Retailers like ToysRUs.com, Target.com and MarshallFields.com run the risk of confusing customers with multiple returns polices for products purchased through Amazon.com, says San Francisco-based retail analyst Duif Calvin. "Consumers don't have a clue that if they buy from one of these retailers through Amazon.com that they can't return products to a store," Calvin says, citing the results of studies she and other analysts have done.
Shoppers of major retail brands typically don't check out returns policies before purchasing, because of their familiarity and trust associated with particular brands, Calvin adds. But this runs the risk that shoppers will be disappointed when it comes time to return a product and they realize that they can only return it to Amazon's warehouse, which may offer a shorter window to make returns. For example, Amazon offers a 30-day policy instead of the 90 days offered directly by Target when shoppers purchase from Target.com instead of through Amazon.com.
Overall, however, most retailers do a pretty good job of meeting the returns expectations of their customers, Calvin says. Otherwise, they run the risk of losing customers as well as losing a sale, she says.
Two retailers that do a particularly good job of meeting customer expectations regarding returns are HotTopic.com, a site that sells apparel and accessories to teens, and Buy.com, even though they have very different policies, Calvin says. She says HotTopic, whose policy is more restrictive, clearly spells out its policy with a home page link because many young shoppers will hesitate to make a purchase before knowing if and how they can return apparel that doesn't fit. Buy.com, by contrast, offers a far more liberal returns policy because it caters to older consumers who expect an easy returns policy.
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