Return-fee fairness

Who pays for a return strongly shapes later spending, because customers treat a return fee as unfair.

Trust and risk reduction Mainly on Post-purchase pages
Where it applies

Four of the eight page areas.

HomepageNot typical CategoryNot typical SearchNot typical ProductAlso applies CartAlso applies CheckoutAlso applies Post-purchaseMainly here

Not usually a sitewide principle. See everything at work on Post-purchase pages

How to use it

Three ways to use it, and one to avoid.

  • Offer free returns where margin allows.
  • Before introducing fees, compare the long-run spend of customers charged for returns against those not charged.
  • Make the returns route easy to find after purchase.
  • Avoid: charging return costs for faulty or misdescribed goods, which the trader must bear.
What the research found

Paying for a return cut later spending sharply. The figures are not benchmarks.

Customers who paid for their own return cut their spending at that retailer by 75-100% over two years.

Bower and Maxham linked surveys to real customer spending over four years. Customers who paid for their own return cut spending at that retailer by 75-100% over the next two years, while free-return customers raised it sharply. Fees depended on who was blamed and the data predate today's norms, so do not treat the figures as benchmarks.

Key research

Two sources, each checked.

Last reviewed

Bower & Maxham (2012) Return Shipping Policies of Online Retailers: Normative Assumptions and the Long-Term Consequences of Fee and Free Returns J. Marketing Read the source Janakiraman, Syrdal & Freling (2016)Meta-analysis The Effect of Return Policy Leniency on Consumer Purchase and Return Decisions: A Meta-analytic Review J. Retailing Read the source
Before you use it · UK law

For faulty or misdescribed goods the trader must bear return costs.

This is simply a pointer to check, not legal advice. Seek legal advice before you put this principle into action.