Siras.com Tech Helps Cut TV Return Rates

By Colleen Bohen -- TWICE, 5/14/2007 8:26:00 AM

Redmond, Wash. — Siras.com, a Nintendo spin-off, said its electronic product registration technology helped its manufacturer and retail customers to reduce return rates for CRT, LCD, plasma and projection TVs by 37 percent in 2006.

“With the declining prices in the marketplace of TVs today, and with retail margins razor thin, it’s more important than ever to limit returns to those products that legitimately fall under both the warranty and retailer return guidelines,” said Peter Junger, president of Siras.com, in a release.

The Siras technology gives retailers an automated tool to make it easier to determine if a product is under warranty even if the customer no longer has his receipt. The technology tracks each individual product by scanning the product’s UPC code and serial number at the point of purchase and storing the data electronically so that the warranty start date is accessible to the retailer when a customer attempts to return the product.

The company recently released similar results return-loss reduction figures for the MP3 category. At the time, a Siras.com spokesperson explained that one of the biggest causes for return losses is that it is difficult to establish a warranty start date when the customer loses their receipt.