Free and easy returns remain a key priority for customers shopping online, especially when making a cross-border purchase, according to International Post Corporation (IPC) – a cooperative association representing 23 postal operators in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
A record three million items were returned through IPC’s Common Return Platform in 2018, with more than 10 million items returned since its launch in 2010. Almost seven million labels were also printed last year, demonstrating the increasing success of the solution.
The IPC Common Return Platform enables postal operators to offer e-tailers an easy-to-use and hassle-free returns system for cross-border items. The CRP serves several international postal groups and services including the E-Parcel Group (EPG), Kahala Posts Group (KPG), Prime (Europe), Express Mail Service (EMS), Universal Postal Union (UPU) Parcels, and Interconnect.
During Q1 2019, new functionalities will be tested to enable e-sellers to have an item returned to another country rather than the country of origin, or to a warehouse in the destination country. This will provide e-tailers with a new way to optimize transportation costs.
Currently, 30 posts are accepting returned items through the platform. Furthermore, 12 authorizing posts in outbound countries are actively promoting the solution to large e-tailers.