Supporting Warranty Claims in Omnichannel Commerce 

It’s a concept as old as business itself: meet your customers where they are.

Online brands that recognize the potential of physical stores and third-party sales channels drive multichannel commerce.   

Marketing on these platforms allows customers to research and purchase products wherever, whenever, and however they choose; if done correctly, brands still reap the benefits.   

Our team spoke with Chad Rubin – Co-Founder and CEO of the leading multichannel operations platform, Skubana – to get a complete perspective of multichannel sales and returns. 

The Extensive Reach of Omnichannel Networks

For many e-commerce brands, their website is the epicenter of business.   

The e-commerce website is a streamlined and highly optimized conversion path designed to greet visitors, help them find products, and seamlessly make a purchase.   

The problem is, your potential customers are not always on your website.   

There are tons of ways to reach your customers. Whether it’s a marketplace, retail location, or your online store, it’s crucial to access customers where and how they want to interact with you.

Online Marketplaces

In terms of online marketplaces, no name comes close to Amazon. As of December 2019, Amazon averaged 214.8 million visitors per month in the United States.   

Other online marketplaces – such as eBay, AliExpress, and Etsy – also present great opportunities for merchants to expand their reach.   

Yet, only around 16% of retail shopping is online. Consumers still like to shop in stores, including the retail giants.

Retail Locations

Especially in terms of retail presence, Walmart is dominant. Walmart serves an estimated 265 million customers each week.   

Add Target to the conversation, and you’ve got a combination of retail titans that seemingly reach the entire US population. 

The Importance of Omnichannel Networking

It’s more important than ever to be accessible to your customers.   

Doing so allows shoppers to interact with your brand on their terms: to research and buy where they want, when they want, in the way that works best for them.   

But what happens when a customer wants to return a product they bought through a third-party retail partner? Like in the case of a warranty, for instance?

The Challenge of Omnichannel Returns

Most third-party sales channels have default return policies, allowing customers to return products within a certain period.   

But this process falls short in the case of an extended warranty. 

You may have a warranty program that covers products even after the standard return window in the case of a defect.   

But most likely, you don’t have a record of the customer purchasing the product from a third party, and thus have no way to start a return.   

When the customer reaches out to your customer service team, you either have to confirm the purchase and product details yourself or simply trust the customer.   

As a result, third-party warranties often require excessive emails and spreadsheets, or custom solutions costing tens of thousands of dollars. These methods are inefficient and highly susceptible to return fraud.   

A Better Process for Third-Party Warranty Returns

ReturnLogic is uniquely able to process third-party warranties, enabling customers to start their own warranty claims whether they purchased the product directly from the brand’s website or elsewhere. 

With just a couple of clicks, the customer can initiate a warranty claim, input their information, and get a return shipping label.

The retailer can require an uploaded image of the receipt to lessen the chance of fraudulent returns.   

The customer is empowered to start a warranty claim whenever and wherever they want.   

Reliable and effective operations are the foundation of the customer experience. It’s hard to impress customers if you can’t live up to their basic expectations.   

With third-party warranties, you can ensure a smooth and consistent experience for your customers – regardless of where they shop.   

ReturnLogic enables your business to seamlessly process third-party warranties and manage the rest of your e-commerce returns as well. If you want to take control of your multichannel returns, schedule a time to speak with a return expert.