Turns out ecommerce returns are a real problem

If you’re in the ecommerce world — which, if you’re reading this newsletter, it's safe to assume you are — you’ve dealt with the headache of product returns. 

To a certain extent, returns are just a part of doing business. But consumers are 2-3x more likely to return products purchased online vs. in a brick-and-mortar store. And with the added costs of shipping expenses, restocking fees, and the loss of value for returned items, handling product returns is barely sustainable for many businesses.

However, solving the looming returns problem is also tricky. Shoppers expect an easy and painless return process from online stores, and taking that away or handing out shopping bans for excessive returns won't make brands popular with their customers. At the same time, brands can’t simply ignore the problem and hope it goes away.

Thankfully, you can cut down on the cost of returns by keeping your marketing spend away from serial returners. With the help of (you guessed it) artificial intelligence, you can identify the heavy returners in your customer base, segment them accordingly, and exclude them from your retargeting efforts.

Of course, you don’t need to go full-on Mean Girls and banish them from your online store, but you don’t need to invite them to shop more, either.

The even better news? That’s just the beginning of what artificial intelligence can do to combat high return rates. You can also use AI to promote high-profit products to return-prone customers, point shoppers to your sizing chart if they have differently sized items in their cart, contextually personalize shopping incentives and discounts to avoid targeting serial returners, and more. 

With the help of AI, you can mitigate the drain of returns on your profits, which is something every ecommerce professional can get behind — even the “mean girls.” 😉