The return request of a product is a very important feature for an e-commerce.
When we receive a product and it does not meet our expectations, in the vast majority of cases, we have the possibility to return the product and get a refund or get another product.
So how do we make that process easier?
At the first moment, the return process at Jumia can be initiated by phone, through the app, and by a live chat.
At the first moment, the return process at Jumia can be initiated by phone, through the app, and by a live chat.
The phone and live chat options are comparatively expensive for Jumia Mall. The online flow had a bad user experience and users often abandon, and move to phone calls.
The current return is located inside the Jumia account, and have the following flow:
1. Access the My Orders page.
2. Go the order.
3. In order details, select the Create a Return.
4. Go through the 6 steps.
5. Wait for the confirmation email.
6. Drop off or wait for the product to be collected.
7. Get the refund.
The flow had 5 main cases:
1. Item is not eligible for return: when the product surpasses the returnable time.
2. Item is eligible for instant refund without return: when the person can get a refund without sending back the product.
3. Item is eligible for instant refund with return (drop off): the item can be returned at a Jumia station, to be refunded at the moment of requesting the return.
4. Item is eligible for instant refund with return (collected): the item can be returned and collected at an address, to be refunded at the moment of requesting the return.
5. Item is eligible for standard return: when the product can be returned and refunded, but need time to be evaluated.
The most common was this last one, when normally someone asks for a return, and has to wait to return de product to then get a refund, so this was the main case resolved in this flows presented here.
To check on a few market practices, I did a benchmark to collect a few insights, through Amazon, Worten, Asos, Mercado Libre and Shein. A few insights collected:
1. Always show the time that a product be returned after receiving it.
2. A clear vision of information when the product can’t be returned.
After talking to some customers and analysing contact and support data, I found a few problems:
1. The flow was generating frustration: the problems found in this type of functionality in most cases happen because we have to remember that the person is already frustrated by the product not meeting their expectations, so when they go looking for the solution, it should be simple and easy (and that was not happing inside the web or the app versions).
2. Confusing microcopies and steps: no visualisation of how many steps there were in the flow.
3. Hard to understand why a product can’t be returned: low explanation of the reasons why a product couldn’t be returned and it was hard to find the return policy.
4. High cost for the company: which has to solve problems via phone or support (human interactions costs more and it is harder to maintain).
With that problems, the team set a few hypothesis to work on:
1. If we promote the option to create a return online then we will increase the number of returns initiated online from 55% to 70%.
2. If we improve the flow then percentage of happy customers will increase from 70% to 90%.
After finding out our current flow, the pain points and defining the hypothesis, it was the moment to propose changes that might be resolving these problems.
With the flows drawn and internally validated, we decided to test with some clients. Main findings:
1. Adding a tag for non returnable products worked.
2. It was easier to find the return button.
3. The flow was easier to be completed, and when something wrong.
4. The time box to view the period to return was easy, but should be separated from the delivery informations.
Then, with the results of tests, changes made and a dev validation on how we could build things, the team stated to develop the solutions in different tasks. And here were the final solution for now:
After tested the points improved and pain points It was clearer the points we needed to improve.
1. A better hierarchy of the actions a person can do in the delivery details.
2. Better visualisation of the actions inside a product.
3. Label that shows when the product can’t be returned.
4. Steps complexity reduced, with clear vision of how many steps there are in the flow.
5. Update the return and refund content of the Help Center.
6. Enhanced experience when searching for any related information for return items and what to return and refund process, additionally to find proper way to communicate with someone to Help either via Chat or customer service agent.
7. Return time box better visualised, separated from the delivery informations.
8. Better status block pages, when success we show the next steps and when error we now explain what happens and how to solve that.
This is a recent project so there is no data yet.
After a time, validate if the hypothesis are being solved and we elevate the metrics that we were pursuing.
debsperandio@hotmail.com