Retailers are under mounting pressure to implement more cost-effective returns solutions when shipping abroad, writes Laura Heywood.

There are many battlegrounds in today’s multichannel world, but returns management is one of the latest to emerge in the fight for customers’ spend and loyalty.

Returns are no longer the forgotten part of the retail journey and retailers are increasingly looking at how to improve their returns process and use it to rise above the competition. But when you’re shipping to multiple countries, this can be a complex thing to get right.

Cross-border trade is increasing, and with return rates of up to 45% in some countries, retailers are now increasingly under pressure to implement more cost-effective returns solutions. 

This is a subject that was brought forcibly to light at this month’s Retail Week Live conference, with a fascinating masterclass on improving returns processes providing insights from Al Gerrie, ecommerce director at WeArePentagon.com and at chief executive of ZigZag Global, along with Dave Elston, head of ecommerce Europe at Clarks and Ajay Nassa, head of ecommerce at Blue Inc.

Their message was clear - a first-class returns policy can promote customer loyalty while maximising resale value and minimising losses abroad.

And if you remain unconvinced just consider these facts:  

  • A study by OC&C Strategy Consultants, in collaboration with Google, found the overseas ecommerce sector could grow to £45bn by 2020.
  • In-depth interviews with 25 of the UK’s foremost retail chief executives revealed 50% of retail bosses report international sales have increased as a share of revenue in the past 12 months.
  • In a Retail Week survey of supply chain directors of the some of the UK’s leading retailers, 13% voted international expansion as the area in which the biggest innovation will be seen in 2015.

Such figures demonstrate the importance of an efficient and innovative returns process. Yes, there might be barriers to shipping to other countries, and yes, consumer expectations around returns do vary widely between countries, but those obstacles can and must be overcome.