Win customer loyalty with a digital return process — a guest post by Yayloh

E-commerce growth is all about retention

Acquisition has been the engine of eCommerce growth for many years, but that has shifted in the last few years. With more and more competition and increasing acquisition costs, many DTC brands have realised that nurturing a customer is financially more sustainable than acquiring a new one.

While brands are pretty good at delivering a great CX during the purchase journey, the key to customer retention lies in how good the brand delivers a great CX post-purchase. Let's dive a little bit more into that.

A recent study shows that 75% of customers would never buy again from a brand after a poor return experience, meaning that the money spent on converting a user is lost, and the short relationship gets broken. Yes, that's a lot, and it certainly shows it is extremely worth it to invest in an excellent return experience.

But how? An easy and joyful return experience will build trust with your brand, and, as customers feel properly taken care of, they have a higher chance of returning to shop again.

But that's not it, so let's deep dive into the growth opportunities that a return management software could bring to the table.

Level-up your brand experience

Usually, strong brands curate their store exceptionally well so that the brand is present at all times during the purchase journey. It helps build a recognisable brand and builds trust. Nevertheless, not many manage to ensure brand consistency throughout the return process, which is key to boost customer loyalty.

The Oslo-based fashion house, Holzweiler recently partnered wit taylor return management platform connected to Centra's API to tackle the lack of brand presence in their return process. "We want to ensure that our brand is present at every customer touchpoint, and yayloh is filling this gap during the return process, which is key for retention and growth." Marius Valaker, Head of Digital at Holzweiler, shared in a recent interview with yayloh.

Break through the noise

Giving customers everything at the palm of their hands with a digital return solution will create that "wow" moment that you want to stand out from the crowd.

Centra's customer, Eytys, shifted from a paper-based return process to a digital one and immediately saw the impact on customer satisfaction. yayloh allowed Eytys to "deliver a best-in-class post-purchase experience with a beautifully branded digital return form and more agile and performant customer service processes," shared the brand's eCommerce Manager, Louise.

Save your team hours of work

This is not the least important point. With a digital return solution, the more time-wasting tasks get automated, and your team can focus on the one adding real value to your customers. On top of that, a digital platform fosters collaboration and speeds up the return process. This can save your team up to 60 hours of work a month on top of boosting customer satisfaction.

Reduce the return rate

Cherry on the cake, a return management platform, also helps brands reduce their return rates.

When submitting a return request, customers love to give feedback. The information gathered on the product is later analysed to help understand return reasons. With all data collected, product teams can update product descriptions or sizing to offer a more on-point description, and the production team can improve fitting and materials. "Gathering better data on why we get returns is important for us to reduce our return rates", Holzweiler mentions and adds that it is "a win-win for both our customers, us as a brand, and the environment."

Customer experience is crucial for a DTC brand and does not end at check out. With an easy return experience and all information at the palm of their hands, customers feel comforted, reassured and happier, increasing the chance of placing a new order again.

The Yayloh return management platform is specially built for DTC brands looking to offer a fully digital return process to boost customer loyalty and customer service team efficiency. On top of that, it unleashes the potential of return data to reduce returns.

While Centra empowers brands by creating an online shopping experience that puts brand and customer experience at the centre, yayloh closes the loop to ensure the brand is present during the return process. This way, brands have everything in place with both platforms to boost sales globally and ensure that their one-time buyers return to shop repeatedly, which is vital for long term success.