11st Launches 'Return Insurance'... Supports Up to 2,500 KRW Return Fee for 'Customer Simple Change of Mind'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Commerce portal 11st announced on the 17th that it has introduced the industry’s first ‘11st Return Insurance’ service, which supports return shipping costs due to simple change of mind by customers.

Return insurance is a product where the insurer pays the shipping cost on behalf of the customer when returning an item due to a simple change of mind after purchase.

11st introduced the return insurance service targeting representative product categories such as fashion and accessories, where customers hesitate to make online purchases due to return shipping costs caused by exchanges of color or size. Even if the color is not what they wanted, the size does not fit, or simply because they changed their mind and no longer wish to keep the purchase, return costs are supported up to 2,500 KRW.

If a buyer of a product enrolled in ‘11st Return Insurance’ returns the item due to a simple change of mind or their own will, they can apply for a return via the 11st designated courier and return the item without paying return shipping costs. However, if returning a free shipping product, the buyer must pay the ‘initial shipping cost’ borne by the seller.

‘11st Return Insurance’ simplifies the subscription process through the 11st Seller Office, allowing sellers to freely subscribe to the insurance product according to their preference. The subscription condition is for products with shipping costs of 2,500 KRW or less; intangible products, overseas shipping, and some other products are restricted from subscription. Together with Carrot General Insurance, Korea’s first digital non-life insurance company, 11st calculated reasonable and differentiated premiums for each product category based on 12 years of accumulated big data related to purchases and returns.

Through this, return insurance was first applied to 1,209 product groups across 140 categories including fashion, beauty, cosmetics, accessories, books, music albums, baby products, computer accessories, and smart devices.

Kim Seongsu, head of Lifestyle Plus at 11st, stated, “From the buyer’s perspective, it reduces worries about returns, allowing for more comfortable shopping, and for sellers, the benefit of supporting return costs will be exposed as a differentiator, expected to attract more customers and increase sales opportunities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.