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Convenient Drop-off Returns: From E-commerce Challenges to Competitive Advantage
As e-commerce grows exponentially every year, so too – inevitably – grows the number of product returns a retailer must manage. For some, online returns are the bane of an e-commerce retailer’s existence. But for other retailers, the return process is an opportunity to provide exceptional customer service, to make returns painless for their customers, and to ensure the returned product is quickly re-shelved into inventory management.
It is for these retailers that Intelcom | Dragonfly has created a way to make e-commerce returns potentially profit-enhancing for the retailer and hassle-free for the customer. Our solution is as close as your neighbourhood convenience store, for many, just around the corner.
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Sizing the challenge, seizing the opportunity
The value of the e-commerce market in Canada in 2024 was estimated at $65.5 billion and is projected to grow to $104 billion by 2029. E-commerce return rates typically range between 20 to 30 percent, and rises significantly around the holiday season as online retail purchases boom.
Having a returns process that’s cumbersome and inconvenient for the customer experience belies the underlying opportunity to convert those millions of customer-retailer touchpoints into a positive, loyalty-building exercise. It was that opportunity that led Intelcom | Dragonfly to build a process and a physical, third-party network that would capitalize on the evolving way the e-commerce industry views and manages returns logistics.
Intelcom | Dragonfly turned to the Couche-Tard | Circle K convenience store network in Canada to serve as community-based drop-off points for customers looking to return e-commerce products that had been delivered to their homes by online retailers.
They’re called “convenience” stores for a reason.
Convenience stores are a cornerstone of the retail industry in most countries around the world, and Canada is no different. According to a July 2024 report from consumer intelligence company NIQ, convenience store shoppers typically visit a convenience store over three times per week.
Intelcom | Dragonfly has built the second largest drop-off network in Canada with over 1,400 Couche-Tard and Circle K locations. In 2025 and beyond, the returns network will continue to progressively increase its reach.
How it works: drop-off returns process
The process is simple with no invoices or packaging to fumble with, and no complicated forms to complete. The consumer simply requests a Couche-Tard | Circle K return from their retailer, after which they are given a QR code.Following that, it’s just a short trip to a participating local convenience store where the cashier will take the returned item (unpackaged), scan the QR code, and then look after everything else – freeing the consumer to go about their daily routine confident that the e-commerce return is on its way back to the retailer and that a credit will be issued shortly.
Smooth returns equal repeat business
According to recent research, 31 percent of shoppers have stopped purchasing from certain retailers due to poor return experiences. Almost nine out of 10 say they would be more likely to make additional purchases from certain retailers or e-commerce stores if they were to have a positive experience with them.
We are last-mile delivery specialists, but our broad commitment to our clients is to work with them to identify new opportunities that generate the loyalty of their own customers and drive business growth. We take a solutions-based approach to supporting your business and in doing so help mine competitive advantage where others may find only irritation. That approach is at the heart of the value proposition we offer our clients.
After all, “many happy returns” are always a highlight of any retail season.