Instant Online Store Credit: Benefits and Best Practices

Customers frequently return items purchased online for a refund on various grounds: the product was damaged, they received the incorrect item, or simply need a change.

The issue is that the money is returned to the original payment method (e.g., credit card) when, in most cases, it’s more efficient to give the customer an instant coupon instead.

Sometimes, the item does not meet a customer’s expectations, and that can happen to the best of eCommerce businesses. However, it can be expensive for the business and can be frustrating to customers who want to get their money back as quickly as possible. In this regard, it is necessary to get creative and come up with more convenient solutions. One excellent way is to provide customers with instant online store credit.

Store credit has the power to do many things, and it’s more than just another payment option for retail customers: it can help boost retention and inspire brand loyalty. You can also increase spending and grow your store’s revenue, which is why the most successful retailers offer store credit in a variety of forms — they’ve seen the benefits and doubled down.

Using store credit allows you to offer returns with no hassle or delay while increasing your store credit sales at the same time. This will help you win over frustrated customers and increase your revenue! With store credit, you can issue instant coupons when customers choose to return a product so that they can purchase another item from your store using their coupon credit rather than waiting for their money back and then making another purchase.

This way they don’t have to wait for a refund on their original payment method (such as credit card) but rather send the unwanted product back and purchase another one using the coupon credit issued directly by our software solution.

Why Provide Instant Online Store Credit?

Instant online credit coupons will drive business back to your eCommerce store. The key is to turn your refunds into repurchases to increase your long-term repeat business or increase your sales per customer. Fortunately, you may be able to handle a customer’s refund request in different ways, without actually refunding their money.

The first step is to get a better understanding of the customer’s needs and requirements in order to adjust your offering or propose another solution that might satisfy your customer. In this case, consider offering instant online store credit.

For example, WeSupply enables you to issue instant coupons that work just like cash in your store. Your customers can now use their credit to proceed with another purchase from your online marketplace. Moreover, this enables you to keep track of what is being sold and effectively monitor previously exchanged items!

Pros, Cons, and Tips For Offering Instant Credit Coupons

If you’re wondering what are the pros, cons, and best practices when it comes to providing store credit, keep reading! Below are some of the main points you need to consider before proceeding with instant credit coupons for your online store, and how to use them to boost customer retention.

Better, Long-Term Customer Retention and Loyalty

Truth be told, even when making in-store purchases, people might change their minds about the items they just bought. When it comes to online shopping, this can happen more often, therefore, making returns more common.

Customers often buy products online to return them for a refund for a number of reasons, such as:

They received a damaged product
They got a different product than what they ordered
They simply need an exchange

Take a look below at the top four reasons why consumers return their products:

For example, a person proceeds with the order and immediately realizes they wanted another color, ingredient concentration, or another defining feature. They can make the timely decision to cancel the order and have the money back as online store credit. What does this help you and your customer accomplish?

They get to order the right product from the second try, without having to wait for a refund.
You save up on delivery costs and avoid the unpleasant situation of refunding them.
You remove the uncertainty that they will stop purchasing from your store.

For eligible purchases, they can redeem points or store credit and then use those to purchase the items they were looking for in the first place!

Although some of your customers might frequently shop from you, there still might be instances when the product doesn’t meet their expectations, and you need to know how to act as effectively as possible to keep them coming back. This is even more essential when it comes to a first purchase – or their first interaction with your online business.

Lose Less Revenue to Returns

As mentioned above, instant credit coupons can save you some resources, unlike returns that are significantly more costly and can endanger your relationship with your customers. When proceeding with returns, these can result in loss of revenue in terms of damaged goods, additional money spent on delivery and customer service provided by your support team, and so on.

With WeSupply, you can issue instant credit coupons in just a few clicks, and you’re ready to go! Furthermore, you can also give your customers extra credit to win them back and increase the chances of them returning to your online store.

Encourage Customers to Spend More

Generally speaking, when a coupon drives traffic to your store, those customers may then buy other products. This includes instant credit coupons: combined with the right offers at the right time, you can upsell and cross-sell other items as well while creating a positive, memorable experience for your customers.

You can offer instant credit to get customers to spend more and make other purchases from your online store with instantly approved credit coupons and order everything they need on the same day. This makes the entire shopping experience better and more rewarding for both you and them!

Why Not Provide Instant Store Credit?

Truthfully speaking, as long as your eCommerce platform allows you to issue instant credit coupons (via WeSupply), there are no cons to using store credit for your business.

You won’t have to refund money to your customers and you can even drive more sales per customer, whereas they can enjoy the products they love from your online store without the hassles of waiting for their money back before proceeding with their next purchase! Just make sure you have the latest version of the software you’re using for your eCommerce store.

Will Store Credit Work For Your eCommerce Business?

Nowadays, it is more convenient for most people to simply purchase all the items they need directly online. You can use this to your advantage and offer exclusive sales in your online store, offer a gift card, or another type of virtual coupon to increase brand loyalty and drive revenue growth long-term.

Considering this, you will surely encounter multiple situations in which customers will also want to return products, or simply exchange an item that they no longer desire. When this happens, besides offering them a regular refund, you can also provide instant credit coupons. By doing so, you can also increase the number of repeat customers, while encouraging them to make other purchases as well.

Whether or not this model works for your business, you have to look at your business’s and your customers’ needs first. There’s no size fits all approach in eCommerce, which is why it’s necessary to take everything into consideration and make a well-informed decision.

Store Credit Best Practices For Your eCommerce Business

If you’ve decided that store credit works for your eCommerce business, then you need to empower your customers and offer them a frictionless self-service return solution. WeSupply lets you issue instant credit coupons, and your customers can make use of their available credit to purchase an exchange product if the original item does not fit or meet their expectations.

In fact, 70% of shoppers say an effective eCommerce returns process and an effortless experience are the magic ingredients that will turn them into loyal, repeat customers.

Besides issuing credit coupons, you can also provide extra rewards for a few select purchases. Try to understand your customers’ spending habits, and make data-driven decisions to improve their experience with your business but also increase your sales.

What About Customers That Prefer a Refund?

Some customers would rather get their money back rather than opt for store credit, and that’s alright! In these situations, you need to clearly define your refund policy and make sure it’s easily accessible on your website for everyone to see.

When working on your refund policy, try to include all the conditions, deadlines, and acceptable reasons for a product return to avoid confusion or any unpleasant circumstances. This will enable you to point customers back to your policy whenever someone requests a refund that is ineligible. Not having your policy in place might lead to you lacking the authority to decline refunds, putting your business in an uncomfortable situation, even leading to a negative customer experience.

Once you’ve decided how to manage a customer’s refund request, inform the customer, justify your decision, and explain the next steps on your end. WeSupply enables you to automate this entire process, saving you and your team a huge amount of time! If you will refund the customer’s money, make sure you let them know how and when they’ll be receiving the refund. If you reject their request, provide a clear explanation of the decision-making process and redirect them to your return policy.

Time means more than money, and the longer you let your customers wait, the higher the chances of them not returning to your online store. When you get a refund request, you need to act immediately. Since the customer might already be unhappy with their experience, waiting for your response may only frustrate them even more. Even when you’re encountering exceptions, make sure you let them know you’ve acknowledged their request and will get back to them as soon as possible!

Buying In-Store, Returning Online?

Put the customer first and plan ahead. It’s always a great idea to expect the unexpected, and we’re here to help. WeSupply provides an easy and convenient method to accept returns and exchanges from in-store purchases, that will improve the overall customer experience.

With our powerful API, we can effectively integrate with your ERP, OMS, and POS system, import all store orders, and provide the customer a simple self-service return process, even helping you create better retail management when it comes to in-store purchases.

WeSupply enables you to choose and create a variety of refund conditions to make sure your customers are satisfied with your customer services. Rather than offering a credit card or even a cash refund, you can provide them store credit! You can learn more about setting up a return logic with WeSupply here.

How To Issue Instant Store Credit With WeSupply

When your customers want to exchange products, instead of refunding the money to the original payment method (e.g., credit card), you can enable them to send the unwanted product back and purchase another one using the coupon credit issued through WeSupply. You save them precious time and yourself their loyalty and future business!

Additionally, if you’d also like to offer any extra credit, you can set a value for an extra free credit score to encourage your customer to proceed with larger purchases. Follow the steps here to issue instant coupon credit with WeSupply for your eCommerce business.

Last Thoughts On Store Credit And Refunds

As mentioned before, whether your customers prefer store credit or a refund using their original payment method, what matters the most is to provide a timely and relevant response and be as proactive as you can.

Using automation tools will help you be more efficient when handling return requests, and turning to a self-service return center will also save you precious time since your customers won’t need your direct approval and can take care of the most time-consuming parts from their end.

If you need assistance setting up the return logic for your eCommerce website, get in touch with us!

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