Businesses today regardless of their scale, operations, or size just cannot afford to return or exchange any of their products if their customers are not happy with the purchase. Whether it is a replacement or a cashback opportunity, your customers are not going to let it go for the simple reason that other manufacturers, retailers, and e-commerce players are providing them with the same. Where does that lead you? How will you be able to increase your conversions and reach your sales targets if you constantly have to deal with these returns and exchanges just to stay in the game? 3D product visualization and immersive experiences fuelled by augmented reality and virtual reality are your answer. But first, let’s figure out why managing returns or replacements for your products is so difficult.

1. An Obligation To Return Or Replace

Close to 75% of e-commerce retailers and manufacturers sincerely believe that returns are a necessary evil if you want to stay in the game. The biggest constraint is that every e-commerce player in the market is more than willing to provide returns and replacements just to reduce friction with their customers and also to keep them happy. However, the downside of it is that even loyal consumers of a particular website become used to returns and replacements. Any small-scale retailers that already have a high fulfillment cost usually end up bearing the brunt of these return costs that eat into their margin.

2. Real-World Reverse Logistics Are Not Practical

As compared to a well-established initial delivery system, its operations are very much fragmented and inefficient. It often leads to a higher degree of complexity in the whole path of the return or replacement. Somewhere close to 10% of these reverse logistics cycles are efficient and only around 42% of these returns prove to be practical in the long run. This clearly means that returns and replacements are not possible for every online or e-Commerce store out there.

3. Returns Are Cross-Functional

One more thing that hinders the replacement or return of a product is the ownership of the product itself. At times the return or replacement is fulfilled by the online marketplace and many times it is the function of the manufacturer or the original retailer. This is a limitation that the brand, retailer, and the online marketplace have to overcome together. They must decide upon a route for the return or replacement to take place and also who will be supervising the return or initiating the process in the first place. For example, whatever the root cause of the return might be, it is for these parties to decide whether the product returns to the manufacturer for inspection, the retailer, or the online marketplace for resale.

4. Lack Of Insights To Address The Root Cause Of The Return

Do you know that more than 83% of retailers find it impractical and erosive to their revenue to address the root cause of the return or replacement? Instead, more than two-thirds of retailers just dispose of the damaged or returned goods to a landfill or recycle them in some way. This results in a vicious cycle that does not allow them to address the root cause of the return and therefore, does nothing to prevent such incidents in the future. Returns and replacements keep on piling up and so does the waste in our landfills. Needless to say, their revenue margins stay either stay stagnant or keep on eroding.

3D To Reduce Incidents Of Returns And Replacements

Remember, one 3D model is better than 10 photos of your products. E-commerce websites all over the world have begun to ditch average Joe photos and boring graphics for high-quality and realistic 3D. For example, with 3D interior design elements, your customers can visualize your product better, and also integrate it with their other furniture pieces in their current living room! Moreover, a 360° view of your products convinces them to make a purchase with you sooner.

Important Note: Close to 22% of the returns that happen online are simply because the photo doesn’t correspond to the product at all.

3D Visuals Decrease Your Return Rate In Multiple Ways

• They allow your customers to visualize the product in their space through virtual reality applications
• They can edit and improve your products online with the help of a configurator
• The 3-dimensional depiction of your products is identical to the product thereby reducing the chance of any returns at all

Also, 3D visuals reduce your costs and improve your brand image. They also give you a much stronger competitive advantage. What are you waiting for?

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