Final answer:
Customers dissatisfied with merchandise and allowed to return it can either receive credit, a refund, a replacement, or a discount on future purchases. Money-back guarantees serve as a promise of quality and encourage the sale of goods, particularly in situations where the buyer cannot see the product in advance.
Step-by-step explanation:
When customers are dissatisfied with merchandise and are allowed to return the goods to the seller for credit or a refund, several outcomes can occur based on the company's return policy. The most direct results are that customers receive credit for the returned goods, meaning they can use that credit to purchase other items from the seller, or customers receive a refund for the returned goods, which means the money they spent on the product is returned to them. In some cases, customers might receive a replacement for the returned goods if the item was defective or not as described, or customers could be offered a discount on future purchases to compensate for their unsatisfactory experience. Money-back guarantees are a promise of quality and can encourage purchases, particularly in situations where buyers cannot physically inspect the goods beforehand, such as when buying from mail-order catalogs or over the web.
A key point to consider is that every purchase is predicated on the buyer's belief in the satisfaction that the product will provide, which in turn is influenced by the available information. When this information is imperfect or unclear, it can lead to customer dissatisfaction, product returns, and hesitancy to make future purchases.