Fraud, the four letter (ok 5) word we hate dealing with. Unfortunately, it's not going away, and for some brands it has increased. We're using a combination of tech and community to fight this.
Who left the door open (for returns fraudsters)?
A recent article put out by the Wall Street Journal covered the increase brands are seeing in occurrences in fraud. In this article, they site two of the root causes that increase the perceived opportunity for fraud.
"During the holidays, stores typically have people that maybe are new or temporary seasonal hires, and they’re easier marks for criminals."
Warehouse volume surges during the holiday period. This carries over through January, which is known to be the highest return rate month of the year. To keep up, warehouses supplement their labor force with temporary workers. Workers not educated in your product and less likely to notice irregularities and quality deficiencies.
And as the fraudsters would be inclined to believe, unmotivated to protect your brand and bottom-line. It's not their problem, right? They're here for a good time, not a long time.
While the door is left open even wider during the holiday period with seasonal workers, this isn't isolated to those short-timers. Your permanent warehouse staff may be well trained in spotting fraud but this doesn't change the perception from the fraudsters vantage point.
They see hourly laborers more concerned with processing volume and with no allegiance to the brand they are serving.
The other window of opportunity for fraud left open: Time.
"Returned items are often shipped to a warehouse for processing, where an employee might not open the package to evaluate the item’s condition for several days. "
It's not uncommon for a returned item to sit in the queue to be processed for multiple days and this timeline slips even further during the holidays.
Who's Better at Spotting a Fake Return? Spoiler: It's Your Customers
Think about it. Who knows your product better than the people who live and breathe your brand – your customers! Imagine a world where the person checking that return isn't someone swamped in a warehouse but a customer who knows what to expect because they saw the same pics and read the same description as the person who's returning the item. Game-changer, right?
Who's Faster at Unboxing a Delivery? Spoiler: It's Your Customers (Again)
Who opens a package faster than someone who's been tracking their order since the moment they hit 'buy'? No one. Certainly not your backed up warehouse. You can forget about 3 to 5+ days of a package sitting around while you've already refunded the customer.
The Fraudster's Dilemma: Peer Accountability
Let's play pretend for a sec. You're a fraudster (not cool, btw). Would you try to pull a fast one if you knew that the person on the other end was a fellow customer? Someone who's going to rip into that package faster than you can say "return policy"? Probably not. Because unlike a busy warehouse worker, customers don’t mess around when they get a package.
How Our Peer-to-Peer Returns Solution Changes the Game
At Hafback, our most powerful tool in preventing fraud doesn't come from our image upload feature (although that's pretty cool, too). It comes from harnessing the collective power of the individual customer.
By selling returned items and shipping them peer-to-peer, you unlock perhaps the greatest measure in preventing fraud.
Join us in embracing this new approach to returns, where preventing fraud is just the beginning of a journey towards a more sustainable and profitable retail future.
