Online Shoppers Seek Convenient, Transparent Experience — With Returns, Too

While major e-commerce retailers ready themselves to deal with cranky holiday shoppers amid a fulfillment bottleneck this season, there’s another area of concern that brands need to focus on: returns. Following a period of unprecedented online growth due to COVID-19, consumers are expecting a “returns experience” that is not only convenient and predictable, but also contactless and transparent, according to a consumer survey by Narvar, which describes itself as an “intelligent customer engagement platform.” In a poll of more than 1,000 consumers in September, Narvar’s study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic “has clearly accelerated some shopping behaviors while slowing others.” “Consumers have been forced to shift toward online shopping to the tune of $107 billion across nearly every category, learned to plan around reduced availability of products and restricted services, and managed safety concerns,” the company said in a statement. Narvar also said it found “over half (56 percent) of consumers tried a new retailer during the pandemic. While certain trends, like curbside pickups, printerless returns and bracketing, have become more popular with shoppers during this time, others, like demand for proactive communication around deliveries and refunds, have remained constant, indicating the shape of the shopping experience moving forward.” This means brands need to

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