Retailers urged to plan ahead for seasonal returns

When November rolls around, the focus for most retailers is on maximising the opportunity to make seasonal sales as the festive shopping rush kicks into high gear. With this year forecasted to be the biggest and busiest ever for retailers, the materials handling experts, Midland Pallet Trucks is urging firms not to forget the importance of returns.

“Naturally a lot of the focus this time of year is on making sales and taking every opportunity to shift inventory as shoppers search for perfect gifts and hunt down bargains. The problem with the push to make as much as possible in the run up to Christmas is that returns can take a back seat, which means that the returns process for shoppers often doesn’t run as smoothly as the original purchase,” says Phil Chesworth, managing director of Midland Pallet Trucks.

“The problem with this is that no matter how quickly the original order was shipped, when the shopper is forced to wait days or weeks for their return to be processed and the refund to be paid, the overall experience becomes a negative one. And as we all know, when an experience is poor, we tend to tell more people than we do when want to sing the praises of a great customer service experience, which can be damaging in the long term.”

Speeding up the returns process and ensuring customers enjoy the same speed and standard of service when sending something back as they do when placing the original order can go a long way towards retaining the shopper and having them buy something else.

This consideration goes a long way in an era where research shows that even the older generation are no longer loyal to the brands that they have used for the duration of their lifetime.

“Our durable hand pallet trucks and manual stacker trucks can help keep returns departments running smoothly, helping to keep customers on side when they do need to return a purchase,” he adds.

To find out more, visit https://www.midlandpallettrucks.com/