We hope you’ve enjoyed our series so far on utilizing tools from retail storefronts and bringing them to an online store. Halfway through our series, we want to direct you to two important parts of your site that should be well-written and very clear to your customers – your return policy and shipping policy.

The return policy is very important on a website because there is no salesperson present in your checkout process to reassure your customers about their purchases. If they can easily access and understand your return policy, it will be easier for them to purchase on-the-fence items knowing what the consequences will be if the item doesn’t work out.

The return policy should also enable you to protect yourself from any angry customers. It gives you the opportunity to build a policy that will allow you to reject unwelcomed returns. One major problem in the retail world is dealing with customers who abuse the system and expect to get their products at a discount or threaten to return them. By clearly posting your return policy, you will hopefully deter any of these falsified returns and have written documentation to protect yourself in a legal setting, should one arise.

It is also important to post your shipping policy for some of the same reasons. The shipping policy can help reassure customers who are on the edge about ordering from your website. If the customer better understands the order process and feels more comfortable with it, they are much more likely to impart with personal information through your ecommerce site.

Your shipping policy will also provide clear boundaries for yourself and you customers. Policies are in place to protect you and to protect the consumer, should there be a mishap with one of your orders. If you post your shipping policies effectively, you can help protect yourself from chargeback fraud. Part of your shipping policy should state what name will appear on a credit card statement when the customer purchases with you. This is another good measure to take in order to prevent and protect against chargebacks.