Customers might be unsatisfied with their order for several reasons—it arrived damaged, they ordered the wrong size, or it simply didn't meet their expectations. So they ask for a replacement or their money back.

But without a system for handling these requests, they can eat up a lot of time, energy, and money with hours spent on customer service emails, and spikes in shipping expenses for replacement products, especially after the holidays.

The good news is that it’s never too late to address the problem. With a communicated return policy and the right system in place, returns and exchanges can be transformed from a dreaded aspect of eCommerce into an opportunity that generates new profits for your business and increases customer loyalty.

But before we dive into how to write a return policy for your store and implement a system to handle requests, let's talk about why it's so important to get returns and exchanges right.