Royal Mail has launched a new online portal to help retailers better manage returns while alsoimproving the shopping experience for customers, as part of the company’s ongoing programme to
improve its products and services.The returns portal offers retailers full visibility of returned items so they can now seeexactly which items are returned by whom and why, which will enable them to better manage theirstock.
Online shoppers, on their part, will also benefit from the portal by easily printing a returnslabel and monitor the progress of their parcel being sent back to the retailer via Royal Mail’sTracked Returns service.
According to research by consulting firm Hall & Partners, the quality of the return serviceoffered by retailers has a direct impact on the customers’ future purchasing decisions. Themajority (83%) of the respondents said they trust Royal Mail to deliver their online purchases,more than any other national parcel company. As for returning items, customers favour the PostOffice which has the largest retail network in the UK with 11,500 branches.
Nick Landon, Managing Director of Royal Mail Parcels, said: “Research shows the importance foronline retailers to provide an easy returns experience for their customers if they want them to buyfrom them again. Seven in ten people who have had a difficult experience returning unwanted itemsare unlikely to order from that retailer again.”
The introduction of the returns portal follows the launch of a new parcels shipping and trackingplatform last year which was designed to enable e-retailers to improve integration between their ITsystems and Royal Mail services.
