The majority of UK online shoppers say they expect free returns while a series of new online
shopping behaviour types have been identified as part of the new Royal Mail study ‘Delivery Matters
Returns Special’.
The research results revealed that 73% of the respondents always expect to return their items
for free while 60% even said they would rather not buy anything from an e-retailer or marketplace
seller again if they have been charged for a return. The majority (77%) of the respondents also
said they are more likely to shop again with a retailer if they are offered returns with Royal
Mail.
A third of online shoppers surveyed returned women’s clothes, the study further revealed. The
main reasons cited for returning clothing were fit and size, while the most common reasons for
returning other items were faults and damage.
Convenience turned out to be an essential component for most of the online shoppers surveyed,
with 72% of those favouring the Post Office over other locations as the best drop-off point for
their returns. 56% cited the need for tracking, in order to be certain the returned items will be
received and refunded.
The majority (78%) of online shoppers also admitted that their returns experience is likely to
impact on their rating of a marketplace seller.
Interestingly, the Delivery Matters report also revealed the emergence of various online
shopping behavior types such as Returns Addict, Bargain Hunter, Duplicate Dealer and Swap
Shopper.
Returns Addicts love to profit from online shopping to the fullest, with the thought in mind
that they can return products if they are not quite right. Women over 55 living in rural locations
are the masters of the return with over three quarters (76%) saying that they recently returned
personal purchases.
Duplicate Dealers want to make sure they purchase exactly the right size, with 1 in 10 (11%)
choosing to buy more than one size of a single item with the determination to send the one back
which doesn’t fit.
Bargain Hunters constantly look for bargains, whether it is returns or ‘buy one get one free’.
Young city dwellers aged being 18-34 are the biggest deal hunters, with 6% saying that they
continue to look for a better price even after their purchase has arrived.
Swap shoppers use easy online returns to change unwanted gifts for themselves or on behalf of
others. Gender plays no part in this behaviour type, with both men (36%) and women (38%) saying
that they have sent back a present that was purchased online. Southern urbanites are the hardest to
please with over a third (38%) returning a gift.
The publication of the report coincides with the launch of Royal Mail’s new online portal to
help retailers better manage returns while also improving the shopping experience for customers, as
part of the company’s ongoing programme to improve its products and services. The ‘Tracked Returns’
service allows customers to easily print off a returns label and monitor the progress of their item
while giving retailers full visibility of what exactly is being returned, from which customer and
for what reason.
Nick Landon, managing director for Royal Mail Parcels, said: “The internet is one big shop
front, letting people anywhere in the country get their hands on anything they want. Convenient
returns play a big part in making e-commerce attractive, and as online shoppers become more and
more comfortable with online purchasing they are starting to dictate how they want the process to
work, from free returns to end to end tracking. We are sharing this research and launching our new
easy-to-use returns portal, to help online retailers satisfy the evolving needs of today’s online
shoppers.”
