Some business owners might opt to not have a return policy at all. The reason for such a decision usually boils down to not having enough customer service staff to service customer return requests.

Since hiring more customer service staff is not always a viable option, the search for a return solution might end here.

Before making your decision final, consider that not offering a return policy will alienate your customers, and they will go shop elsewhere. An effective return policy can (and does) drive sales.

With a self-serve returns portal, your business does not need to staff more customer service reps to handle return requests.

Prior to hitting that buy button, customers look into your return policy. This moment can make or break a sale, so make sure that your return policy is easy to understand and gives your customers confidence to continue with their purchase.

Your customer's have better things to do than to spend a lot of time trying to understand what your return policy is. Make your return policy short, and simple to understand! For example, Lululemon's return policy is comprised of 5 bullet points.

In the 6 years of consulting with retailers, etailers, and their customers, the trend is clear - consumers want an easy to use online returns portal.

User friendliness reduces customer frustration. A customer wanting to initiate a return is already likely frustrated. Dont make the experience even more painful by having a clunky return process.

Commerce Returns web portal boils down the return process to 3 easy steps for your customers.

If you have a brick and mortar store presence, allow your customers to bring online orders back to your stores. Offer different returns options if its an exchange, vs a store credit, vs a refund. Analyze your product line, and determine what makes the most sense for you.

Lululemon has a very simple return policy that is summarized in 5 bullet points. Since they are a high end high margin retailer they do offer free returns for eligible purchases. Ineligible purchases are those that were offered on discount.

You can review Lululemon's return policy in more detail here.

Contrary to popular belief Amazon does not offer a always free return policy. The return shipping cost is only free if the return results from an error, or if the item qualifies for Free Returns.

When it comes to returns, especially Serial Returners, amazon does have its limits. They have even gone as far as Banning Serial Returners from shopping on their platform.

You can review Amazon's return policy here.