As "618" gradually evolved into a global buyer carnival, Amazon Global Shopping also joined the mid-year promotion war. This year's promotion officially started on May 30 and will last for 22 days until June 20. The platform promises "global low-priced goods" and provides more than 10 million international products, covering nearly 20,000 brands, spanning 35 popular categories such as health, beauty, clothing and shoes, home furnishings, and electronics.
It is worth mentioning that this event not only has a richer variety of goods, but also speeds up logistics. Consumers can choose between cross-border direct mail or bonded warehouse delivery, which can be delivered in two days at the fastest, greatly improving the shopping experience.
For cross-border sellers, 618 is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity to increase sales and reach more overseas consumers. But while sales are increasing, it also means that the risk of rising return rates is being magnified simultaneously.
The "high return reality" behind the promotion
During the promotion period, consumers' shopping impulse intensified, coupled with the "buy first and try later" shopping habits in traditional e-commerce, making returns a normal practice. Especially on a highly standardized platform like Amazon, the return rate has been maintained between 15% and 30% all year round, and clothing and footwear products may even exceed 40%.
This phenomenon is particularly prominent on overseas shopping platforms. On the one hand, there are differences in size, color, material, etc. in cross-border shopping; on the other hand, language barriers and time differences have also increased consumers' reliance on "return guarantees". Once the goods do not meet expectations, many consumers will choose to return them quickly and expect a refund without any threshold.
From the perspective of platform policies, Amazon itself is very friendly to consumer returns, providing free returns within 30 days, and some categories also support "refunds upon return". But for sellers, this is a considerable cost: high return logistics costs, long operation cycles, low resale efficiency, and the platform will deduct points and restrict sales rights if you are not careful.
So the question is: how to handle the return wave brought about by this big promotion more efficiently and professionally?
What can we do to deal with the peak of cross-border returns? Localized return warehouse is the key
In the past, when faced with returns, many cross-border sellers either chose to let consumers return the goods to China or simply accept refunds and abandon the goods. This not only means high logistics and processing costs, but also causes a huge waste of inventory.
But now, more and more sellers are beginning to realize that localized return warehouse services are the "solution" to deal with the high incidence of returns. By setting up a return warehouse in the United States, not only can the return cost be reduced and the quality inspection speed be accelerated, but also the returned goods that meet the standards can be put on the shelves again or resold to minimize losses.
U-Speed US return warehouse: "Return Backing" for Cross-border Sellers
In this battle of return efficiency, U-Speed US return warehouse is becoming a trustworthy partner for many cross-border sellers. At present, U-Speed has deployed four major return warehouses in the United States, covering the East, West and South markets respectively, and can handle returns nearby according to the buyer's address, which is efficient and convenient.
1. Comprehensive layout of four warehouse networks, strong daily processing capacity
Eastern US (New Jersey) return warehouse: divided into two locations, with a total area of 212,000 square feet, an average daily processing capacity of more than 20,000 orders, covering core markets in the east such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
West US (Los Angeles) return warehouse: expanded to 80,000 square feet, processing more than 10,000 orders per day, connecting orders from western states such as California.
Miami return warehouse: with an area of 21,000 square feet, it can process more than 2,500 orders per day and undertake part of the transshipment tasks in South America.
2. Professional facilities + security system, transparent and controllable throughout the process
Each warehouse is equipped with forklifts, heavy-duty shelves, fire-fighting facilities, CCTV monitoring systems and 24-hour security to ensure the safety and traceability of returned goods in the warehousing process. The warehouse is also equipped with anti-static areas and quality inspection tables, which are particularly suitable for handling precision products such as consumer electronics and 3C accessories.
3. Sino-US team collaboration, quality inspection completed within 2 days
U-Speed adopts a hybrid model of "Chinese management team + US local operation team", equipped with professional quality inspectors, strictly follows standard procedures to take pictures of goods, test functions, determine status, etc., complete quality inspection within 48 hours, and greatly shorten the return cycle.
4. Multiple service closed loop, help return to assets
In addition to return quality inspection, U-Speed also provides:
Local warehousing
One-piece delivery
Return resale (such as dividing new/second-hand channels)
Multi-platform return packaging and processing services
Help sellers find the "reuse" value in returns, avoid inventory waste, and further increase profit margins.
Written in the end: The peak of returns is not pressure, but a test of ability
Every big promotion is a concentrated "final exam" for the supply chain capabilities of cross-border sellers. In this game of "high sales + high returns", whoever can respond quickly and handle after-sales efficiently can truly win the long-term trust of buyers.
Localized return warehouses are no longer just an option, but a necessary configuration to cope with the current market rhythm.
Faced with the massive orders and potential return challenges of Amazon's 618 overseas shopping this year, sellers may wish to plan ahead and control the rhythm. Choosing a professional, mature, and experienced American return service provider like U-Speed may be the key step for you to stabilize after-sales and win the long run.
