The smartest ways for companies to manage product returns

wsj

9 min read . Updated: 25 Nov 2022, 12:30 AM IST Suman Bhattacharyya, The Wall Street Journal

A study of 1,161 U.S. customers by retail-technology firm Narvar two years ago found that a third of repeat consumers said they wouldn’t buy again from a retailer where they had a difficult product-return experience (Photo: Mint) — A study of 1,161 U.S. customers by retail-technology firm Narvar two years ago found that a third of repeat consumers said they wouldn’t buy again from a retailer where they had a difficult product-return experience (Photo: Mint)

Customer returns are way up over the past couple of years. How can companies make it easy for customers, without seeing their costs skyrocket?

For many companies, few topics are more unpleasant to think about than product returns. And few topics are more crucial to the bottom line.