Amazon is starting to implement a label on its American platform to flag frequently returned products. A warning for consumers that would encourage them to buy more responsibly.
Being able to order online is really very practical: it only takes a few clicks for the product to be delivered in the following days, without having to leave your home. An ease and comfort of purchase that make some addicts! However, we are not immune to unpleasant surprises. Non-contractual photos, badly cut clothes, poor quality products, counterfeits… And that’s without counting on fake opinions, posted by professionals, their entourage or their communication agency, which serve to mislead consumers! In these cases, the latter tend to return the items to e-commerce platforms, and Amazon is no exception. In an attempt to stem the problem, the company has started reporting on its US site the products “frequently returned”as reported The Information. This is not going to do the business of some sellers…
Amazon Frequently Returned Items: Alerting the Consumer
The warning takes the form of an orange box, positioned quite high on the form, indicating “Frequently returned item: check this item’s details and user reviews for more information”. For the moment, it concerns only a small selection of articles, of which a record player And two dresses – in the comments, we can see that many buyers complain about damaged products or not the right size – but this new indication could well become widespread. The criteria that make such a visual appear on a product are currently unknown. Is it based on the total percentage of returns? If so, can this mention disappear after a certain period when there are fewer returns?
This display helps flag items to be wary of at a glance and encourages consumers to double-check before making a purchase, especially for those who tend to buy on the spur of the moment. head – or rather a crush – without necessarily taking the time to consult the opinions and, above all, the photos posted by other customers. This is for Amazon to help its customers make better purchasing decisions, bearing in mind that the desired product is often returned. But this mention is also profitable for the e-commerce giant.
Amazon Frequently Returned Items: Limit Unnecessary Returns
Currently, returns on Amazon are possible, free of charge, within 30 days of receipt of the product, with a refund taking place after approximately two weeks. Items should theoretically be returned new, unused and complete. However, according to The Information, the problem of frequent returns would have been accentuated with the Covid-19 crisis, when everyone was ordering online, and did not return to its pre-pandemic level. The problem is that it is a real logistical headache, and therefore a source of economic loss, for the company, not to mention the fact that the packaging has to be redone and that, sometimes , the products come back unusable – this is particularly the case for clothes, which may have bad smells, be damaged or stained. Finally, it is also an additional carbon footprint, between unnecessary round trips, the repackaging of products and the fact that they sometimes end up in landfill.
This measure is also a means of putting a little pressure on third-party retailers and inducing them to change their behavior, for example by forcing them to be more attentive in the description of their products, given that such a label risks lose many transactions. To see the famous message appear on the few products concerned, you must connect to your Amazon account. The company has not yet indicated whether it intends to extend its device to other countries but, if the test proves conclusive, it would be wrong to deprive itself of it.