Jonathan Poma is Founder and CEO at Loop, a Columbus, Ohio-based company dedicated to revolutionizing the post-purchase experience. It’s an interesting niche and I wanted to chat with Jonathan about how Loop works, why paying attention to the post-purchase/returns phase of the buying process is important, and how certain trends — notably a renewed focus on sustainability — are providing tailwinds for companies in the space.
Loop’s website, at loopreturns.com, provides some interesting stats on why the returns phase of purchases matter to consumers, namely that the majority of consumers review retailers’ return policies before making an online purchase. Furthermore, “the majority (57%) of consumers have stopped purchasing from a particular retailer after a bad return experience.” Conversely, those brands with a smooth, hassle-free returns experience wind up retaining and even expanding brand affinity, boosting LTV and upselling opportunities. What’s truly compelling about optimizing the returns phase is that it’s both great for consumers and also a great way for etailers to shave costs.
I asked Jonathan which consumer categories are best-suited to an optimized returns system, how his company’s partnership with Shopify works, and how the pandemic — which caused a huge surge in online purchases (and returns) have changed his company’s roadmap. We then get into how he views 2023 and his objective of creating “a new world of re-sale and re-commerce.”
Loopreturns.com hosts an up-to-date Benchmark Report for e-commerce merchants providing important insights about return rates, consumer retention rates, and upsell values. If you’re selling anything online and seeking a better way to handle returns/refunds, you’ll likely find value in it, and you can download it here:
https://www.loopreturns.com/the-ecommerce-returns-benchmark-report/