A free-returns policy boosts Altrec`s customer loyalty
A free returns policy at Altrec.com, a retail recreational sports site, has increased customer loyalty, Tim Shannon, Altrec’s director of operations, tells Internet Retailer. Altrec absorbs about $4 per return in U.S. Postal Service Returns at Ease fees. “Customers that have gone through our returns process are coming back at a higher rate than those who haven’t,” Shannon says. In fact, customers who have returned purchases to Altrec buy twice a year vs. 1.5 times a year for all other customers. Shannon adds that Altrec’s return rate is just over 10%.
Altrec started offering the free returns policy shortly after launching its web site in 1999, following a pilot project with the USPS. Altrec was the first site tested for the Returns at Ease program, Shannon says. He adds that Altrec had been investigating a free-returns system when its USPS shipping representative invited it to participate in the pilot.
The Returns at Ease program is implemented with the Postal Service’s kit for web site developers so they can customize the application for specific services. In Altrec’s case, it enables Altrec’s customers to manage their own returns online by downloading and printing a postage-paid return label. The customer attaches the label to a box provided by Altrec, then leaves it for postal pick-up.
Shannon says Altrec combines its free returns policy with nominal fees for shipping, including 99 cents for orders of more than $20 and $2.99 for orders of $20 and under.
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