How Can Your Shipping And Return Policies Improve Your Holiday Sales?

Now that we’re right in the thick of things with the busy holiday shopping season, many retailers across Canada are enjoying larger volumes of customer traffic. And while this is the time of year when most merchants can expect higher sales, it’s also a time of year when they can expect higher item returns. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Often, returned items are exchanged for others. But, even when the items are returned outright, it’s important for business owners to know that they are being given great opportunities.

What opportunities do returned items give to business owners? Your return policy can actually make or break a relationship with a customer. When you allow for an easy process of reimbursing a customer for his/her returned item, you send out a very positive message about your brand. Being easy to work with is a key ingredient in building a strong reputation for your brand. So, by advertising your return policy, you can actually do more to boost sales than have items returned.

This is especially true when you ship your items, meaning that they would need to be shipped back in the event returns are necessary. “One of the biggest hassles during the holiday season is shipping and returns, since the volume for both goes up at this time, plus there’s a time constraint when shipping items out for the holidays,” writes Nida Rasheed on Ecommerce-Platforms.com, “Avoid shipping hassles by providing your customers with all relevant info, and also by improving your internal shipping processes during the season.”

How can you help for customers to avoid shipping hassles? Rasheed insists that you make it easy for customers to know when your shipping deadlines are. Utilize your website to provide as much clear information as possible about your delivery, shipping and return policies. “Your homepage should have a banner stating the absolute final day they can order something to get it delivered in time for the holidays,” she advises, “Provide the same information for your international customers as well.”

You’ll also want to provide last minute shipping options. Keep in mind that there a lot of shoppers out there who often wait until days before Christmas to buy their gifts. You can attract a lot of these customers by making last minute shopping easy on them. Rasheed suggests that you offer overnight shipping to late shoppers.

How can you help for customers to avoid problems with returns? This information should also be placed prominently on your website. “Make sure it’s clear and easily understandable,” says Rasheed, “Set deadlines for when returns have to be sent in by. Consider extending this period past the holidays to reduce some hassle over the holidays themselves.”

As always, it’s important to promote your special sales, discounts and features about your company that help for it to be separated from its competitors. And, arguably, there’s no better time to do that than the holiday season. Of course, you’ll need to get your hands on some extra working capital to launch your advertising campaign to highlight all of the benefits of shopping at your store.

Synergy Merchants can help you attain the money you need in as little as 24 hours! For more information about our merchant cash advance program or to speak with one of our licensed funding specialists to get a free, no obligation quote, simply call Synergy Merchants at 1-877-718-2026 or email us at info@synergymerchants.com.