Return to Sender? Only If It’s Convenient

Commerce protection provider Signifyd today unveils its latest data on European consumer return trends, revealing a crucial consideration for retailers in today's evolving economic landscape.

The research, conducted recently by OnePoll across Europe, highlights a key insight: While inflation may be easing, cost-conscious consumers prioritise retailers offering flexible return policies and payment options. This underscores the importance of going beyond the "buy now" button and focusing on the entire retail life cycle, from delivery to return.

With returns globally costing retailers more than $700 billion in 2023 and projected to cost nearly $1 trillion by the end of the decade, retailers need innovative strategies to manage the process effectively. Beyond the rising cost of legitimate returns, any future-focused strategy must account for fraudulent returns. The challenge is growing rapidly, given that the adoption of SCA has made traditional payments fraud more difficult.

Key Findings:

• Return policies drive buying decisions: 86% of Spanish consumers consider return policies very or fairly important when choosing a retailer, with well over half of those saying “very important.” Overall, 77% of European consumers agreed that return policies are fairly or very important.
• Ease of return is paramount: 83% of respondents across Europe find ease of return crucial, reflecting sentiment in Spain where 91% agreed that easy returns were vital.
• While European shoppers were less likely to shop with a retailer that charged for returns (56%) or offered only store credit refunds (50%), Spanish consumers were slightly more forgiving. Only 55% of Spanish consumers were less likely to shop with retailers who charged for returns and only 49% were less inclined to shop merchants who offer only store credit for returned items.
• Preferred return methods vary: Spanish consumers agreed with other Europeans that courier collection provided their preferred return experience (39%). Meanwhile, 34% of Spaniards liked in-store returns best and 27% favoured post office drop-off. Across Europe, using the post office was rated second best and in-store returns finished third.
• Common reasons for return rejection: The most frequent reasons reported by Spanish consumers for rejected returns include, exceeding the return window (18%), damaged items (16%), and not having a proper receipt (14%). 30% of respondents said they’d never had a return rejected by a merchant.
• Payment preferences differ geographically: Over half of Spaniards (53%) and Italians (55%) prefer PayPal, while 55% of Britons favour credit cards.

The research serves as a warning to European retailers not to rely on customer experience ending with the purchase; instead, they need to account for the full retail life cycle through delivery and possession.

Amal Ahmed, Director, Financial Services and EMEA Marketing at Signifyd said, "Our research highlights the complexities retailers face in today's evolving consumer landscape. While offering a seamless and customer-centric experience throughout the retail journey remains crucial, including efficient and flexible return options, it's equally important to implement robust fraud prevention strategies to address the growing challenge of fraudulent returns. By adapting to changing consumer expectations and prioritising both customer satisfaction and security, retailers can thrive in this dynamic environment."

Methodology

Results of this research are from a survey of 8,000 adults aged 18 and above, split evenly across the UK, Spain, Italy and France. The research was conducted in February by OnePoll on behalf of Signifyd.

About Signifyd

Signifyd provides an end-to-end Commerce Protection Platform that leverages its Commerce Network to maximise conversion, automate customer experience and eliminate fraud and consumer abuse risk for retailers. Its solutions provide the transparency and control that brands need to succeed in the rapidly changing world of commerce. Signifyd, which is the leading provider of payment security and fraud prevention for the Top 1000 Retailers for 2023, is headquartered in San Jose, CA, with locations in London, Belfast, New York, Denver, Mexico City and São Paulo.

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