(Yicai) Jan. 13 -- As Western buyers greatly value post-purchase experience, Chinese brands selling products overseas should start paying attention to such services to scale up their business, according to the chief revenue officer of Seel, a US e-commerce services company providing post-purchase guarantee.

Chinese firms should "really think through what the entire end-to-end consumer experience is like, not just what it's going to look like to acquire the customer at the front end," Laura Huddle told Yicai in an interview during the Consumer Electronics Show.

Return policies should be clear, easy to understand, and really competitive to maximize conversion rate, she explained. "Handling those returns, that's where you build loyalty with those consumers."

Seventy-four percent of consumers would not buy items with no option to return them, according to Seel data. "The post-purchase experience is truly a core part of the buying decision and not an afterthought, a critical part of e-commerce infrastructure," Huddle said.

"Western consumers read more than product pages; they're reading the fine print to understand what the return policy is going to be," Huddle pointed out. "And when things like that on the website aren't clear, that causes a lot of challenges in terms of conversion."

Before purchases, Western shoppers want to know how fast the refund will be and if the customer service team will be responsive; they expect an "Amazon Prime-like experience" that is fast, predictable, and frictionless, she noted.

"But Gen Z has an even higher standard where if they have one bad experience with a brand, they don't return,"Huddle added.

Post-purchase services are not only important to meet global client demand but also to help companies save money. In fact, Huddle revealed that returns cost retailers 20 percent to 25 percent of their revenue, which represents USD1 trillion globally in 2025.

"The average brand loses 17 percent of the revenue directly due to refunds, and then they spend about another 8 percent on operational costs, such as software-as-a-service fees to manage returns," she explained.

The number of average refunds and returns per merchant surged 30 percent in the first three quarters of last year from a year earlier, with a further 16 percent jump during the holiday shopping period, Seel found after analyzing over 10 million e-commerce transactions.

"The spike reflects something deeper than just seasonal fluctuations," Huddle said, adding that other contributing factors are the higher consumer anxiety from recession fears, tighter consumer budgets, increased buyer remorse, the normalization of 'try it before you buy it,' especially in Gen Z, driven by 'buy-now-pay-later' services and price sensitivity.

Innovation Calls for Better Post-Purchase Services

"What's particularly striking [at the Consumer Electronics Show] this year is how brands are moving beyond simply showcasing technology to thoughtfully considering the real-world user experience once that technology is deployed," Huddle said.

"From robotics and smart home appliances to cross-border consumer electronics brands, we're seeing artificial intelligence and hardware being pushed into more tangible, high-frequency consumer scenarios," she added.

"As these innovative products enter global markets, we've observed that the real challenge often extends beyond just 'making the sale,'" Huddle noted. "It's about ensuring consumers maintain confidence and peace of mind after they click 'buy.'

"Whether it's shipping uncertainties, post-purchase support costs, or the inherent complexities of cross-border experiences, these factors directly impact a brand's ability to scale."

Huddle believes these issues stem from a fundamental difference in market expectations, a gap between Chinese brands, which are incredibly strong at product innovation, fast iteration, and competitive pricing, and Western consumers who have a very high expectation when it comes to predictability and accountability in the post-purchase experience.

Market Infrastructure

Third-party platforms offering post-purchase protection have emerged as a leading infrastructure for brands that are unable or lack the resources to build in-house capabilities. They typically charge consumers small fees for coverage across delivery issues, extended warranties, and return shipping.

Founded in 2019, Seel serves over 5,500 brands across 19 countries, using AI to track return patterns and alert brands to quality issues.
Brands using Seel's platform experience a 16 percent increase in customer lifetime value and more than a 30 percent surge in repeated purchases, according to the company's internal analysis.

Industry-wide data on the return on investment of post-purchase optimization remains limited, however, 74 percent of consumers refuse to buy items without return options, suggesting that return flexibility significantly impacts conversion rates.

Traditional price-competitive products perform better on established platforms like Amazon, while premium technology products with higher margins may benefit from direct-to-consumer websites, said Pyro Chen, Seel's global vice president for Asia-Pacific.

"The direct-to-consumer model works for 'invented in China' products with proprietary technology, but requires building trust with consumers who prioritize insurance-backed guarantees," Chen said. European markets add complexity, with distinct German-, French-, and English-speaking regions requiring different approaches.

For cross-border sellers, regulatory compliance has become a key consideration. Certifications such as System and Organization Controls 2, General Data Protection Regulation, and California Consumer Privacy Act are baseline requirements that Western consumers and corporate partners expect before engaging with new brands, particularly from China.

Huddle predicted that brands without clear, frictionless return options will struggle to compete by the end of this year. "Most retailers can't build this infrastructure independently," she said, stressing the growing role of third-party platforms in cross-border commerce.

Editor: Futura Costaglione