How to Maximize Recovery for Returned Merchandise

The current trend for retailers, who want to stay competitive with Amazon, is to provide liberal return policies. When retailers provide an easy and quick means for customers to return a product, it can drive loyalty and ongoing business. According to recent papers published by Canada Post and UPS, consumers are looking for clarity, simplicity and convenience in a return policy. Further, 33% of shoppers indicate that they will complete their online purchase if the returns process is easy.

Some interesting stats:

• 88% of shoppers review a retailer’s return policy throughout their online shopping experience
• 66% review the return policy before purchasing
• 15% abandon a cart when the return policy is not clear

A happy return for the customer can be a logistical nightmare for the retailer: due to these liberal policies, more merchandise than ever is coming back (a lot of which can’t go back on shelves). Retailers need to be prepared for how to handle this increase in order to avoid overstocked warehouses and lost revenue. Sometimes, for efficiency’s sake, the best option is to slate the merchandise for liquidation and recovery as much as you can. More and more retailers are applying strategic, technology-driven liquidation programs in order to recoup the maximum value on returned items. This includes leveraging a web-based platform and selling the inventory directly to business buyers.

Through B-Stock’s web-based B2B liquidation marketplace platform, retailers are able to reach thousands of approved business buyers—interested in products across all categories and conditions. By enabling the buyers to bid directly on merchandise via online auctions, this eliminates dependence on a single liquidator while automating the sales process (read: zero time spent negotiating). What’s more, the auctions create competition, driving up pricing.

But don’t take our word for it, check out some of our client success stories:

• After eliminating its dependence on a single liquidator, a global ecommerce company doubled its prices on returned and overstock inventory in three months.
• A Fortune 500 home improvement retailer was experiencing an increase in customer-returned appliances—name-brand washers, dryers, ranges and refrigerators and more. Find out how the the retailer increased recovery rates by 42% in a single quarter.
• One of the world’s largest online destinations for home furnishings and décor was experiencing a higher volume of customer returns and other excess inventory due to explosive growth in sales. B-Stock’s customized data-driven methods have generated a 31% increase in gross merchandise value (GMV) over their previous solution and target recovery goal. Read the details here.
• After separating out its mixed lots into smaller categories, including food and sundries, a Fortune 500 retailer tripled its pricing on the inventory.
• A large North American paper manufacturer was selling its excess product to a handful of buyers via a slow, manual process and wanted to: automate the sales process, increase the amount of interested buyers, and increase demand and pricing for the product.

Ready to optimize your liquidation strategy? Email us at [email protected].

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