Retail giant Myer is appealing to existing and potential customers by giving its returns policy a makeover.
The retailer’s No Regrets Policy is based on making sure shoppers feel they won’t be stuck with purchases if they change their minds, with Myer telling Mumbrella, the campaign “entices shoppers to indulge their urges, try new things and succumb to temptation.”
The policy, which Myer says simplifies its previous returns policy, will also apply to all new brands now stocked in Myer stores, including Seed and Jack & Jones.
“Our No Regrets Returns Policy is all about making it easier for you to experiment and try something different,” the Myer website says.
The associated marketing campaign has been created by Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne and includes online, catalogue and outdoor advertisements.
Simon Lamplough, group managing director at Clemenger BBDO, told SmartCompany the campaign is about tackling the post-Christmas period, which is often a difficult time for retailers.
“I guess the problem we were trying to solve is the February/March time is the hardest retail period of the year historically, post-Christmas, parties and New Year’s, and peoples credit card debt is high,” he says.
“Myer is on a brand transformation at the moment … part of the campaign idea is to excite people about the new season and the new brands on offer.”
Lamplough says all businesses can learn from the campaign as it is about considering what a business already does, such as offer returns, and looking at that in a creative way.
“I think the really interesting thing with this campaign is that lots of businesses Myer included but small ones too is they have existing equities and assets available to you,” he says.
“We’ve started looking around at Myer more to appraise and see what’s already there and looking at things differently.”
Marketing expert Michelle Gamble, from Marketing Angels, told SmartCompany the Myer No Regrets Policy is a clever campaign that puts a spotlight on potential advantages the chain has over pure-play online retailers as it’s often much easier to return items to a store.
“For Myer they need to make it easier than buying online and that’s one of the issues when buying online, it’s not a seamless process,” Gamble says.
“It drives foot traffic into the Myer stores.”
Gamble believes SMEs could incorporate this approach into their business by making their own returns policies simpler and transparent, which in turn could help bring customers back for repeat purchases.
“The fact they’re being transparent, people will pay more attention to the returns conditions … It’s putting a spotlight on the returns policy and saying ours is great,” she says.
Lamplough says Myer’s returns policy hasn’t been changed, but rather had some of the terms and conditions have been simplified.
Does he see it as a risky move?
“I don’t think so as long as people bring back products in saleable conditions … Myers always had a great returns policy it’s nothing different,” he says.
Ronelle Richards is a former SmartCompany journalist. She is currently studying a Masters of Journalism at The University of Melbourne and has previously worked as a journalist and photographer at rural newspapers.
