What Is Buyer’s Remorse? Tips To Prevent Buyer’s Remorse

When was the last time you made a series of impulse buys online, only to regret the costly decision later? This common psychological phenomenon is known as buyer’s remorse.

If you’re the ecommerce seller on the other side of the equation, buyer’s remorse can lead to increased returns management costs. Figuring out how to help your customers avoid buyer’s remorse is one of the best ways that ecommerce merchants can maintain customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Regret about a purchase can damage a customer’s impression of your brand and subvert your word-of-mouth marketing efforts, which rely on satisfied customers recommending your company to other potential customers.

If you run an ecommerce company, learn more about what causes buyer’s remorse, how you can help customers avoid it, and how to handle a customer experiencing it post-purchase.

What is buyer’s remorse?

Buyer’s remorse is a feeling of regret, guilt, or anxiety experienced by a customer after making a purchase. Some people may feel like they overspent on a product, while others may feel like a company mismanaged their expectations. Feelings of buyer’s remorse can negatively impact a buyer’s perception of an ecommerce brand or retailer, making it difficult to maintain a high-quality brand reputation and earn repeat customers.

Common causes of buyer’s remorse

There are many reasons someone might find themselves regretting a recent purchase. Here are some of the most common:

• Impulse purchases. Impulse buying happens when a customer makes a sudden decision to purchase a product—typically without doing much research. This can result in buyer’s remorse later if the customer comes to realize they made the wrong decision.
• Mismanaged expectations. Buyer’s remorse often results from customers mistaking what a product or service actually does. Customers can also experience buyers’ remorse if they come across unexpected complications like shipping delays, even if they’re no fault of the seller.
• Overspending. Another common cause of regret is customers spending over their budget. This is especially prevalent with large purchases or high-ticket items.
• Hidden costs. If customers face unexpected fees or surprising shipping costs, this can result in buyer’s remorse.

Tips to help customers avoid buyer’s remorse

• Create detailed product pages
• Use a clear pricing and fee structure
• Make your return policy clear
• Provide open communication channels

To help customers avoid buyer’s remorse, focus on strategies to manage expectations and provide clear information right from the jump. Here’s how:

Create detailed product pages

Product pages offer enticing information about a product or service, paired with a call to action (CTA) to purchase what’s on offer. Design your product pages to make important and accurate information—like product details, shipping times, and pricing—clear to potential customers right away. Well-written and accurate product descriptions can help avoid misunderstandings that result in customers experiencing buyer’s remorse.

On an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, marketing expert and CEO of Sharma Brands Nik Sharma spoke about a litmus test he uses to evaluate product pages: “Your grandma should be able to go there and fully understand: What does the product do? Why does it exist? How’s it going to benefit me? If I order it today, when’s it going to arrive? And how does it compare to the other products on the market that say they do the same thing?” If you can answer all of these questions on each product page, you’re in a good place to satisfy customers.

Use a clear pricing and fee structure

Choose a transparent pricing strategy and provide all pricing details on product pages. If the purchase price increases dramatically when a customer gets to the checkout page, odds are they won’t even get to the point of having buyer’s remorse.

If you’re selling high-ticket items or items whose prices fluctuate often, consider incorporating a buy now, pay later payment option to help mitigate the potential buyer’s remorse of that expense.

Make your return policy clear

Write a detailed return policy that establishes the rules around how your ecommerce company handles returns, exchanges, and refunds. This policy should include information about which items are eligible for returns or refunds, what reasons are acceptable for returns, and what time limits are allowed.

For example, you could offer free returns for 30 days after a purchase, as long as the returned item still includes its tags and doesn’t have any noticeable damage. Include links to your return policy in several noticeable locations, including your product pages and order confirmation messages.

Provide open communication channels

Another valuable strategy for avoiding buyer’s remorse is to offer customers several communication channels where they can reach out to you easily if they have questions or concerns. For example, you could list your email address, social media accounts, and even include a 24/7 live chatbot on your ecommerce store.

How to handle customers who experience buyer’s remorse

• Focus on customer service
• Offer remedies
• Set up an efficient returns system
• Regularly gather feedback

When handling customers with buyer’s remorse, prioritize offering high-quality customer service and incentives to make it right (like store credit or an easy returns process).

Focus on customer service

Provide optimal customer service by communicating with customers promptly after receiving a message through your communication channels. Practice active listening by giving customers your full attention and asking clarifying questions to better understand the root of a buyer’s disappointment.

Offer a sincere apology for any unexpected issues, like shipping delays or defective items. Naturally move the interaction toward next steps, whether it’s referring a customer to your returns process or offering a solution in the form of a refund or other type of incentive.

Offer remedies

If a customer reaches out to you expressing buyer’s remorse, consider offering store credit or a discount to offset their disappointment and keep them as a customer. By issuing store credit instead of or in addition to a full refund, you can encourage customer retention while keeping cash flowing back into your business. Merchants using Shopify as their ecommerce platform can issue store credit to a customer directly through the Shopify admin dashboard.

Set up an efficient returns system

Establish a returns management system that you and your customers can navigate easily. Facilitate streamlined communication with customers, so you can instruct them on your process to manage returned orders, process refunds, and return items to your inventory. Shopify allows merchants to manage this process directly from their admin accounts.

Regularly gather feedback

Ask for customer feedback to learn more about the online shopping experience with your company. If you have a Shopify store, you can install survey apps that allow customers to leave feedback directly on your website. You can also request that they respond to an automatic follow-up survey email sent after a sale to inquire about a recent purchase. By proactively collecting customer feedback, you can identify and address buyer’s remorse concerns before they turn into a larger reputational risk for your ecommerce company’s credibility.

Legal remedies for buyer’s remorse

There are some buyer’s remorse laws designed to assist consumers in certain scenarios, including the Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule.

Originally established by the FTC in 1972, the Cooling-Off Rule gives customers the right to cancel certain purchases made at their home, workplace, dormitory, or a temporary seller location like a convention center or fairground within three days.

The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule created legal protections for consumers who make an at-home purchase or sign a service contract due to high-pressure door-to-door sales techniques. The Cooling-Off Rule does not apply to many types of purchases, including real estate deals, car purchases, or transactions made entirely online, meaning it doesn’t apply to ecommerce sales.