experience:

• One-click ordering.
• Dash buttons that allow you to reorder products simply by pressing a button.
• Fast and free shipping.
• Personalized recommendations.

These innovations were not accidental – they were the result of multivariate testing and making decisions based on their results.

If you want to increase your conversion rates, A/B testing is the best way to discover insights that will guide you in the right direction.

How A/B Testing Works

A/B testing may sound like a complex process but it’s actually quite simple. 

Let’s break down the steps of creating an A/B test:

1. Do the Research

Look at your competitors and analyze your store’s internal data to look for areas that could be improved with testing.

2. Form the Hypothesis

What is it you want to test and why? Based on your findings or even on a gut feeling, make an assertion to be tested. 

Do you have a gut feeling that if you changed your Facebook page button from ‘click here’ to ‘shop now’ you might get more clicks? Can’t decide whether to have 4 products per row or 5? Test it.

A hypothesis is measurable, aspires to solve a specific conversion problem, and focuses on insights instead of wins.

3. Determine the Variable

Before starting an A/B test, you need to get an idea of your baselines. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to understand your customers’ current behavior patterns. 

For example, if your goal is to increase clickthrough rates on your landing page, look at your current rate.

Remember that A/B testing is a kind of scientific experiment and needs proper controls in order to reach an accurate conclusion.

4. Set the Parameters

Once you’ve got the details of your objectives and know your baseline, you’ll need to set key performance indicators (KPIs), which will help you define the success or failure of the test. 

For example, if your objective is to reduce returns on a certain product, the obvious KPI would be the number of times that product was returned.

5. Launch the Test 

Begin the test and record your findings. There are many A/B testing tools you can use to make this easier.

6. Analyze the Results

After you’ve run the test, you’ll be able to see which option was most successful. From this, you can decide whether to go with the successful option or tweak the test and try it again to get a more definitive answer.

If you crafted your hypothesis well, even a “failed” test is a success, because you’ll gain insights you can use for future tests and in other areas of your eCommerce business. 

There’s always something to learn from an A/B test.

Benefits of A/B Testing

Save Money and Increase Profits

With A/B testing you can put your money where it’s going to make the most sense, rather than taking a blind leap of faith and hoping for the best. 

A/B testing increases your profits by helping you make decisions that you know will pay off. 

Identify Issues

Many marketing campaigns fail because of small errors. You can use A/B testing to identify these errors so that your business can run smoothly.

Improve Your Content and Brand Image

There are a lot of options to choose from when creating content including written content, visual content, etc. A/B testing can help you determine what works best.

A/B testing also lets you get rid of processes or steps that leave a bad impression on customers.

Improve KPIs

Your KPIs can be largely impacted by A/B testing in the long run. From ROI on ads to customer acquisition or even email signups.

Conclusion

A/B testing is all about making the eCommerce shopping experience better for customers. Anywhere you can remove friction for your customers can be looked at and studied.

The beauty of A/B testing is that you can do as many tests as you like, and work through the long list of things you want to test to get results and improve your conversion rates.

One of the most powerful and effective ways to drive eCommerce growth is A/B testing. Use A/B testing to get insights into what your customers really want so you never have to play the guessing game.

Just like an architect draws out a building plan before they start building, you need to develop a brand strategy for your business.

How to Create Your Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is a combination of several elements that you’ll need to focus on to fully develop your brand.

Define Your Brand Mission Statement

A mission statement articulates your brand’s purpose – it announces to the world why your business exists. 

Think of a mission statement as a combination of what your business does and how and why it does it, expressed in a way that summarizes your brand values.

Your mission statement is something you can come back to whenever you’re setting goals or making business decisions.

Create a mission statement that’s unique to your eCommerce store, depending on your focus and values. 

A mission statement generally includes a basic description of the business, its purpose, and its goals. 

Keep it short and concise – your mission statement shouldn’t be longer than a few sentences.

Don’t limit yourself – leave yourself room to expand. At the same time, be realistic and not too vague.

• Who are your customers? 
• What problem was your solution created to solve? 
• What are your goals as a business?

Identify Your Target Audience

Establishing your target audience means knowing who your ideal customers are and directing your marketing and products toward them.

Start by figuring out the demographic of your target audience. Identify factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, income, where they live, what they do, and who they are.

You can identify your target audience by doing surveys of your current customers. Ask basic questions about your customers’ age, family, occupation, and earnings to create a thorough picture of your customer base. Also inquire about hobbies, beliefs, passions, values, and pain points. Make sure to include questions specific to your industry.

Then develop your buyer personas. A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your target audience. Develop a story for and context around the people who are most interested in your product or service. Your buyer personas are the best place to organize all of the information you identified about your target audience into a story that you can relate to and understand.

Knowing who you’re selling to will make it much easier for you to develop content that speaks to your target audience’s goals and challenges.

Outline Your Unique Selling Point (USP)

A unique selling point (USP) is a definition, in a sentence or two, of what makes your eCommerce store better than your competitors and why customers should buy from you.

A strong, instantly recognizable USP can make or break businesses operating in competitive industries. Until you know what your USP is, and how to capitalize on it, your eCommerce business will be just another voice clamoring to be heard.

Your USP could be:

• Lowest price
• Highest quality
• Fastest delivery
• A unique location
• The most innovative products or services
• Easiest returns process
• Etc.

Keep in mind that people don’t want to buy products – they want to buy feelings.

Look at the cosmetics industry for example. Cosmetics companies don’t just sell make-up – they sell glamour, confidence, and style. 

The promise they make is that people who may not feel glamorous, confident, or stylish will if they use a particular product. This concept is the basis for a lot of cosmetics advertising and can be applied to every other industry.

Create an irresistible USP by analyzing your perfect customer and then marketing your products in a way that shows you can meet their needs.

Create Your Brand Style

Your eCommerce brand style consists of colors, fonts, logo, voice, and more. By defining your brand style, you ensure your content is consistent, recognizable, and enjoyable. 

Keep all the definitions of your brand style in a style guide that you can refer to as needed.

Colors

Brand colors are a palette of around 5-10 colors that are used to represent your business. You can increase brand recognition and awareness by applying brand colors consistently and strategically.

Your eCommerce brand’s color scheme plays a key role in the way you create your logo, your website design, and much more. 

So how do you decide on your brand colors? 

Colors can have different meanings depending on the colors they’re paired with, as well as on context and cultural connotations. 

Look around for color inspiration. Analyze what makes your competitors’ palettes – see what you can learn from their color choices, and how you can differentiate your brand. 

Other sources of inspiration are online color palette generators, where you can find ideas for visually-pleasing color pairings and appealing shades.

Fonts

Typography is one of those things that can go unnoticed when done well, and stick out like a sore thumb when it’s not. 

Each category has its own traits (this is called font psychology). Understanding these categories can help you narrow down the search and find the right fonts to fit your brand’s personality. 

The basic font classifications:

• Serif – Classic, traditional, and trustworthy
• Sans-serif – Modern, clean, and minimal
• Slab serif – Bold, rugged, and confident
• Script – Elegant, unique
• Handwritten – Informal and artistic
• Decorative – Stylized, distinctive, and dramatic

Specify your font and design hierarchy in terms of font sizes and font weights. Make sure the font for your headers complements your subheaders, and that the fonts you choose work for all your different platforms.

Logo

Your logo is the face of your business. You use your eCommerce store’s logo to explain who you are, what you do, why you do it, and how you do it. 

Your brand’s logo appears on your social posts, eCommerce website, marketing materials, business cards, and more. That’s a lot for one little graphic, so it’s important to make sure it represents your store accurately.

Elements of a good logo:

• Eye-catching
• Timeless
• Memorable
• Looks good in any context
• Portrays your brand style

Combine your brand story, colors, and message to create a logo that represents your brand perfectly. It can be easy to overcomplicate logos, and very often simpler is better, so make sure your logo is clear and uncomplicated.

Voice

Brand voice is your brand’s personality in all of its communications. Are you a funny and playful brand, or is your tone more serious? 

Clearly defining your brand voice will enable you to be consistent across all your platforms, even if you have different teams creating content for different channels. Set down your brand voice in detail, including do’s and don’ts for grammar, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, and tone.

When establishing your eCommerce brand voice make sure to look at:

• Your tone 
• Your brand’s persona 
• How your voice matches your brand values
• The target audience you are directed toward

A distinct brand voice helps your customers remember and relate to your eCommerce brand, which results in greater brand loyalty.

Build an Authentic Brand That Customers Will Love

With a solid brand strategy in place, your eCommerce brand will be easily recognizable, attract your target customers, and build brand loyalty and trust.

Develop your brand story and style to create a powerful brand that stands apart from the competition.

How to choose the right apps for your Shopify store

Check online reviews — Similar to how your customers look for reviews about your product, make sure to check the reviews of each app you’re interested in to see what other store owners are saying. You might find others are noticing glitches or restrictions and can recommend a better version.

Cross compare a few articles — Every E-Commerce blogging site (just like us) will have their own version of ‘the best Shopify apps’ article. But don’t take it for the gospel. The best way to get a general overview is to cross-reference several articles to find which apps are referenced time and time again.

Think about your customer — Is your customer demographic young or old? What sorts of things are uniquely important to your audience? What is your customer looking for? Have your customers mentioned in their reviews something that your site is missing? By listening to your customers, understanding how they navigate their way around your website, and figuring out what else you can offer, the path to find the best apps will become a lot clearer.

Don’t be woo’ed by freebies — Hey, it’s great if you can find a free app to do what you need, however, don’t be put off by the apps that cost. You might find the free versions are pretty restrictive and later on down the line you’ll have to sign up for a subscription anyway. Make sure to check out what is available in the free versions of an app and what extra is available for the paid option.

With these things in mind, it’s time to get browsing. We’ve taken a look at a few articles online and cross-referenced them (though we would recommend you do your own research too). Each app below solves a common problem all store owners experience.

Yotpo— The One for Reviews

Over half of online shoppers look at reviews of a product before deciding to purchase it. Installing a review app to your Shopify account, which allows customers to share reviews directly under the product they’ve bought, will not only give your customers the information they’re looking for but also stop them from leaving your site to compare competitors. If a customer can see a great range of reviews on your site, it’s more likely they’ll seal the deal with a purchase.

ReturnGO — The One for Returns

ReturnGo can be integrated into your Shopify store to automate the solving of returns. The system asks the customer a series of questions to understand their needs and reason for return and calculates a sum of store credits to offer them instead. The app’s aim is to have customers cancel returns and transform them into repeat customers by offering them credits to keep their items. ReturnGO is a great way to save money on restocking and fulfillment.

Benchmark Hero — The One for SEO

This app will be a lifesaver when it comes to getting traffic to your website. While writing product descriptions that you think are right is a good start, Benchmark Hero will provide you with an SEO audit of your website in live time. That way, you can see where you’re going wrong and what needs to be improved. Having this app installed is useful as it means you no longer have to search the web for a similar tool every time you want to do an audit.

Upsell and Cross-Sell Products — The One for Increasing Basket Value

Sure, it’s not got the catchiest name, but this app can help secure more value in each customer. Say a visitor to your online store has reached your site from a link on Google, directly to the product they’re looking for: The customer hasn’t seen anything else you have on offer and might proceed to the checkout without even looking around. Upsell and Cross-Sell Products allow you to showcase other similar and relevant products under your product page in a ‘you may also like’ format. That way, the customer can see accessories or add-ons that they also might be tempted by.

Tidio Live Chat — The One For Telephone Phobias

As the world becomes ever-so-obsessed with messaging apps, many would rather find a store that allows them to contact customer service without having to call. This is why you’ve probably noticed that most sites are moving towards live chat boxes on their website or on social media. Tidio Live Chat allows you to create up to 100 scenarios in which the customer can be offered an automated message then and there. No more looking around for FAQs, waiting for email replies, or picking up the dreaded phone.

Conclusion

And there you have it. A quick guide to choosing the best apps for your Shopify store. There are so many more apps to discuss from abandoned cart recovery, built-in marketing apps and things to help you create a loyalty scheme for your customers. But with every store and customer being different, you know better than anyone what your store is missing. And with one of the biggest plug-in/app stores for E-Commerce out there, you’re bound to find the perfect tool for you.

So missing the mark with this group is simply too detrimental to think about. But getting your marketing right for millennials is no easy task: This modern group is much more interested in finding businesses that reflect their own personal views on sustainability, the environment, and social injustices. No longer is it about cheap clothing and pops up ads; millennials want to invest in businesses that are giving back.

Make a difference…

Research shows that millennials aren’t persuaded by generic marketing. They give their loyalty to those companies that are making a difference; whether that’s through small donations from each product bought, being Fair Trade certified, or re-investing their money ethically and sustainably.

Systems like ReturnGo can work with you on this. While millennials are thinking about the impact of their purchasing behavior, many are moving to be a little thrifty – heading to local charity shops or shopping second hand on Facebook Marketplace and Depop.

Integrating ReturnGo allows customers to receive store credits for donating the products they want to return. Naturally, this benefits a business as it reduces the cost of re-stocking and refunds, but also shows an awareness of waste and encourages customers to donate to charity.

…and shout about it

While you’re making sure your company is based on great, ethical foundations, you need to make it known. All of this is perfect for content curation – be it on social media, campaigns, and blogs.

87% of millennials are more likely to purchase something if the company is making a social or environmental impact. Show your compassion for the supply chain and create great content related to your company’s ethical and environmental changes.

Nobody Says ‘Lol’ Anymore

Avoid buzzwords in your advertising. Nothing says cringe like a company using words like ‘fleek’ ‘bae’ or ‘totes’. Make sure you are up to date on the right wording to say to reach your millennial customers.

Bring in those reviews

Young people read online reviews religiously before trusting a company. And the opinions of their friends and family are a big contributor to their purchasing behavior. So the more authentic reviews you can get on popular sites like TrustPilot, Facebook groups, and even word-of-mouth, the more likely you’ll win the order.

And how do you win great feedback? Just keeping being you and providing your customers with excellent customer service, streamline order processing, and an easy to navigate website. You can encourage people to write reviews by offering a small discount on their next purchase. It’s a win-win situation; you gain a repeat customer as well as a review, while the customer feels rewarded.

Push for user-generated content

In a similar vein, millennials are all for user-generated content. Not only will they give you amazing social media pictures of your products in use, but they’ll also attract more customers organically to your site by writing their honest opinion on the service. All you have to do is repost this content and that’s one less job you’ve got for the week!

Get engaged on mobile

If you’ve ever wondered how social media can be a full-time job, millennials are the answer. No longer is social media something we can schedule a month in advance and leave it to tick over till it’s time to schedule some more posts. Millennials are active online constantly; and as such, they expect you to be the same.

You’ll need to work extra hard to keep this group loyal and engaged, and they’ll expect you to retweet their content, respond to their comments and build a rapport with them that feels personal.

Marketing to millennials is less about ads and pop-ups, and more about great content and communication. Those ads you’re posting on all the ‘cool’ websites that don’t seem to be making a difference? Well, 63% of millennials use an ad blocker on their web browser. So it’s not that the ad content isn’t good, your ads just aren’t being seen. Catch the attention of this age group through real, authentic content, and shift your marketing budget from Google Ads and offline to Facebook and Instagram.

And just in case you haven’t enough to think about with all of this, you’ll also need to make sure your website and ads are mobile optimized. With this demographic, a high proportion of internet use is via their mobile; there’s very little they can’t do on their cell.

Phone Calls: A millennial’s last resort

This age group has grown up in the era of live chat, messenger, and WhatsApp. If a customer has to wait days for a reply to an email, they’re likely to go elsewhere. Similarly, if your only option is a phone call, you’ll probably answer the phone to some very frustrated customers. Adding a live chat feature on your site allows customers to get a response within moments and communicate with you in their preferred way. It’ll also help your customer service team manage multiple queries at the same time.

These are just a few ideas to help you market to this demographic. It’s all about giving a real and authentic version of yourself online and show how your company is the right company.

Influencers are a marketer’s favorite tool at the moment, with 78% budgeting influencers into their strategies for the next year. So, if you’re new to influencer marketing, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon. If you don’t, you could be missing out on thousands of dollars’ worth of profits…

Today, we’re going to summarize what exactly influencer marketing is and how you can start using it.

What Makes An Influencer?

There are 4 typical types of influencers, the highest of which are celebrities. We’ve all seen celebrities posting products on their social feeds or partnering with brands on particular campaigns. This is influencer marketing in its most obvious form.

We wouldn’t advise trying to get Kim Kardashian to promote your products though. Celebrities are the influencers every business wants but likely can’t afford. And that’s why the other three types exist.

Nano-Influencers

Nano-Influencers are a great tool for small businesses because they’re affordable and authentic. This type of influencer will have 1k-10k followers on their social feeds, giving them a closer-knit community than larger influencers. They’re likely to give a real opinion of a product and only promote those that sit well with their following. Only social media characters with over 10k followers used to be classed as ‘influencers’, but now algorithms are looking for organic growth and authenticity — meaning it’s time for the nano-influencer to shine.

Micro-Influencers

These middle tier social media stars can make a real difference to your bottom line. But, with their following reaching anywhere between 10–50k, they can cost a pretty penny to hire. Engagement rates are still a high 8–10%, so they still benefit from the Nano tier’s engaged community.

The additional benefit of working with influencers over 10k is the dreamy ‘swipe up’ capabilities on Instagram. When an influencer adds a post to their story about your brand or product, they can attach a link to the post, which will direct the viewer to your site. This direct traffic is ideal for retaining potential customers — all you have to do is have a killer website that wows them into a purchase.

Macro-Influencers

These are the type that can have just about any number of followers over 50k. This means you might be working with stars with up to 1m followers… and naturally, the more followers they have, the more it’ll cost you. Macro influencers are the traditional type of social media star that marketing agencies have been using since the beginning. The issue is, that now influencing is so mainstream, these people have a much less engaged following.

So, if you’re looking for high engagement, as well as affordability, you’re better off using Nano and Micro-influencers.

Finding an Influencers for Your Brand

Contacting an influencer isn’t like trying to contact a celebrity. These highly engaged social media stars are constantly on their social feeds and can more than likely contact such.

But how do you find someone for your brand? The simplest way is to take a look at who’s already following your brand’s socials. Take a look at your current following to see if there are any influencers — big or small. This is the best type of influencer for your brand because they’re already invested in your product and can provide authenticity to their review.

There are, of course, other ways to find an influencer — there are even specific influencer agencies popping up across the world. Databases or influencer list tools online can be used to find someone within your niche. You’ll often find their social handles or a way to contact them directly.

Creating an Influencer Campaign

Like traditional marketing, you’ll need to have a strategy in place before you get started. Are you only using one influencer? How many pieces of content do you need them to create? What will they say? How much are you willing to spend? You will need to create a detailed plan of your influencer’s requirements and how you plan to boost your own marketing during the campaign. With a strict plan, you can ensure success if measured by specific metrics you choose, rather than taking the measurements the influencer gives you as gospel.

Once you’ve got your campaign plan together, you can start contacting influencers via your brand’s social media DMs or email. Whichever way you choose, make sure to give them all the details and ask for a quote.

Costs will be a tricky subject, and you’ll need to be willing to negotiate.

Once everything is in place, your influencer will get working on the content for you to approve — you should have the last say every step of the way.

While your stars get to work with their content and promoting your brand to their followers, you need to make sure your marketing and feeds are looking amazing. Their followers will likely head over to your site or social handles and immediately move on if they don’t see anything they like.

Conclusion

This quick guide is a simple introduction to the huge world of influencer marketing. With new platforms such as TikTok taking the world by storm each year, there’s always some new way to climb to social media fame — which is perfect for businesses looking for ambassadors. By using a mixture of influencers with different followings, you will gain an engaged customer base that’s interested in your brand. The next step is down to having a killer product and a great customer experience. Good luck.

To successfully manage cross-border eCommerce, you’ll need to understand the challenges, opportunities, and considerations associated with expanding your business into the international eCommerce market.

What is Cross-Border eCommerce?

Cross-border eCommerce is the movement of products across international borders to be sold and purchased online. 

Over the past few years, cross-border eCommerce has gained a lot of traction. The cross-border B2C eCommerce market was worth around $785 billion in 2021 and is estimated to reach approximately $7.9 trillion by 2030.

Managing cross-border eCommerce can be challenging as it involves numerous factors such as handling international payments, ensuring timely delivery, navigating complex regulations, and managing returns and refunds for international customers.

By understanding the complexities of cross-border eCommerce, you can successfully and sustainably expand your business to global markets.

How Does Cross-Border eCommerce Work?

Cross-border eCommerce involves selling products online to customers in different countries, which requires complex localization, marketing, payment processing, shipping and logistics, returns management, and customer support. 

It involves navigating various challenges, such as language and cultural barriers, shipping and logistics complexity, payment processing fees, and legal and regulatory issues. 

Successful cross-border eCommerce requires careful planning and attention to detail to meet the unique needs and expectations of customers in different markets.

Benefits of Cross-Border eCommerce

Cross-border eCommerce has many benefits, including the opportunity to increase revenue, gain a competitive advantage, and raise brand awareness.

Increased Revenue Opportunities

Cross-border eCommerce provides the opportunity to expand your customer base and generate additional revenue. 

By selling products to customers in different countries, you can tap into new markets and access a larger customer base. 

This can be particularly beneficial for businesses in saturated markets, as it offers new opportunities for growth and revenue.

Diversification of Revenue Streams

Cross-border eCommerce helps you diversify your revenue streams by reaching new markets and customer segments. 

This gives you the opportunity to explore new market niches and gain access to customers with different preferences and buying behaviors.

By selling to customers in different countries, you can reduce your dependence on any one market or customer segment, protecting you from economic downturns or other external factors that might affect sales in a particular market.

Increased Brand Awareness

Cross-border eCommerce can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness and recognition around the world.

By expanding your reach to new markets, you can increase your visibility and credibility on a global scale. 

Building global brand awareness can help you establish a strong brand identity and reputation, which can translate into increased sales and customer loyalty over time.

Competitive Edge

Cross-border eCommerce is becoming increasingly important for businesses that want to stay competitive in a global marketplace. 

With the rise of eCommerce and digital technologies, customers have more options than ever before. 

Through cross-border eCommerce, you can build a competitive edge by providing customers with a convenient and accessible way to purchase and return products from anywhere in the world.

Cross-Border Returns for eCommerce

Cross-border returns can be a complex and challenging aspect of cross-border eCommerce. In order to provide a positive customer experience, you need to have a clear and effective return policy in place that is designed to address the unique challenges of cross-border transactions. 

When creating your international return policy, make sure to consider factors such as the cost and logistics of shipping back products from different countries, as well as any regulatory or customs requirements that need to be met.

Automation makes a big difference when it comes to tracking returned products and managing inventory for cross-border returns. Use a returns management system such as ReturnGO to automate your cross-border returns and streamline your operations.

The ability to process international returns effectively can have an enormous impact on customer satisfaction and your bottom line.

Challenges of Cross-Border eCommerce

Cross-border eCommerce comes with its own unique set of challenges, such as processing returns, complying with international laws, and understanding the cultural nuances of the target markets.

Navigating International Laws

It is challenging to navigate international laws while complying with complex and varying regulations in different countries, including customs duties, taxes, and fees. 

To handle this challenge, make sure to find out what laws apply to your store, especially regulations regarding return policies, shipping laws, and payment restrictions.

You can also work with logistics providers and legal experts who can help you navigate these regulations and ensure compliance.

Language and Culture Barriers

Communication can be challenging when dealing with the language and cultural barriers of customers around the world, who may have different needs and expectations based on their cultural backgrounds. 

76% of customers prefer to buy products that have information in their native language, and 40% won’t buy from websites in other languages.

Offer multilingual support and tailor your marketing materials and customer service interactions to the needs and expectations of different cultures.

International Payment Processing

Accepting payments from customers located in different countries can be complex and expensive due to differences in payment methods, currencies, and regulatory requirements. 

To effectively manage international payment processing, use payment providers who offer secure and efficient payment processing solutions that comply with national and international laws.

Logistics and International Shipping

Cross-border eCommerce presents unique logistics and shipping challenges due to the complexity of managing and coordinating shipments across different countries, customs regulations, and carrier options. 

Shipping costs, transit times, and customs clearance processes can also vary greatly depending on the destination.

It’s important to use reliable and experienced international shipping providers or 3PLs that comply with the different shipping regulations, customs procedures, and delivery processes in different countries. 

Cross-Border Returns

Cross-border returns can be a challenge in cross-border eCommerce due to the additional complexity and costs involved in managing international returns. 

Unlike domestic returns, cross-border returns require the coordination of return shipping while international shipping costs, transit times, and customs processes can vary greatly depending on the location. 

In addition, different countries may have different regulations regarding return policies and customs duties, which can further complicate the process.

In order to address this challenge, create a clear cross-border return policy that outlines the conditions and costs associated with international returns. This return policy should be easily accessible and prominently displayed on your website. 

International Customer Service

It is challenging to provide international customer service in cross-border eCommerce due to language and cultural barriers as well as differences in time zones and communication preferences. 

Customers from different countries may have varying expectations for customer service and prefer different communication channels. 

Additionally, language barriers can make it difficult to understand customer needs and resolve issues effectively. This can lead to misunderstandings and delays in response times, resulting in a poor customer experience.

To handle the challenge of international customer service, invest in customer service resources that are specifically designed to support international customers, such as hiring multilingual customer service representatives or using translation software to improve communication. 

Expand Your Reach with Cross-Border eCommerce

Cross-border eCommerce is an excellent opportunity to expand your customer base, increase revenue, and gain a competitive edge.

It’s important to understand all of the complexities and nuances of managing cross-border eCommerce, such as international shipping, regulations, taxes, and payment methods.

Having the right strategies in place and the appropriate technology to support them can help you take advantage of the opportunities that cross-border eCommerce offers.

In today’s article, we’ll discuss what this technique is, how it works, and its benefits.

What is Data-Driven Marketing?

What used to be an innovative and advanced way to create marketing is now almost a necessity. Data-driven marketing is built into a business’s core brand strategy and, as such, carves its way into every piece of marketing you put out.

By definition, this type of marketing uses the analysis of ‘big data’ to create useful insights into your customers. Big data is often collected through interactions with consumers. This data is then used to create predictions about the behaviors of consumers in the present and future. By studying your current customers’ behaviors and combining them with the data you can access from other studies and statistics, you can start to build a marketing strategy that will capture your audience in the right place at the right time.

Traditional marketing would follow a ‘one size fits all’ style, with the same marketing assets being used across offline and online advertising streams without much consideration for screen size, audience, or demographic.

In its simplest form, data-driven marketing could include finding out what times of day most people are online and setting your ads to only run during this period. There’s no point paying to advertise your brand at 6 am if nobody will see it.

Data-driven marketing has increased the need for personalization and made it much easier for businesses to incorporate it into their existing strategies.

Easy to Implement Data-Driven Marketing

Sounds scary and confusing, right? Well, the good news is, your business is probably already using data-driven marketing without you realizing it.

Simple examples of data-driven marketing are part of the norm these days, so if you’re using retargeting, dynamic ads, or targeted email campaigns, you’re already off to a good start.

If you’re not sure what any of the above means, here’s a little explanation:

Retargeting

Retargeting ads are essentially ads that follow you around online. If you’ve been looking at a specific product on a website, more often than not, you’ll notice an advertisement for the same item suddenly in your social media feed or on Google. This is done by a website collecting your data to help display the most relevant ads to you.

Dynamic Advertising

When using platforms like Facebook Ads manager, or Google Ads, you’ll have seen the ‘dynamic ad’ option. This means that you enter some details about your campaign, a tagline, a picture, and the Ads manager will take care of the rest. It’ll adapt your campaign to fit mobile and desktop, and also display ads differently depending on where they’re viewed; Instagram stories, Facebook feed, banners, etc.

Targeted Emailing

If you’ve segmented your email subscribers into different interests or demographics, you’re already working with data-driven marketing. By targeting certain people with certain emails, you’re using the data you have available to adapt your campaigns accordingly.

Why Should I Use Data-Driven Marketing?

There are many benefits to using data-driven marketing, all of which can really help set you apart from your competitors.

Personalization & Segmentation

We’ve already mentioned this buzz word a few times in this article, and you can find out more about personalization in our previous post here. Using data, marketing companies find ways to convey different messages to different people — making your catchment audience much bigger. Your business might sell various products, all for different people, so how do you expect one ad message to entice everyone? The simple answer is that you can’t. But rather than choosing what to advertise and accept a drop in sales for other departments, personalization can help you push the right products to the right people, in the right place, at the right time. That’s a lot of ‘right’ that you could be doing…

With a deeper understanding of your audience, you can segment different target groups and display the perfect message for each. This will help improve conversion metrics, as well as ROI and customer loyalty. Find out more about what metrics you should measure in our guide here.

Create a multi-channel presence

With the use of data analysis, businesses can create automated campaigns that adapt to the channel they’re displayed on. Automation will place ads in the right place to reach your customer at any given time. It’sThis level of ‘on it’ marketing can transform your campaign message’s effectiveness.

No longer is offline and email marketing enough; ads need to be across every social media channel, website, search engine, and more.

Improved Shopping Experience

You can use data from your competitors or create your own survey to find out where your customer’s shopping experience is failing. You can get a lot of insight into your website’s workings through a simple questionnaire, and people are usually more than happy to help with improving your services.

This data can allow you to make changes to your current site navigation and create a smoother and faster way for customers to shop. This improved functionality will then create a better shopping journey, which in turn will lead to more customer loyalty.

Better product launches

If you’re using data within your marketing, you’ll quickly see which products aren’t quite right for your target audience. With this, you’ll be able to improve your current range, find out what’s missing, and also launch products that suit your customer that little bit better.

How to introduce data-driven marketing

Introducing new marketing strategies can be pretty tricky and difficult to understand if you’re just starting out. Certain technologies can help with implementing your strategy and ways to make your marketing department work together to create the best outcome for the business.

Automation Tools

These types of tools will help keep things ticking over the day today. By integrating technology to help the running of your marketing campaigns, you’ll be able to stick to objectives and avoid getting inconsistent results. Staff can focus on analyzing the effectiveness of campaigns while the automation tools take care of the implementation.

Cross-Departmental Data Sharing

If you’re collating data, you should make sure that everyone in the business has access — that means the whole marketing team, category, sales, and anyone else who might find it useful. If the whole company isn’t using the same set of data, strategies, and campaigns will be inconsistent and can be difficult to measure effectively.

Analyze Your Competitors

You should always take the time to get to know your competitors: Learn how their website works, figure out what their current marketing strategy looks like, and read the comments on ads via social media to see if the messaging is really resonating with their customer. Any level of weakness is an opportunity for you to steal their customer.

Without understanding what your competitors are doing, it’s impossible to ever be one step ahead. A little bit of stalking is the key to your success.

It’s also worth making sure your team is staying up to date with the latest trends and technology advancements so that you can adapt your current brand strategy accordingly.

Monitor Results

There is still an element of trial and error with data-driven marketing, which is why you should dedicate some of your time or part of your team to monitoring campaigns’ success while they’re still running. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and as such, there are huge differences in what works and what doesn’t from industry to industry.

By continuously monitoring your own campaigns, you can identify areas to improve and fix them while there’s still time. It’ll also help you focus your budget on the right strategies so you’re not wasting money on ineffective campaigns.

So, if you’re not already using any form of data-driven marketing, it’s really time to put plans in place. Check out your competitors, understand what tools are available, and learn as much as possible about your current customers. Start with small implementations such as retargeting and dynamic ads to help you get started.

For those looking to start a dropshipping store in 2021, there’s good news and bad news…

The bad news is, you’re unlikely to become as rich as Amazon guru, Jeff Bezos. But the good news is that despite the dropshipping market being somewhat saturated, there’s still potential to make a decent income from it.

What actually is dropshipping?

Dropshipping refers to an order fulfillment strategy where you sell products on your site while the stock is held by the supplier elsewhere. The supplier takes care of everything after you’ve received an order; from packing the items to shipping the goods.

Why is dropshipping so popular?

There are so many benefits to having a dropshipping business, rather than buying in stock to sell. Here’s just a few:

There are no risk or start-up fees

The biggest draw to starting a dropshipping store is the limited risk that’s involved in setting up. With dropshipping, you don’t need to invest in stock beforehand, so there’s very little upfront cost. So, you can set up your store, find a dropshipping partner, and get selling. If it doesn’t work out, you don’t have to worry about getting rid of leftover stock or wasting money.

You can work from anywhere

As someone else is handling the logistics of your store, you can set up camp anywhere in the world. Take a trip to Dubai for a few months and work from the beach, or head out for a ski trip in the alps and keep your business ticking over while you’re away. Dropshipping gives people the flexibility to really live the life they want, while still earning money. It’s also a great business model for families or single parents who want to be able to work from home and save money on childcare.

There are endless niches to explore

Whether you start off as a small jewelry company and grow into an all-singing-and-dancing fashion store, or want to focus on tech gadgets, homeware or more, there’s a dropshipping partner for just about anything. It’s best to start off with a niche so that you can work on attracting a certain customer, and then build from there.

Two huge niches to consider if you’re starting your own dropshipping business is health or eco-friendly goods. The environment and sustainability are a huge trend that isn’t going to slow in momentum anytime soon, so this is a great niche to explore in 2021.

Are there any downsides to dropshipping?

Of course, with all good things, there are some downsides – especially after 2020 where many people set up their own businesses as a new source of income in uncertain times. So, what are the downsides to dropshipping?

Not everyone will succeed

In fact, Dropshiplifestyle suggests that almost 90% of new dropshipping businesses fail within the first three months. That’s a pretty scary number, so it might be worth having a backup plan just in case.

The industry is hugely competitive, especially with the likes of Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress only becoming more and more advanced. And the secret to their success? Always having the lowest prices. But when you’re just starting out, you need to build a good sales reputation with partners in order to unlock cheaper prices. So why would a customer buy from your store when Amazon is cheaper? This is why it’s crucial to have a niche and market yourself to your fullest ability.

Profit Margins Are Quite Low

Dropshipping products are typically quite cheap to buy, which means there’s not a lot of profit per product. If you mark up the product too high, you’ll likely deter customers. Too low and you’ll be losing profits. Both you and the manufacturer are looking to make a profit, so finding the right balance for cost efficiency is the key to success.

Take for example and an eco-friendly bamboo toothbrush holder. The manufacturer might make the product for $1.5 and charge you $3. If you want to make a profit, you’ll need to charge $4-6 which could seem pretty expensive considering other stores will offer it for cheaper.

Delivery Times Are Quite Long

While the manufacturer handles the logistics, you’ll of course need to pay for it. Many manufacturers will be based in China, which means you can expect long delivery times and expensive shipping. Often, the average time for delivery is 21 days, which is pretty long when competing with the likes of Amazon. If you want to offer your customers free delivery to compensate for the delay, you’ll also need to add the price of shipping into the product price, which could add a few dollars.

It’s difficult to fix customer complaints

If a customer doesn’t receive the item they’ve ordered, or it arrives broken, they’ll be looking at you for a refund – not the manufacturer. With dropshipping, you have very little control over quality assurance and shipping, so customer complaints can be hard to fix and will often end in a refund.

There are some dropshipping partners that will require you to pay to set up and access their product range. These suppliers tend to be more trustworthy; their products are of higher quality and their shipping is more reliable. If you have a small amount of money to invest in a dropshipping partner when starting up, this is highly recommended.

The key to dropshipping success

The real secret to dropshipping success is your brand image. Marketing and customer service will all tie into creating a great brand reputation that will help you build loyalty within your customer base. By handling complaints professionally and quickly, advertising your best products, and producing beautiful content that really sells your inventory, you’ll be able to build your own brand and grow your business.

But how do you build an email list?

There are hundreds of ways to keep customers engaged through email, but getting them to sign up is trickier. We are all bombarded by social media ads and email marketing every day, why would we want to sign up for yet another inbox filler?

When a customer does sign up to your newsletter, it’s because they want to know more. Whether that’s more about your company as a whole, gaining discounts for items they’re interested in, or keeping in the loop with new product launches.

To get more customers interested, and onto your email list, we’ve collated a few of the best ways to build your subscriber list for your online business.

Offer new subscribers a discount

You’ve probably seen hundreds of companies offering a discount for signing up to their newsletter. And, you’ve probably signed up to a fair few for exactly that. Offering new subscribers, a discount on their first order is one way to guarantee a few more purchases, as well as build your email list. Most of us cannot resist a freebie or saving money, so the incentive is very tempting.

Offer Discount at the Checkout for Signing Up

Rather than agitate site visitors with a pop up immediately as they land on your site, place your sign-up form and discount incentive at the checkout. Not only does it provide the customer with a small surprise discount on the order they’re already willing to place, but it gains you a subscriber in a smooth and less abrupt way. 7 out of 10 visitors of online stores make it to the checkout, and then abandon their cart at the last minute. By providing the discount when they’re still deciding on whether to purchase their basket, you can boost sales, reduce abandoned carts and gain a following.

Host A Competition

Host a giveaway or competition which requires entrees to sign up for your newsletter. While some might immediately unsubscribe after the competition ends, a lot will continue to follow your brand and stay updated with your content, products, and sales. Hosting a competition is also a great way to boosting your visibility on social media, and introducing the world to your brand in a fun and exciting way.

Provide Toolkits, Guides or E-Books

By providing specialized information in the form of downloadable guides, toolkits, or E-Books, there’s much more incentive for people to sign up. For example, if you’re an online travel agent, offer a travel phrasebook for specific countries. An online fashion store can provide styling guides or measuring guides. Meanwhile, if you offer niche products for a certain industry, you can show site visitors your expertise in your field with an E-Book. All of this content helps you gain new subscribers, while also helping you gauge what kind of content is interesting to your readers and customers.

Once you’ve got your incentives in place, make sure you are using a great emailing platform that offers subscriber segmentation. That way, when a customer subscribes to your newsletter, they can select the types of email they are interested in. You can segment your following based on product categories, their interest in blogs, discounts or exclusives, etc. This will help you to keep your email list engaged, as you will only be sending emails relevant to their specific interests.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can build your email list in 2021. There are so many creative ways to do it, that it’s always good to check your competitors to see the tips and tricks they’re doing to engage with their community.

The new year typically brings an increased interest in personal growth: A lot of people will already have resolutions to lose weight, exercise more, or even journal every day. But who says resolutions can’t be for business goals too?

Starting the year off with a set of clear goals will keep your team motivated and focused. As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, goals are easier to stick to if they follow the SMART acronym:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-bound

As long as you can measure your goal’s success, it doesn’t matter whether you achieve it or not. Goals are just a good way to get the team focused when they get back from the festive break.

To help you get started with your goals for 2021, we have created a list of ideas that are all great for E-Commerce businesses. 2020 was a year of growth and development for the online world, so you need to stay in the loop and keep up the momentum.

Improve the quality of site traffic

Not everyone who ends on your site will be interested in buying your product. That’s just the way the industry goes. Rather than setting the goal to ‘increase traffic’, it’s important to find a way to increase high-quality traffic. High-quality traffic is those people who actually would buy your product.

Use a tool like Google Analytics to find out more about your current customers, and the visitors who aren’t sticking around. From this, you’ll be able to find key information like age, gender, location, and use this to create better marketing campaigns tailored to the correct people. By targeting more specific audiences, you’ll naturally increase your highly relevant traffic, rather than wasting money on broad searches.

Grow Your Mailing List

Newsletters are still a hidden gem in the online world. Sure, your open rates might look a little weak, but as we’ve discussed above, those who are signed up are usually high relevancy and high-quality traffic. So even if they don’t open every newsletter sent their way, the emails they do open might just tickle their fancy and turn into a sale. The ROI of mail marketing is way higher than typically marketing too, so it’s totally worth your time and effort. A super-easy way to increase revenue and grow your list is by offering a small discount on their first order if they sign up.

Get Ahead of SEO

The world of SEO is ever-changing. So, if you’re using an SEO strategy from way back when then it’s likely not doing a great job anymore. Google is constantly changing its algorithms, so to stay ahead, you’ll need to keep in the loop with their changes and improve your own site accordingly. Google no longer accepts repetitive keywords; it can tell the difference between plurals and singular and can identify when sentences actually make sense. Avoid keyword cannibalization and just focus on how your content sounds. This is the simplest way to rank highly in searches.

Start Influencer Marketing

Use our guide on influencer marketing to get your foot in the door. This new form of marketing is still fairly scary for businesses, but by introducing the idea slowly at the beginning of the year, you’ll be confident and prepared for the festive period in 2021.

Reduce the workload for Customer Service

If you’ve not already started using chatbots to manage the new demand for online business, this is definitely something to consider in 2021. We’ve already discussed how great a chatbot can be for your company, and your customer service team will welcome the help after the busy festive period. Check out our article on how chatbots can work for you.

Improve Your Sustainability

If there’s one thing every business should do in 2021, it’s becoming more sustainable. Sustainability has been a huge consumer trend over the past few years, and there are no signs it’s slowing down. Find one thing in your business that is having an impact on your carbon footprint and look at ways to improve. Alternatively, you can also use this resolution to make your business more cost-efficient. It’s often the case that those parts of your process that are quite costly, also have a bad impact on the environment — for example, packaging and returns. Read our article on how to make your business more eco-friendly.

Reduce Your Returns

There are several ways in which you can reduce the number of returns your business is processing. The first key option would be to review the current reasons people are returning your products. Is it a manufacturing fault? Are the items arriving damaged? Is the product the wrong size? By reviewing your current product range to identify any issues, you can quickly improve your service and in turn, reduce returns and the cost to your business.

Another way would be to provide customers with an alternative to return their goods — that way you don’t have to waste time, effort and money processing and restocking. ReturnGO handles customer return requests by offering each customer a personalized amount of store credits to cancel their request. The customer can then either donate the product, keep it, or even return it at a later time. Not only does this reduce stress within your office, but it also rewards the customer and provides you with repeat custom.

So there you have it. Following some of the biggest tech and consumer trends, you can easily create your own measurable goals that will help you stay focused in the New Year. Good luck, and we can’t wait for 2021 to be your best year yet!

So, in another year’s time, what will the customer service landscape look like? Well, it’ll be even more demanding, and with that, you’ll either need more staff or more technology.

That’s where chatbots come in.

Chatbots have become a total norm over the past four or five years. Almost every online business uses some level of a bot to help improve their services. If you’ve spoken to a customer service team through a ‘live chat’ on social media or a business website, you’ve probably been messaging with a chatbot.

Chatbots are very much a love-hate topic: Businesses love them, but customers… not so much. But that’s because chatbots are still in their infancy, and although they have very much developed since the days of simple, clunky bots, they are constantly developing and getting better.

What does your customer service look like now?

The first thing to think about before integrated chatbots into your business is what your customer service currently looks like. According to Statista, 79% of consumers who file a complaint about bad customer service have their complaint ignored. Ignoring complaints is one sure-fire way to get a bad rep and lose sales. Complaints should be used as a tool to improve your services for everyone!

Other customer frustrations include:

Lack of knowledge: Do your team really know what they’re talking about?

Lack of speed: Is your team dedicated to customer service day in day out, or are their priorities elsewhere? Do you have an out-of-hours customer service staff that can answer calls or inquiries at weekends or evenings?

Staff who are unable to resolve issues: Are your staff trained in resolving the most common problems such as shipping, returns, and payment processes?

Before adding chatbots to your team, it’s best to focus on your human team first: Get them trained in the simplest and more complex issues your customers might experience. That way, chatbots are a helpful addition to your workforce rather than the main option.

What are Chatbots & How Do They Work?

Chatbots are complex tools that can really benefit your business. They use a ‘natural language processing’ technology (NLP) to understand words and phrases. Higher quality chatbots also use artificial intelligence to make them seem even more human to the customer. Some bots are now so smart, customers barely notice a difference between the machine and real customer service teams.

Bots help your business work more efficiently. While your customer service team might be fully prepped and experienced in helping your customers with all of their questions and queries, couldn’t their time be used for more complex issues, rather than answering the same simple questions over and over again?

Well, this is why chatbots are really handy. Chatbots can help those customers with simple questions while directing more complex queries to the correct department for more help. They’re a bit like an online receptionist.

Why Should I Use Chatbots For My Business?

There are so many benefits to using a chatbot for your business. Below we’ve named just a few reasons why chatbots are a must-have for your business in 2020.

Cost Efficiency

Although we don’t condone the modern-day nightmare of ‘robots taking over our jobs, which we are all inclined to worry about from time to time, chatbots do provide a level of cost efficiency that cannot be ignored.

Chatbots free up your staff to work on lead generation and other projects. They can help with orders, tracking and even returns. Bots can help with all the admin that your staff is struggling to keep on top of. These repetitive projects are easy for robots to follow, and if you are just starting up, they can keep your overheads low. Staff can be a huge cost when you’re just starting up your business, and therefore it can be very helpful to use chatbots to provide customer service while you’re focusing on running your business.

24/7 Help & Availability for your customers

E-Commerce is no 9–5. So unlike brick-and-mortar shop assistants, you need to be able to help your customers with their orders and inquiries at any time of day. Having a chatbot means your staff — or yourself — don’t have to work around the clock. After hours, chatbots can record queries and answer simple questions your customers have. Complex issues can be archived and filed into your system or email platform for staff to work through the next day.

Increase Your Sales

Programming a chatbot or using a platform that allows you to do so can help increase your sales. Bots are great for upselling products on your site or offering more detail about a certain item. If you can work with a technology firm that can build you a fully functioning bot, there’s a goldmine of sales waiting for you at the end.

This quick post highlights three major additions a chatbot can offer for your business. By reducing costs and increasing sales, your profits will be higher than ever. And these profits can be reinvested, advance the capabilities of your chatbot. By constantly reviewing your customer service and incorporating automated chatbots into the system, your team will be fully equipped for whatever issue your customer has. By offering 24/7 customer service, consumers will feel safer about shopping on your site, too, knowing they will be able to access help no matter when they need it.