10 things to keep in mind before shopping on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms this festive season

If you are eyeing attractive discounts under any online festive season sales offers, be careful. It may be wise to thoroughly check the return policy of your favourite online retailer this time around. As the country prepares for the upcoming festive season, e-commerce and quick commerce players are planning special discounts once again to attract buyers. Major brands and e-commerce platforms have tightened their return policies to boost profits and reduce logistics-related hassles, with several quick commerce companies also looking to tap additional demand at low costs, Zee Business has learned from sources.

Before grabbing festival sales discounts, consider these 10 key factors when shopping on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms:

• During th e upcoming festive season, customers may face difficulties in getting their products replaced, especially those in the categories of fashion, accessories, home decor, and children's wear.    
• Many companies are reported to be focused on maximising their profitability with the least logistical issues possible in the upcoming festive season sales. 
• E-commerce companies may introduce tougher exchange and return rules in comparison to the previous festive season.
• These players may take such measures to reduce the costs related to reverse logistics (return and exchange), staffing and packaging and, in turn, ensure maximum profitability. 
• Typically, the festive season is characterised by higher production as well as up to 30 per cent increase in return requests.
• E-commerce and quick commerce companies are reported to be mulling a mix of measures including smaller return windows, paid returns for customers questing frequent returns, restricting refunds to store credits, and reduced availability of cash on delivery (CoD) mode of payment.  
• Returns can deal a blow to companies in terms of reduced margins. This is because pickup, shipping, quality check, and refunds dent the profitability of brands. 
• Many analysts believe that return-related challenges can cost e-commerce companies up to $20-30 billion by 2025.
• Several new entrant quick commerce companies are looking to tap the business opportunity by providing low-cost return and logistics to major brands. For instance, Blinkit has started testing a 10-minute return-and-exchange facility for a few lifestyle items in the categories of apparel, footwear, and handbags.
• A few brands are also reported to have entered store return settlements, enabling the customer to return items using quick commerce apps at authorised brand stores.