Speicherguide.de, Germany: Cognizant’s UK Head of Retail, Consumer Goods, Travel & Hospitality Consulting Says Retailers Need to Make the Returns Process a Part of Wider Business Models

“If retailers decide not to participate in Black Friday, it does not stop shoppers from visiting their websites — regardless of whether the retailer offers special deals,” says Trish Young. “This will still increase volume, especially from international visitors to their websites who are shopping around for cheaper deals outside of their local markets.” Extracts:

“The US traditions of Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now firmly implanted in Germany, getting bigger and more competitive as each year passes. In fact, there were 34% more online purcahes on Black Friday in Germany in 2015 compared to the year before.

For retailers, the bumper weekend is both an exciting and a scary prospect. While they can look forward to a huge boost in sales, they are also putting a huge amount of strain on their websites, in-store activity, and logistics and delivery processes.

The surge in orders and deliveries required over the weekend often sees some smaller retailers, which rely on third party couriers, suffer.

To counteract this, more and more retailers of all shapes and sizes have been investing in ‘click and collect’ partnerships to provide a smoother experience for consumers and ease the strain on delivery mechanisms.

A high volume of returns can be a logistical nightmare for retailers. However, some are becoming wise to the way shopping is changing and are factoring this trend into their planning, investing in the returns process and making it a part of their wider business models with the ultimate aim of increasing customer satisfaction.”

Click here to read the article in German.