Royal Mail acts to simplify e-commerce returns

Friday, November 30, 2018 - 11:13 by Graham Miller

Millions of consumers from the UK who enjoy shopping online will be familiar with the often frustrating process of returning unwanted, faulty or otherwise incorrect goods after they have been delivered. While larger outlets like Amazon have fairly straightforward systems in place to streamline returns, this is far from a universal state of affairs.

As a result the news that Royal Mail is launching a new service targeted at fixing this precise issue will be welcome, especially as it comes in the run up to Christmas when returns will usually spike.

Known as Label to Go, the solution allows users to print off return postage labels at thousands of post offices around the country. All they need is a smartphone, as an email with a QR code will be sent to them and this can then be shown to a member of staff so that a label may be issued with no further hassle.

This will even improve things for Amazon customers, as it is still necessary to print off labels at home and affix them to packages manually at the moment. The change will mean that a lot of the admin will be eliminated and sending packages back to retailers will be a breeze.

In a statement Royal Mail said that it makes sense to offer streamlined returns for online shoppers since it will help retailers to gain the trust and earn the respect of their customers, rather than leaving them in the lurch if there is a problem with their order.

They also argued that this will make safe shopping online even more convenient than it is at the moment, which will help to increase sales and generate more revenue for retailers, covering the cost of handling the extra returns.