Those Christmas sales sure are nice when they roll in.

How’d your holiday sales go?

…But they do come with a little bit of a catch.

Customer returns increase quite a bit in January. So, how do you handle that sudden influx?

No need to worry! We have you covered:

1. Turn Gift Returns into an Opportunity To Win New Long-Term Customers

Gift returns often are set up around the buyer, and not the gift receiver. To make your customer happy, you could do the refund in a way the buyer isn’t likely to notice.

And make the process easy. This sounds obvious. But 33% of those surveyed in Narvar’s The State of Online Returns report described the returns process as “okay” or “difficult.”

What’s so hard?

Finding and understanding the policy. Make yours clear. Put it on all receipts and gift receipts. And add an obvious link to it from your home page and product pages on your website.

96% of those surveyed in Narvar’s report said they would shop again with a company with an easy return experience.

That’s a practically guaranteed way to win more customers…and increase their loyalty!

2. Process Returns as Fast as Possible

Returns done via mail for online purchases should include automated email updates.

In-store returns need to be optimized too. Hire additional staff to manage the extra volume if you need to.

Remember, happier customers mean more revenue. And, the faster you get the returned product back on your shelves, the quicker you can sell it again.

3. Lengthen Your Return Window

Your normal policy might be 30 days. But remember, products bought as gifts may not even be given within 30 days.

Returns only have a cost on the surface. As you’ve learned, they are a phenomenal opportunity to win new customers and increase the loyalty of existing ones.

So follow the spirit of the season and be generous with your return policy. Make it the end of January instead of 30 days for items bought in October, November, and December.

Or, do whatever it needs to be. If items are bought as gifts, and they fall outside your return window, happily make an exception to your return window.

4. Train Your Employees

Finally, whatever you decide your return policy should be, make sure you train your employees on the details. Make it easily accessible and simple to understand.

Above all, your employees should understand it’s important to do what works for your customer. You can’t go wrong by making your customer happy.

Enjoy the new sales this brings!