With their high value and easily breakable nature, electronics present a special challenge when it comes to processing returns. While no returned item is exactly welcome, it’s especially crucial to maintain resale value of phones, tablets, computers and more to reduce losses and recover revenue.
One thing electronics returns have in common with other products, however, is the risk of customer dissatisfaction if the process doesn’t go smoothly. Ensuring an easy, well optimized return experience is important for both your business and your customers.
Electronic Returns Challenges
According to ecommerce company esw, the return rate for electronics is between 3% and 15%, depending on the category. For example, TVs fall into the 10-15% return rate, while 5-10% of computers and 5-7% of smartphones get returned.
Regardless of the category, electronics all have a few things in common:
- Value: Electronics are big-ticket items, which means that every one returned puts a big dent in your profits. Being able to disposition returns in a way that recovers value is important for every product category, but it’s especially critical when you’re looking at hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on each item.
- Fragility: Glass, delicate internal components, hinges – electronic devices have a lot of opportunity for breakage on their way back from the customer and on their journey through your returns desk.
- Technical Complexity: With intricate and delicate components, performing repairs or refurbishing electronics is a more technical task than it is with other product categories.
Fraud is another major concern for electronics returns. Whether it’s buying a big-screen TV to watch a specific event, then returning it or buying a computer with a stolen credit card and returning it for cash, electronics are a big temptation for fraudsters. This danger can be mitigated through policies like a limited return window, issuing refunds only to the original payment method (so no giving cash for an item bought on a card), and carefully inspecting returned items to make sure they’re correct and complete.
All of these issues make electronics returns trickier than other products, but creating a comprehensive return process can help you retain the maximum value of these high-dollar items.
Recovering Value from Electronics Returns
Minimizing the effect of returned electronics on your profits starts with creating a comprehensive, step-by-step return process. Especially when you’re contracting with a 3PL (or you ARE a 3PL) to handle returns, you need to ensure that the people accepting, inspecting, and repairing/refurbishing/reselling your items know what to look for. Automating the process as much as possible can also reduce your costs associated with handling the returns.
This is where a solution like Octolan’s Returns Desk can eliminate a lot of headaches. Returns Desk gives your team a guided process, walking them through a series of questions and integrated photo capture to establish item condition and what steps it should go through next.
This guided workflow, built on rules-based dispositioning, helps you process returns much faster. That means not only recovering value from the items themselves, but also saving time and expenses involved in accepting, inspecting, and handling them. That one-two punch can dramatically cut your losses from returned electronics.
Ready to see what that automation can do for you? Get in touch today to learn more.