The expert spoke about the problem of increasing returns in e-commerce and ways to solve it.

Against the background of the rapid growth of e-commerce, the number of refunds is growing in proportion to the number of orders. The simpler the refund procedure, the more often consumers use it. At the same time, along with the convenience for the buyer, the logistical costs also increase. Artem Vaskanyan, Deputy General Director for Logistics of the 3PL operator NC Logistic, told Izvestia on November 21.

"The main candidate for limiting refunds is the clothing and footwear category. Customers often order several sizes and models at once — sometimes up to 20 items — to try on and return everything that did not fit. After that, the same things are used for fitting by other people who also arranged the delivery," he said.

Formally, returned goods must be processed and cleaned, but it is not always possible to ensure real sanitary safety on the scale of large marketplaces. Frequent returns in this category force marketplaces to seek a balance between customer convenience and economic sustainability. A potential solution is to develop technologies such as virtual fitting, 3D modeling, and precise sizing directly on the site. This allows you to reduce the number of refunds already at the product selection stage.

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"Another category where refunds may be limited is electronics. The situation is different here: most returns are due to technical problems, rather than subjective reasons like "the color didn't fit" or "the wrong size turned out to be." Therefore, radical changes in this area are not expected — in electronics, the refund processes have long been debugged and are under control," the specialist shared.

Nevertheless, the risk of abuse, according to him, remains: for example, when the device is returned as "defective", although in fact it was simply used, tested and decided to return it. Interactive product demonstration services will help to avoid erroneous orders, which make it possible to test the device live in augmented reality (AR) mode or through a 3D review.

For example, you can see how the TV will look on the wall, compare the sizes of laptops on a real scale, or visually evaluate the smartphone interface right on the product page. Video packages and reviews from manufacturers integrated on the marketplace's website, as well as smart recommendations based on purchase history and reviews, are also effective. All this reduces the risk of making a wrong choice and, as a result, the number of refunds.

"For marketplaces, refunds are not just an inconvenience, but a full—fledged logistical process. These operations provide for the allocation of special areas and personnel. In fact, refunds turn into a cost center, a non-commercial element of the business model that requires significant resources but does not generate revenue," explained Vaskanian.

He drew attention to the fact that if returns are limited at least in the clothing category, the volume of warehouse operations may decrease significantly. As a result, the rate of increase in the cost of delivery will decrease, and the efficiency of courier services will increase due to a decrease in the number of return operations.

On the other hand, the expert pointed out, the partial limitation of refunds will inevitably change the behavior of buyers. One category of consumers will go offline — to a place where you can just come, try on and leave without unnecessary delay. The other is to become more attentive to the choice, to study the reviews and characteristics of the product. Thus, the market can be balanced, because there will be fewer impulsive purchases and at the same time more informed decisions.

On November 10, Informzashita experts told Izvestia that on the eve of Black Friday, fraudsters were attacking Russians via email and messengers and claiming that their purchases gave them the right to participate in a raffle of valuable prizes. Experts recommended that Russians ignore messages received from unknown senders and make purchases only on verified websites and marketplaces.

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