Latest / Customer Journey with Fexingo: Touchpoints, Mapping, and Multi-Channel Marketing / Why Journey Maps Miss the Return Refund Touchpoint
Transcript
- Lucas: You know that moment when a customer decides to return something they bought online? That's a touchpoint most journey maps skip entirely, and it's a huge missed opportunity. Luna: I think a lot of marketers figure the journey ends when the package arrives. The return is just an unhappy accident, not part of the planned experience. Lucas: Exactly. But the National Retail Federation says 20 to 30 percent of all online purchases get returned. For fashion and footwear, it's even higher — around 40 percent. That's millions of interactions that you're leaving out of your map. Luna: So how do you map something that feels like a failure? Isn't the goal to minimize returns? Lucas: You do want to reduce unnecessary returns, sure. But a well-designed return process can actually increase customer lifetime value. Zappos proved that years ago. They offer free returns and a 365-day window. Their return rate is around 35 percent, yet their repeat purchase rate is among the highest in ecommerce. Luna: Because customers trust that if it doesn't fit, they're not stuck with it. That trust makes them more willing to buy in the first place. Lucas: Right. The return touchpoint isn't just a cost center — it's a loyalty lever. But most journey maps I've seen treat a purchase as the happy ending. They map awareness, consideration, purchase, maybe onboarding or first use. Then they stop. The return, if it appears at all, is just a red arrow labelled 'churn'. Luna: When you actually look at the return process step by step, there are so many micro-moments. Initiating the return, printing the label, dropping it off, waiting for the refund, checking the refund status. Lucas: Each of those is a touchpoint that either builds or erodes trust. Take the return label itself. If the customer has to email support to request one, that's friction. If they can download it from a self-service portal, that's ease. A study from Narvar found that 96 percent of consumers would shop again with a retailer that offers a convenient returns experience. Luna: So the first question is: can the customer initiate the return on their own, or do they have to talk to a human? Lucas: Exactly. And then after they ship it back, the waiting period is another touchpoint. How quickly do they get the refund confirmation? Some companies send nothing until the item is scanned at the warehouse. Others send a 'we've received your return' email the moment the carrier scans it, then a 'refund issued' notification. That proactive communication reduces anxiety. Luna: It also makes the customer feel like the company is on their side. I bought a pair of shoes from a brand that didn't send any confirmation for a week. I was convinced I'd lost the package. Never ordered from them again. Lucas: That's exactly the kind of hidden churn risk. A journey map that includes the return would capture that gap. It would also highlight opportunities to delight — like including a prepaid label in the original box, or offering instant refunds once the carrier scans the package, as Amazon does with certain items. Luna: You mentioned Zappos earlier. What else do they do right in the return touchpoint? Lucas: They have a 'love it or return it' guarantee. The return label is automatically attached to the order page. And they allow 365 days. But the real magic is the customer service call during the return. If you call to initiate a return, the rep is trained to upsell or troubleshoot. 'These didn't fit? Let me help you find a size that does.' That turns a return into a re-purchase. Luna: So the return becomes a conversation, not a transaction. Lucas: Right. And that's why you need to map it. You need to document every step: how the customer finds the return policy, how they initiate, what information they need, how they ship it, what they receive as updates, how the refund is issued, and what happens after — like a follow-up email asking if they want to try again. Luna: And the metrics for that touchpoint? Obviously return rate, but also time to refund, customer effort score, and post-return repurchase rate. Lucas: Exactly. The Customer Effort Score during the return is a leading indicator of loyalty. If it's easy to return, they'll come back. If it's hard, they're gone. And most companies don't even measure it because their journey map ends at purchase. Luna: Y'know, thinking about all this — the reason we dig into these hidden touchpoints is that we want marketers to see the full picture, not just the pretty parts. And it occurs to me that the same principle applies to how we run this show. Lucas: How so? Luna: Well, we deliberately keep this podcast ad-free. We don't want to interrupt the flow of these conversations with commercials. That choice means the whole experience for you, the listener, is cleaner — no forced breaks. Lucas: Yeah, and it lets us get straight into the substance. If you value that approach and want to support it, there's a simple way: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's all lowercase. It's not a subscription or a paywall — just a way to keep the show independent and free for everyone. Luna: Exactly. And it means we don't have to tailor content for sponsors. We just follow what's interesting. Like this return touchpoint — it's a perfect example of why journey mapping should be continuous. Lucas: So let's talk about how to actually start mapping the return. First, interview your support team. They handle the live returns. Ask them what questions customers ask the most, what annoys them, what the smooth experiences look like. Luna: Then audit the digital process. Go to your own site and try to return something. Record every click, every form field, every email. Lucas: And don't forget the carrier experience. Does the return label require a printer? That's a barrier for many. Some companies like Happy Returns have drop-off points without printing. That's a touchpoint innovation. Luna: Another layer: the refund speed. If you refund immediately upon carrier scan, that reduces customer anxiety. If you wait until it's received and inspected, that adds friction. Lucas: And the communication during that wait. A good journey map will show where the customer has no information — that's a dead zone. You want to fill those with proactive notifications. Luna: So the return touchpoint is really a series of sub-touchpoints. Each one is an opportunity to build or break trust. Lucas: Exactly. And if you map it as part of the customer journey, you can design for loyalty even when the customer is dissatisfied. That's a superpower most brands haven't unlocked. Luna: What's one simple change a company could make today to improve the return touchpoint? Lucas: Make the return policy visible on the product page and the order confirmation. Don't hide it in the footer. Customer often look for return info before they even buy. If they can't find it, they may not purchase at all. And after purchase, include a link to initiate return in every post-purchase email. Luna: That's a low-effort, high-impact fix. And it doesn't require redesigning the whole process. Lucas: Right. And then once you have that visibility, you can start tracking return behavior as part of the journey analytics. You'll start to see patterns: which products have the highest return rates, which customer segments return most, and where the process falls apart. Luna: That data can feed back into product design, sizing, and marketing copy to reduce returns at the source. It's a feedback loop. Lucas: Exactly. So next time you're building a journey map, don't stop at the purchase line. Go all the way to the post-purchase reverse logistics. It might just be the most revealing part of the whole journey. Luna: And if you want more examples of hidden touchpoints like this, you know where to find us. We'll be back tomorrow with another one.