SPOILER: BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING HARD TO BECOME A COMPANY OFFERING SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS ACCORDING TO A REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BUSINESS MODEL.
We are growing and we are having access to more accurate data about our analytics. We have started to consistently ship products in central Europe, especially in countries such as Germany and Belgium – historically much more sensible toward sustainable products than southern European countries but also much more accustomed to a return policy that we will dare to define unbridled – and we started studying and thinking about the data relating to our returns.
First of all, we confirm that we keep and will keep free returns in case of shipment of defective products that will be replaced free of charge (luckily, we have very few defective products) and for size changes (being a southern European brand we tend to have a fit generally a bit small considering the physical conformation of customers in central and northern Europe) but there are some bad practices that can no longer be accepted for environmental and economic reasons.
ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS
We have calculated that transporting a package of round about 2 kg from our headquarter to Berlin generates about 0.24 tons of CO2 in the case of a shipment made with a diesel van. Considering that the maximum amount of CO2 that a person should generate per year to stop climate change is 0.6 tons, you understand how impactful such an expedition is. And the return that will follow. Thanks to our logistics partner we compensate the CO2 emissions of all the e-commerce shipments we make but if it is good to offset the emissions generated, it is even better not to generate any at all.
According to Invesp data, eCommerce returns are on average 30% of total orders (against an average 9% for products purchased offline) but for online sales of clothing and footwear the return rate is even higher than 35%. Some of the e-commerce giants reach out-of-control return rates; Zalando sees more than 50% of the goods sold returned, while a 2021 investigation by the British broadcaster ITV revealed that Amazon can destroy as many as 100,000 products returned every month per logistics center, even if not defective and therefore suitable for a new sale.
This is certainly not a business model to which we want to contribute.
ECONOMIC REASONS
Last week we received an order for 6 T-shirts from a German customer. 6 different colors, same size. A few hours after we received the notification that our customer had received the package, we received a return request for 5 of the 6 t-shirts shipped.
What happened? Our friend tried on all the 6 t-shirts, chose the color that he thought fit him best and asked to return the remaining 5 t-shirts. In this way the customer was able to benefit from free shipping because the order was over € 100 – but withholding only one shirt sold on sale at -50%, and returning the rest of the order.
Value of goods sold: € 24.50
Cost of shipping + return: € 36.00 (yes, the rates we pay for international express shipments are still exorbitant)
The result? This sale cost us € 11.50
As these types of models are not acceptable for a company with a reduced environmental impact (the sale we have just talked about between shipping and returns has generated almost 2/3 of the maximum CO2 that each of us should generate every year), they are at the same time strongly uneconomic.
And so we have decided that FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 ALL E-COMMERCE SALES MADE THROUGH OUR WEB-SITE WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER FREE RETURNS ONLY IN THE CASE OF DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS AND FOR SIZE CHANGES.
In the remaining cases, THE COST OF THE RETURN WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM THE VALUE OF THE REFUND FOR THE SAME AMOUNT PAID BY US TO OUR LOGISTICS CARRIER.
And, in case you are wondering, what does the law say in this regard?
European legislation and the Consumer Code provide that, in the event of exercising the right of return of a product, the consumer is entitled to full reimbursement of all payments made to the seller including the purchase costs and any standard delivery costs of the products.
On the other hand, as regards the costs of returning the products, the consumer code provides that the consumer bears the direct cost of the return unless the company has failed to inform that this cost is borne by the consumer.
