This will enable retailers to improve stock management because they will know what return items to expect each day and can plan ahead with future orders and despatch times. Royal Mail’s returns portal also enables online retailers to help their shoppers to benefit from an improved experience. They will have the ability to easily print off a returns label and monitor the progress of their item back to the retailer through Royal Mail’s enhanced Tracked Returns service, which now tracks at five points in Royal Mail’s network instead of two.

Helping online retailers meet the needs of their customers The development of the new returns portal is part of Royal Mail’s on-going programme to continually improve our products and services to support online retailers and their shoppers. 

Research has revealed the importance of a good returns experience for driving repeat purchases. Seven in ten (72%) of shoppers have said they would be unlikely to shop with a retailer if they had a difficult returns experience. Meanwhile, the Hall and Partners research also reveals that 83 per cent of people trust Royal Mail to deliver their online purchases, more than any other national parcel company.

Alongside this, the Post Office, the largest retail network in the UK with 11,500 branches, is the most preferred method for returning items. Nick Landon Managing Director of Royal Mail Parcels said: “I am very pleased to announce the launch of our new returns portal which helps online retailers manage the increasingly important return logistics process better while also improving the experience for their customers.

“Our research shows the importance for online retailers of an easy and convenient returns experience for their customers if they want to get a repeat purchase. Seven in ten people who have had a difficult experience returning unwanted items are unlikely to order from that retailer again.”

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Source: Royal Mail Group