Sustaining Profitability and the Environment: A Retail Necessity

COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on all industries, and retailers, in particular, are still struggling to make sense of changing consumer dynamics and new shopping realities. This article is not about this societal crisis, but another more slow-moving....

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Is Free Shipping Dead?

Everyone knows shipping is costly. Return shipping can be even costlier. In an effort to give consumers what they want, when they want it (aka good consumer service), retailers are running up costs for labor and packaging by shipping one item at a time. This....

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8 Thorns That May Be Harming Your Ecommerce Return Experience

In the fable “Androcles and the Lion,” a boy removes a thorn from a lion’s paw and gains the lion’s loyalty for life. Recently, our team of researchers vetted the ecommerce return process at 55 omnichannel retail chains in search of thorns. They found eight....

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What Does It Take to Be a Leader in Omnichannel Returns?

Many businesses have ecommerce capabilities, but most need to improve the consumer experience surrounding return transactions. This may be expected following the rapid growth of online sales and omnichannel returns during 2020 and 2021. Retailers often treat....

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Omnichannel Returns: What Your P&L Can’t Ignore

You may have noticed that your consumers tend to initiate returns after their online purchases more frequently than after their in-store shopping. On average, returns for ecommerce transactions are two to three times more likely than purchases made in....

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Consumers’ Pandemic Shopping Trends

As the global population has endured the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 20 months, consumers have altered their daily lives and routines in many ways. From the abrupt shutdown of non-essential businesses, schools, and stores, consumers have had little choice....

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Insights from the Journey of a Returned Package

Retailers and consumers often think of the return process as straightforward. However, many unexpected roadblocks (both literal and figurative) can arise that affect both the retailer and the shopper. And research shows the financial impact of these....

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Simplifying Holiday Ecommerce Returns

Ecommerce shoppers developed new habits over the last year – from curbside pickup, increased online shopping, virtual fitting rooms, in-store returns, and more. It is reasonable to expect consumers to employ these skills when gift shopping this holiday....

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