Key Challenges in Returns Management for Sports Brands & Their Solutions

Introduction

It’s no news that sports products are one of the most commonly ordered items online. Keeping in mind that Millennials and Gen Z account for at least a third of all ecommerce sports product sales, ecommerce brands naturally establish a strong supply chain and logistics network to streamline operations. 

However, customers don’t shop online without considering returns. With reverse logistics being one of the many aspects of maintaining high customer satisfaction today, it goes hand in hand forward shipping. In fact, a former study from Shippo infers that 6.10% of sports (and outdoor) products bought online are returned by customers. 

While that number itself isn’t very alarming, not addressing current return challenges can quickly turn into higher return rates and a lack of trust in brands. Sooner or later customers will turn to brands who take note of these issues and facilitate quick returns on sports goods. 

Today’s article will shed light on the key challenges in returns management for sports brands and provide viable solutions for them. 

Key Challenges in Returns Management for Sports Brands & Their Solutions

To ensure your customers are always meeting their fitness goals, you must ensure that you can provide both high-speed forward and reverse logistics services with one system. However, processing returns isn’t as easy as it sounds and no one knows this better than you do. Maximizing returns convenience is the best way to keep revenues up even with a high number of returns.

However, learning about the key difficulties in returns will help you stay one step ahead and tackle them quicker than your competitions. You can effectively streamline the organization of your returns process. Hence, here we’ll cover five of the main challenges (and their solutions) modern sports brands face during product returns.

Challenge #1: High Return Rates Due to Sizing & Fit Issues

It’s not rare for a customer to return a sports product because it did not fit them. This is also true for the apparel industry. From shoes to jerseys, if your products don’t match the customer’s size or preferences, they’ll instantly send it back. 

Issue:

A common factor for such cases can be manual errors. This happens when your warehousing team mistakenly picks a product from the inventory shelf with the wrong size or color. Sending over the wrong item frequently can leave a bad first impression in front of new customers, which can quickly lead to high return rates where you spend in returns nearly as much as forwarding shipping. 

Solution:

Automating forward and reverse logistics operations using a returns management software for sports can eliminate any chance for human error. Additionally, providing accurate size charts and including any sizing differences, such as your brand running a size larger or shorter on the product page is helpful. This ensures customers know exactly what they’re ordering and simplifies communication.

Challenge #2: Complex Returns & Reverse Logistics for Large Volumes

Here’s a shipping truth—the longer your returns process is, the more you’ll end up disappointing both first-time and repeat customers. This is especially true for those who buy bulk items from your online store.

Issue:

When your returns process consists of various steps, it is bound to frustrate customers. No one wants to connect with customer support multiple times before confirming their return order is processed. If you face bulk returns then managing them can be time-consuming, granted each product is different. It is dependent on your team and your carriers' performance.

Solution:

Leveraging an automated end to end solution ensures your team picks and delivers correct items for bulk returns. Further, introducing a self-serve return portal can be a game changer since it allows customers to initiate returns and save time, instilling a positive reputation for your company. If possible, set up a dedicated branded tracking page to unlock the full potential of real time parcel tracking.

Challenge #3: Return Fraud & Policy Abuse

Encountering a lot of return orders where customers always seem to return products after the same number of days? You may facing a growing, yet infamous trend in the ecommerce industry—fradulent return orders. Online store owners cannot deny the fact that there’s always a group of consumers who return for repetitive/werid reasons. 

Issue:

Return fraud and policy abuse are some of the toughest challenges businesses encounter in ecommerce. In fact, in 2024 alone, retailers lost $103 billion in fraudulent returns. This means nearly one-sixth of all returns last year were fake. Whether it be wardrobing, bricking, or bracketing, consumers find different ways to exploit loopholes in their return policy and take advantage. 

Solution:

The best way to counter fraud returns is to set up smart logistics solutions that detect return patterns via real time insights. Having control over such metrics will enable your shipping software to detect customers in your store who always return a product exactly 3 days after purchasing it. 

If needed, you can even train your team on the latest return fraud trends and help them detect fraudulent activities immediately. Further, keep your return policy detailed and implement stern return policies that genuine customers would have no problem with, such as requiring a bill/order receipt. However, avoid including a ton of legal jargon that may confuse visitors. 

Challenge #4: Slow Refund Processing & Customer Experience Impact

This is the last place where you want your payment systems to work slowly. When customers ask for a refund, it’s common for businesses to disburse the remaining amount (after cutting transportation costs) within a week. 

Issue:

Taking extra time to facilitate a refund can hamper the average consumer experience. They’ll understand if you take a week to complete the transaction, but going any longer than this range will portray a bad impression of your business against competitors and make customers lose trust in your brand. 

Solution:

Ensure that your team actively processes refunds quickly and leaves no stone unturned. Also, check in with your customers to confirm whether they’ve received the refund amount. To gain extra credibility and boost your chance of making an immediate sale, try sending a personalized email/SMS with an incentive. 

For instance, offer customers special discounts if they refer family members to your store or anything similar. It shows you value their time, giving them more reason to give your store a second shot. 

Challenge #5: Sustainability & Eco-Friendly Return Management

Think consumers care only about eco-friendly forward logistics? Think again. The average modern day sports customer understands that returns can contribute to unwanted carbon emissions. 

Issue:

Shipping a product twice will result in more carbon emissions, which can potentially push modern consumers away from your brand for being “not eco-conscious.” Customers care about their buying decisions and will avoid to indirectly contribute towards air/water/noise pollution by sending a parcel back, unless you have an environment-friendly shipping process. 

Solution:

Make sure that your business has a strong focus on sustainable shipping for reverse logistics. From electric vehicles to electronic return labels, implement as many eco-friendly initiatives as possible to stand out from other online stores. Customers will be willing to return a product if they know you’ll ship it back to your warehouse responsibly. 

Why Sports Brands Choose ClickPost for Returns Automation?

Companies worldwide choose ClickPost to handle returns automation. Why, you ask? It’s in our name! We specialize in providing post-purchase solutions to ecommerce brands and help them minimize losses due to returns.  

Our solution—ReturnsPro contains all the tools users need to process returns efficiently. With a self-serve returns portal, your customers only need to use a single interface to begin the returns process (for any product on your store) without contacting the support staff. Further, AI-powered nudges within the portal encourage customers to exchange a product rather than ask for a refund, improving your bottom line in the long run. 

Moreover, our comprehensive platform automatically adjusts all product variances for exchanges and gives buyers various exchange options (size, style, color, etc). In fact, users can even suggest gift cards or discounts to customers as alternatives to exchanges. 

When it comes to creating a return policy, we provide you with an intuitive editor that lets you set the duration limit, order priority, and much more within a few clicks.  

From configuring automation for specific returns milestones to setting up real-time tracking, there’s nothing you can’t do with ReturnsPro. In fact, our all-in-one platform also supports robust reporting and displays real-time return trends to help you identify areas for improvement.  

The Takeaway

In a nutshell, these were five current challenges companies face when customers return sports products. From sizing issues to late refunds, complex returns can easily eat up a large chunk of your profits and leave you with nothing.

Once you implement the solutions we’ve provided above and adopt ClickPost’s ReturnsPro software, you can avail various benefits, such as turning returns into revenue with the power of AI, streamline operations, gain success, and grow your online store’s trust in the market.