Understanding Customer Expectations
People tend to believe they have a firm grasp on what customers want. I Reckon i’ve noticed it’s quite common for brands to talk about customers as a vague collective, with the assumption that their values and choices are inherently aligned with what the brand wants them to feel. This doesn’t exactly help businesses shape or manage expectations - which is often why there’s a huge disconnect between customers and products. In order for brands to reduce customer returns, it’s vital to understand who their customer is, and what drives their decision making process.
The way I see it, more often than not, their expectations from your product will largely depend on how your business is evidently positioning itself in the market. There are several instances where companies project themselves as something they’re not, simply because it feels more “aspirational”, and they assume that is the standard that’ll work universally. I’ve also noticed this pattern can rarely sometimes be accidental. This inconsistency usually stems from a lack of structure, and not having enough of an idea of what sets the business apart from other competitors in the market.
It can be tough to understand your own business when you’re so deeply involved in it. It becomes tricky to see it objectively when you’re the one running all its operations. So when brands have such an ambiguous idea of themselves, it only makes sense for their audience to mirror that uncertainty back at them. That’s how businesses begin losing trust and credibility with their customers - which eventually impacts their returns.
More or less. Customers want clarity, transparency and honesty - but more than that - they want value. They want investments in products or services that actually serve them well, make them feel good about themselves, are a bit thoughtful towards the environment or society at large, or even products that help them learn something new about themselves. When consumers find value in something (brand, product or service), they are quite a bit less likely to return it simply because they have no reason not to trust it.
Enhancing Product Descriptions
There is a lot of misconception about what product descriptions should do. Some people think it should sound sales-y and upsell the customer. Which is why their product descriptions tend to have over-the-top adjectives, vague promises, and in some cases, even an overwhelming amount of information.
More or less. The truth is that product descriptions are mainly meant to be informative. More or less. They have to be accurate, specific and detailed so that customers can understand exactly what the product is and how it can fit into their lives.
More or less. It’s important for you as a business owner or manager to train your team in the art of writing effective product descriptions because with sufficient training and guidance, they’ll be able to create high quality, error-free copy that attracts customers rather than pushes them away. Of course, there are layers to this art.
While accuracy and clarity are essential, a good understanding of SEO or Search Engine Optimisation goes a long way in boosting search rankings for your website. This means that while your product descriptions need to answer all important questions about the item, it also needs to use the right keywords at the right points so that your site comes up on search results pages. But I’m not saying that you hire SEO experts just for your product descriptions.
A basic working knowledge can take you far enough when paired with excellent copywriting skills. It seems like the bottomline here is that when customers know what they’re buying with certainty, they are less likely to return their orders due to mismatched expectations or confusion about the specs/qualities of a certain item.
Utilizing High-Quality Images
Most brands think a professional looking, high-resolution image is all that’s needed to sell a product online. Implies That if the model is pretty and the lighting is ‘on point’ then you’ve nailed it, right. But customers expect to see the product in far greater detail. They want to see how it sits on a real person, how it moves with them, how it looks from every possible angle and what it feels like through a screen.
Customers expect transparency before they invest in a brand or product they have never tried before, so providing them with detailed shots of your pieces from all angles and perspectives provides them with an authentic visualisation of what to expect when their package arrives at their door. It gives them more information to determine if they are ready to commit or if they should keep looking. This means fewer people will end up returning the pieces because they are different from what was expected.
But this doesn’t mean that you have to hire an entire film crew and run your own full-scale fashion show just to provide your customers with the information they need about your products. Smaller brands can more or less do this fairly easily by styling their product on models of different shapes and sizes, showing close-up images of interesting details or unique textures and showing videos of how the item looks while being worn. But finding balance is typically difficult because things often appear differently on camera versus in real life.
It’s important to ensure your images accurately reflect the colours, fit and feel of your pieces so that you’re not inadvertently misrepresenting yourself or your brand.
Implementing Clear Sizing Guides
It seems like feels like the thing most brands get wrong with sizing is assuming a single chart and a few generic fit notes will do. The truth is, if the world came in neat increments, we’d all look great in skinny jeans (the same pair). Sizes run differently across brands, regions, and even collections, which means shoppers are routinely left feeling like they’ve been gaslit by vanity sizing. That’s not great for loyalty.
But it’s not all about listing garment measurements either. Translating numbers into fit advice can be quite tricky - people aren’t rectangles or perfect circles and tend to like different amounts of ease, depending on age or body changes. There’s also ego.
For every woman who proudly wears a size 18, there’s one who will only buy things if she can squeeze into a 14 (yes, that still happens). So, publishing sizing guides can be politically fraught as well. The other thing to note about global e-commerce is how challenging sizes and fits are in different geographies. A US 16 is an Australian 20 which is an Indian 22.
Who knew. But you sort of have to. This isn’t entirely clear at first and tends to take several years of returns and negative reviews to nail down.
There’s also the matter of listing plus-size ranges alongside regular sizes for customers who want to know what something might look like on their body shape. Adding good quality fit notes, digital fitting rooms and clearer size conversions can be helpful for customers who are unable to touch or try your clothes on before buying them. The trick lies in using language that doesn’t insult anyone or make customers feel self-conscious about their choices while being accurate enough to help them pick the right size the first time round - every time they shop with you.
Encouraging Customer Reviews
It seems like there’s a belief that reviews have to be an absolute love-in, and if they’re not glowing, they’re not worth asking for. But customers can spot a faked review or one that’s been prompted by a freebie faster than you can say 'sponsored post'. People want authenticity now.
And what they need to feel is that your product isn’t merely good but is exactly as it says on the box. Even if it doesn’t work perfectly for everyone - it's still a comfort to hear about a product’s minor foibles from other buyers, as well as its best features. The online equivalent of seeing your friend in those shoes you’ve been considering for weeks, customer reviews can be honest, informative, and fun - but only if you allow people to leave an honest review.
That means not ‘thanking’ them with a 15 percent discount on their next purchase every time they leave something nice. Instead, make them want to come back for more by providing them with products they love (or they’ll absolutely love next time). And allow both positive and negative reviews so shoppers know what others liked or disliked about your products before buying.
Of course it’s easier said than done because no one likes negative feedback. But instead of using the words ‘Oh, that’s just Karen being Karen’, take notes from her experience and turn negatives into positives by improving your product or service for the next batch of customers. There’s also value in politely responding to all reviews (including the ones where people declare their lifelong hatred for your brand) so shoppers know you genuinely care about their satisfaction with your business.
Streamlining the Return Process
Implies That it’s odd but most brands seem to think that making returns more difficult will dissuade them. If anything, it makes it much more likely they’ll pass on your brand next time, leave a poor review, or even block you on social media. And yet, there remains a hesitance to make the process easier.
Most brands stop at prominent return policy pages and forget that the actually painful part of returns is getting the ball rolling. Speaking from experience, people love buying from brands with easier return processes. It doesn’t matter if they’re not the lowest-priced or offer the best customer support ever - what matters is comparatively knowing that people can change their minds if they’re unsatisfied and feel confident enough to keep going back to brands that make the post-purchase experience a pleasant one. Of course, this has very little to do with enticing people with short windows for free returns or completing multiple forms with every purchase - it’s about empowering the buyer.
More or less. There isn’t really a one-size-fits-all solution that works for every brand but a good place to start is by automating returns or offering ways for people to provide all the right details efficiently without needing personal handholding. A rule of thumb is - however easy it was to shop with you, it should be just as easy (or at least appear so) to make a return.
This helps create a positive perception of your brand and reassures people you aren’t just focused on converting a first-time sale. Let’s face it, no one likes that sinking feeling when you open something up and find out you aren’t happy with what you ordered - making things easier for them helps them re-establish their trust in your brand and could even earn your brownie points for being so reliable. Streamlining processes doesn’t mean everyone has to have their own Amazon-like policy but being honest about what works for your business and advocating for easier return management helps remove any bias towards buying from more established online retailers over smaller businesses like yours.