Amazon comes up with the idea of putting a warning label on frequently returned items. The company says it wants customers to be better informed, to find out if it meets their needs. For Amazon, it’s also an opportunity to manage fewer order returns.
How do you know if the product you buy on Amazon is of good quality? There is the note on his card which may be a first clue. Comments can also be useful for forming an opinion. Also brand awareness or your experience with it. But, there could also be a new criterion soon, which The Information site echoes on March 27, 2023.
Our colleagues report an experiment with a display system which is used to affix a warning if the product is returned a little too often. The warning takes the form of an orange colored insert, positioned quite high on the form; the message only says that it is a “frequently returned good”, but invites to refer to the opinions and the details of the product.
According to The Information, a few items were tagged with the tag, including a record player and two dresses. The ratings were quite good, but in the comments, Internet users complained about damaged products or not being the right size. This may illustrate not a problem with the good itself, but a delivery or order problem.
Amazon’s return policy includes the ability to return most items within 30 days of receipt, with a refund usually taking two weeks to complete. These returns are generally free. New items must be returned new, unused and complete. The full rules are available on Amazon.
Beneficial for the Internet user and for Amazon
At The Information, a spokesperson explained that this new display system, whose generalization conditions on the entire platform are still unclear, was above all turned to the benefit of the group’s customers. It would, says Amazon, that its customers make better purchasing decisions, bearing in mind that the desired product is often returned.
The conditions that trigger the display of this visual are not indicated, nor if this marker can disappear after a period without too frequent returns being observed. Is it based on a percentage of purchases, for example? Or over a particular period? These criteria could also change over time, or according to the type of product.
This alert system is also of interest to the company, with the prospect of avoiding purchases that would lead to product returns. These referrals come at a cost to the e-commerce giant. These are products that have, because of these comings and goings, an increased environmental footprint. These are also goods that need to be re-occupied, and which require a little space in the warehouses.
The cost of these reshipments is not specified, but it appears to be a significant concern for the group if it decides to deploy a more visible signal. According to The Information, the company was already starting to warn people about to validate the order. A problem that would have been accentuated with the covid-19 crisis, when everyone was ordering online.
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