Amazon makes returns easy. Macy's has followed suit and now does the same. What are you doing to make returns easier?
Check out this handy chart showing what department stores do for delivery and returns. Ninety-two percent of stores send a shipping confirmation email, but only 31% tell you the estimated delivery day. Regarding returns, 69% email a customer that a package has been received, but only 38% email a customer when the refund has been processed.
L2 shares some best practices for shipping (and returns) including: + Giving estimated delivery days. + Text updates. + Free returns. + Ongoing communication about the status of delivery or return.
Notice how we'd mostly all appreciate the features listed in the chart above, but that the features are almost all technology based features. As such, they are costly and time consuming to create, and likely out of reach for indie stores. When features are costly, they cut into margins--but this is the current landscape today as established by Amazon. To compete and offer better customer service, aka a more technical experience, retailers likely have to accept smaller margins.
I believe that we're in 'technology arms race' in retail. The entities that invest the most will better service customers and thereby likely 'win.'