Sellers on the Meesho e-commerce platform are reportedly protesting a modification to the company’s return policy that would tighten control over product returns.
According to ET, which cited Surat-based merchants, some sellers have stopped processing orders through Meesho’s platform and have given the company unfavourable reviews and ratings on its app.
Meesho changed its policy as a result of feedback from third-party logistics partners. The ecommerce unicorn’s decision would make sense from a business standpoint because returns account for a sizeable amount of the overall logistical costs.
The move also comes at a time when software startups and corporations around the world, including in India, are laying off workers and reducing expenses due to a protracted funding winter. Meesho has made efforts to cut operating expenses and save cash.
The SoftBank-backed e-commerce site has made several technological adjustments in accordance with the new regulation, including the addition of new barcodes and video verification of the product packaging. At the start of the year, Meesho implemented extensive inspections of returned goods.
The policy change was brought about, in the opinion of the logistics firms quoted by ET, by the sellers’ misuse of the previous policy. However, a Meesho spokesperson who talked with Inc42 refuted this claim and added that third-party logistics companies have no influence over the return policy of the e-commerce site.
“Our return policies are reasonable and competitive. Sellers can only raise claims within 7 days of receiving the returns,” the spokeswoman stated.
It is wise to note right now that Meesho compensates its merchants for goods returned by customers.
Prior to this, Meesho was more forgiving with returns, but after some time, vendors who were aware that a lot of products were being returned refused to accept the returned goods and demanded compensation instead. Meesho is attempting to stop that by enforcing tougher checks, which has enraged vendors.
The fact that the platform’s two main verticals, fashion and accessories, typically have a high return rate makes the situation more challenging.
On average, around 25% of all fashion products purchased online are returned. Meesho also instituted a new policy that permitted individuals to purchase or sell the products they wanted to return at a discount without having to return them in order to keep that in check.
