Should you accept returns in your retail store?

It won’t be long now, before the tide of gifts that ‘weren’t quite right’ get besieged upon retailers.

Does your store accept returns?

Get Guide on How To Reduce The Number Of Returns In Your Retail Store

Hey there, Salena from Salenaknight.com and the Bringing Business To Retail Podcast, and today, let’s talk about whether you should allow returns in your retail store.

First off, let’s get the legalities sorted. Each country, and even state will have different laws regarding when you are legally required to accept a return. Generally, these revolve around instances when an item is faulty, is not as described or not fit for the purpose it was marketed for.

But what about when a customer just changes their mind. Maybe they picked the wrong size for that only-seen-once-a-year niece, or you got a yellow one, when everyone KNOWS that yellow just makes you look washed out. There’s even the chance that there was a little bit of buyer’s remorse setting in, so the customer just wants their money back.

After you’ve investigated at what you are legally required to do, let’s say that you are within your rights to refuse to return an item when it’s just a change of mind situation.

Should you let that person return the goods?

Let’s look at the pro’s and cons from both sides on the shop counter.

On the customer’s side, the option to return an item is kind of like a guarantee. It’s a no brainer. I’ll buy this thing, if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll just bring it back

Cue a sale

From the retailer’s perspective, things look mighty different.

Do any of these sound familiar

“If I accept returns, I’ll be losing money”

“I’ll end up with old stock being returned and I won’t be able to move it”

“Processing returns is a logistical and accounting nightmare”

I’ve heard them all, plus, many others.

This week’s download is my eguide on How to Reduce Your Product Returns, and in it, I give you the process you should implement, in order to reduce the number of products that get returned to your store. If you’re listening on a mobile device, simply click the button that says “Get Your How To Reduce Product Returns eguide”, or if you’re in the US, you can grab a copy of the guide by texting RETAIL24 to 33444 and I’ll send it your way

At the end of the day, you own and run your retail store, so you get to say what the rules are. Whether you choose to accept change of mind returns or not, is up to you. You just need to ensure that you stick to what the choice that you make.

If you’ve found this information useful, come join the Bringing Business To Retail community. We’re a bunch of retailers chatting all things business. Best of all, it’s free.

And for this weeks How to Reduce Your Product Returns eguide, plus a link into the Bringing Business To Retail Community, head over to salenaknight.com