5 ways to improve your Return to Sender rate

Going into the digital space creates a lot of opportunities for businesses because this is where most of their customers can be found. With E-commerce automation, the process becomes easier whether it is promoting products and services, taking care of day-to-day tasks, or even communicating with customers and couriers.

While the opportunities seem endless when you take your business online, Return to Sender or RTS is among the challenges that many business owners continue to face. RTS happens when a customer is not able to receive their package after multiple attempts, products do not match what customers ordered, and sometimes when goods are damaged from mishandling.

Whether your business has a high RTS rate or you are simply trying to improve your business, here are five ways for you to bring it down:

1. Provide accurate product photos and write-ups

Since everything has gone digital, your customers do not have the luxury of checking your products in person. One way to keep your return to sender rate down is letting your customers see your products as if they were holding them physically.

Upload multiple photos showing different angles of the product to help your customers see every aspect of what you are selling. Make sure that your write-ups are descriptive, informative, and on point so customers can also better visualize and assess what they are seeing. Hopefully by doing so, you can manage their expectations better and they become more aware of what they are buying.

2. Allow your customers to review your shop and products

Similar to having accurate photos and write-ups, customer reviews can also improve your return to sender rate. That’s because customers can learn from the feedback of others who have bought products from your store.

Allowing customers to review your shop and products can also be useful in increasing your credibility and reliability. Aside from the price and discounts, feedback helps support your business because they reflect how other customers perceive your customer service and the quality of the products you are selling.

3. Pack your goods properly and safely

Avoid return to sender incidents by ensuring that your products or goods are properly packed. Recycled newspapers, extra cardboards, bubble wraps — these are just some of the materials that can help maintain the quality of your products inside their bigger packaging.

Once a product arrives damaged or has issues, the immediate step that customers may take is to have it returned. Remember, safety is also something that your customer is paying for so this step may not be as excessive as you think it is.

To help ease your burden, why not consider having a reliable fulfillment partner? You can let them take care of picking up and packing your products so you can stay focused on managing orders, especially if you are taking in large volumes.

4. Choose the right courier to deliver your goods

The customer journey does not end upon checkout, but when customers actually receive their orders. As a business owner, you want to maximize your profit, but do not immediately go for the cheapest courier.

Choose a courier based on their performance and the areas they cater to so that you can avoid RTS. It would also be better if the courier can provide multiple delivery attempts in case a customer is not able to receive their package the first time.

5. Invest in effective customer support

A common mistake of businesses is that when a purchase has already been made, they immediately move on to the next order and disregard keeping in touch with their customers. This becomes a problem when orders arrive and the customers find issues or have questions, especially if they can’t contact anyone from the online store. This may trigger them to just return their package.

To avoid this situation, choose to invest in effective customer support. This will help customers get the help they need with any challenges they might encounter.

Need a reliable partner to help lower your Return to Sender rate? Then choose Payo, the country’s leading E-commerce enabler!

Payo takes care of Last Mile Management, meaning it coordinates with couriers to make sure that everything goes smoothly from pick-up to delivery. You don’t have to worry about finding the right courier either, because the company uses a data-driven courier algorithm to determine which courier is the best one for your business. Payo also provides live customer support just in case your customers have questions or concerns on their delivery. All of these can certainly help lower your RTS rate and increase the chances of each delivery being a successful one.

Got high RTS rates and want to bring them down? You can sign up with us today or send us a message at [email protected].