I just love this example of turning what appears to be a negative into a positive…
I’m referring to Shoeline.com’s Return-O-Meter. What’s that you ask? Well basically it plays on the reality of product returns – especially now after the holiday gift giving that doesn’t always get people what they want.
It’s all nice to offer free shipping, but let’s be honest sometimes the shoe (or boot) just doesn’t fit. Anyhow, Shoeline.com decided to be up front about product returns. Makes sense because returns aren’t always a bad thing for “everyone” – i.e. if you’ve got a narrow foot, seeing that the #1 reason for returns is “the shoe is too narrow” might just be a good thing. That’s right. In addition to showing the level of returns, they also shared the top reasons for the return! Quite smart really. Wondering about the return rate of the Carolina Hiking Boot? Check it out now at www.shoeline.com! Too fun!
This whole strategy speaks well to customer service and keeping happy customers. Managing expectations is a big part of managing the overall web experience. It’s a nice extension to product reviews which these guys encourage as well. Plus it helps reduce overall returns which is good on all sides since customers have less hassle and retailers save money associated with back and forth shipping charges. It’s the no surprises approach and I like it a lot.
There are lots of businesses that could take this approach. Is yours one of them?
I encourage you to read the whole case study on MarketingSherpa.com. But hurry, it’s only online for about a week – til Jan 10 I think.
5 Comments
Rishi Rawat at 11:28 on January 4, 2008
Carolyn: What an incredibly smart idea!!! Thanks for sharing this, we owe you big time. Unfortunately I could not access the MarketingSherpa.com study…
Rishi Rawat at 11:37 on January 4, 2008
Hello again: I tried to check out the ‘reasons for return’ section but could not see it. Is it buried somewhere or have they removed it?
Rishi
Linda Bustos at 13:14 on January 11, 2008
Great idea! Talk about being an open brand/company.
Webinar Recap: What’s Your Brand Personality? - Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog at 13:29 on March 7, 2008
[...] introduced the Return-O-Meter which helps customers understand why other people returned a product, to help make a better [...]
Gwen at 15:30 on January 14, 2009
Well let me tell you about my Shoeline experience which was not at all positive.
I ordered Softt boots and after wearing them for an hour developed serious pain in my left foot.
I called and gave them all the information, they had been worn, the pain, etc.
I was told to return them and they would access the boot.
I heard nothing from them for several weeks and today I received the boots stating they could do nothing, they had been worn.
I will never purchase another shoe from this company and will tell all my friends who will do the same.