High product returns? Simple packaging & shipping tips to reduce & repair

High returns rate is a huge cause of concern for ecommerce companies and online sellers. While IOS has written in depth about how unfair ecommerce return policies are contributing to this high rate, another legitimate reason is- defective/damaged products.

One of the ways to manage the return rate and keep it low is by adopting stringent measures for packaging and delivery of goods so as to reduce damage in-transit.

Select the right packaging

 A product passes through various hands before it reaches from the seller to the buyer. But only two people actually care about the condition of the ‘product’ – the seller who has spent money on making it and the buyer who has spent money on buying it.

“The logistic companies are too careless with the parcels. Most of the time I get external damaged returns, so the inner packing should be best of the best because you don’t know what is going to happen with your item,” shared an online seller Abdul Kadir Natali with IndianOnlineSeller.

So online sellers, please pack your products carefully so that it can brave the storm and reach the customer safely. Here are the things that you need to keep in mind:

• Polybags/Security Envelopes: Best for packing apparels, fashion accessories, books, small but sturdy products and lightweight products (up to 2kgs). They are easy to use, water resistant and tamper proof. A pack of 100 poly bags (12 x 14 inches) cost approximately INR 650-700

• Corrugated box: High-quality corrugated boxes shield packages from any jolt or in-transit damage. Great for packing computer accessories, mobile phones, LED bulbs, baby care products and bulky products above 2 kgs. A pack of 50 3 ply boxes (7 x 5 x 4.3 inches) cost approximately INR 500

• Tapes: Strong and designed for industrial use tapes to seal and pack boxes

• Bubble wraps: Nothing beats bubble wrap for packing fragile products or adding an additional layer of protection. This is a must for internal packaging irrespective of the product (excluding clothes). A pack of 500 permanent self seal bubble bags (4 x 4 inches) cost approximately INR 600

Tips for packaging

For fragile items such as ceramics, glassware and breakable items, conduct a drop test to find the optimum packaging material and combination.

Amazon UK’s website states “(Fragile items) must pass a 125 cm (4 feet apprx.) drop test without any items breaking. A drop test consists of five drops: on the base, on the top, on the longest side, on the shortest side, and on a corner. The items should not move or shake within the container and should pass a vigorous shake test without any items breaking.”

• For long items, drape bubblewrap sheets down the length of the item, instead of wrapping it multiple times around the width of the item

• For multiple items, wrap each component individually in 1 layer of bubblewrap, and then seal them all together with an additional layer
• Increase the layer of the bubblewrap to restrict movement of the package inside the box
• For products weighing 8-12 kg, provide polypropylene straps besides the normal packaging
• You can go through these Flipkart videos to learn Packaging Guidelines for different product categories
• Recycle boxes and contact local dealers to get hands on papers and cardboard boxes

• Do not opt for cheap packing material to cut down on costs. Natali warned, “Cutting down on cost is always advised but with packing material it is not. Because when you get a return, you know how your product in the packing which you did, survived all the careless handling and impacts by the logistic company staff. To save money, buy in bulk.”

• Shipping Practices

• It is practical to use services of your marketplace’s logistics partner for this part of ecommerce order fulfilment for pure convenience. All you need to do is keep the package ready with invoices and labels, as instructed. But there have been cases where the marketplace didn’t pick or deliver the product on time and in the end seller gets blamed. Also, certain pincodes don’t fall under a marketplace’s pick up location. To avoid such situations, you can decide to choose your own delivery partner.
• 
  

  “If chosen (delivery partner) by your marketplace is fine, otherwise all those who have prompt service in the buyer’s pincode, works fine. Sellers must compare rates and rating of logistic companies before sending out the products,” Natali said.

Flipkart provides greater visibility for Indian branded goods

As pressure from trade bodies and political groups mount, ecommerce marketplaces like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon are looking to promote local brands. Flipkart in particular has revealed the initiatives it is carrying out to bring greater visibility to ‘Made in India’ products which attempt to challenge foreign goods.

> Flipkart has a dedicated team working with domestic brands to create special features

> It aims to have exclusive launches for these branded products

> 15 major brands were brought on board in 2015

> Another 15 are expected to join in 2016

Electronics shocking demand

Flipkart’s electronic category is its largest in terms of value, volume and product range. This is being driven by famous Indian brands who make up nearly 70% of its home appliance sales. For example Maharaja Whiteline food processors witnessed 700% growth during festival time, while geysers grew 300% month on month, thanks largely to the Compton Greaves brand.

Top Home Appliance brands include:

> Bajaj

> Maharaja

> Prestige

> Pigeon

> Kent

“Consumers do not want to waste their time shopping offline for products which are low in value. Flipkart is offering them that convenience. Last Republic Day we witnessed a huge demand for these brands and this Republic Day we expect the demand to double. The increase in demand for these products reflects the change in shopping behaviour too. Today, given the convenience, ease and wide range of products, customers are shopping for home appliances and accessories online more than ever,” said Adarsh Menon, VP – Electronics, Flipkart.

Banking on Power

Brands such as Xuperb, Maxx and Hitech make up nearly 60% of powerbank sales and they grew 7x month on month. Ambrane which is another popular domestic brand, contributed to the power bank segment growing 4x in 2015. On the back of this success, Flipkart is now looking to expand its Smart category to further build its electronics portfolio.

“This has given us the confidence to push domestic brands. We are now planning to launch home-grown smart shoes and smart jewellery brands in the electronics segment soon,” add menon.

E-commerce leads Paytm to Rs 372 crore loss in 2014-15

BENGALURU: Alibaba-backed digital payments and commerce platform Paytm posted a loss of Rs 372 crore in the fiscal ended March 2015, compared to a profit of over Rs 5 crore the year before.

The loss was on account of the Noida-based company's entry into the e-commerce business, where intense competition with Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal has forced it to spend huge sums on marketing and customer acquisition.

One 97 Communications, which runs Paytm, recorded a revenue of Rs 336 crore in 2014-15, as against Rs 210 crore the year before, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies.

The company's expenses swelled to Rs 697 crore, compared to Rs 200 crore in the previous year. Paytm earns revenue by facilitating payments - via its wallet business - and earning commissions through its e-commerce platform, where it aggregates thousands of sellers.

A major chunk of the increase in expenses in 2014-15 was driven by a 12-fold rise in its advertising and marketing expenditure to Rs 403 crore.

All major e-commerce companies, including Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal, are bleeding heavily and their losses have been rising sharply year after year. The three biggies together accounted for losses of over Rs 5,000 crore in 2014- 15, up from less than Rs 1,000 crore in 2013-14.

Paytm closed 2015 with an annual gross merchandise value, or GMV, of $3 billion, with more than 60% of it coming from the payments vertical. GMV is the value of goods sold on a platform, and in Paytm's case, also includes revenues.

Paytm's payments business facilitates transactions like mobile recharges across various utilities.

As TOI reported on January 23, Paytm's core payments business made operational profits at the end of 2015. But its e-commerce business loses over $20 million a month, primarily because of the discounts it offers on products.

Paytm founder & CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma , who started the company as a digital payments platform, says 2016 will see a major chunk of investments being channelized towards the commerce business where it hopes to touch a GMV of at least $5 billion this year. Including all businesses, Paytm targets to touch $10-billion GMV in 2016.

Paytm is getting big support from Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. The company received $200 million in funding from the Alibaba Group affiliate entity Ant Financial in February last year, and another $500 million in September, this time from both the Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Financial. The Alibaba Group now holds 40% stake in the company, and multi-stage fund SAIF Partners, Paytm's early investor, holds 30%. Sharma holds about 21% stake.

The company is said to be valued at about $3.5 billion.

Republic Day Sale: Gadgets dominate sales on Indian e-commerce sites

With the Republic Day online sale offering some great discounts entering its last phase, the nation’s top e-tailers have seen a tremendous response from the customers for mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. 

According to Snapdeal, the demand for mobile phones and accessories and other electronic gadgets soared since it started its sale with a tagline “Republic of Savings” on January 21 for six days, offering discounts of up to 70 percent. “The response from the public is fantastic for mobile phones ranging from Rs 10,000 like Lenovo A6000. With special offers on Nexus 5, iPhone 5S and Micromax, sales are rising as Republic Day approaches,” Rahul Taneja, vice president (category management) of Snapdeal, told IANS.

“Apart from mobile phones, JBL headphones and Canon 1200D cameras, Bluetooth audio equipment and sound bass of JBL demand are rising,” Taneja stated as the Snapdeal sale ends on January 26.

Almost all the major e-retailers like Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Myntra and Snapdeal have come up with their own themes on Republic Day. Flipkart’s “Republic Day” three-day sale that kicked-off on January 20 saw consumers buying heavily into electronic brands like Micromax, Lenovo, Samsung, Apple, Canon and Nikon.

According to Flipkart, it saw 30 percent growth in traffic with home appliances and large appliances among the top searched categories. “Samsung Galaxy On5 and On7 sold close to a lakh units with 10 times spike in air fryers. Memory cards were the top-selling item with 300 percent growth in this segment,” a Flipkart statement said.

For Amazon, the “Great Indian Sale” that was spread across three days from January 21-23 saw great response. “With this 72-hours marathon deals, our customers had a delightful time shopping in the New Year across a wide selection of products at best possible price-points,” Samir Kumar, vice president with Amazon India, said.

The Amazon ‘Great India Sale’ had limited-time deal on brands like GoPro Cameras, ME Electronics and Ravensburger Puzzles. According to Amazon, video games and music witnessed their biggest days in terms of units sold on first day of sale. Customers also availed up to 7.5 percent off on HDFC bank debit and credit card on Flipkart. On Amazon, customers enjoyed instant discounts on Amazon.in gift cards while Citibank credit card holders were given 10 percent cash back in addition to great savings during the sale.

Amazon India sees six-fold jump in sales but net loss widens to Rs 1,724 crore: Reports

Amazon Inc’s net loss has gone up to Rs. 1,724 crore for its India business in the year ended March 2015, reports the Economic Times. This takes the combined losses of the ‘Big 3’ online firms including Flipkart and Snapdeal to Rs. 5,052 crore as the hunt for buyers by luring them with big discounts continues.
The Economic Times adds that Amazon Seller Services registered a six-fold increase in sales to Rs. 1,022 crore in 2014-15 from Rs. 169 crore the year before based on a filing with the Registrar of Companies. Amazon’s reported net loss the year before was Rs. 321 crore.
Amazon India’s spokesperson said its portal was the most-visited commerce site in the country and also had the fastest-growing shopping app among all ecommerce companies in 2015. “At the end of Q3-2015, we saw an approximately 500% Y-O-Y growth in volume, and in Q4-2015 we sold more than we did in all of 2014. We are committed to investing aggressively with a long-term horizon and transforming the way India buys and sells,” the spokesperson said in the report.
The Indian unit of the world’s largest consumer marketplace added products at the rate of 40,000 a day last year and 90% of its sellers use its logistics and warehousing services, finds Economic Times. It had also reported earlier how Amazon expected India to overtake Japan, Germany and the UK to become its largest overseas market and also increase the amount to be invested in India to $5 billion, as opposed to $2 billion pledged by founder Jeff Bezos earlier.
Business Insider reports that a bulk of Amazon’s expenses was due to higher advertising, sales and promotion costs of almost Rs 1,405 crore, almost equivalent to the combined marketing spends of Godrej Consumer, Dabur and Marico. It adds that Amazon India’s legal expenses, too, were substantially higher than most companies at Rs. 221 crore as it faced tax issues and counterfeit claims.