ReturnGO makes it easy for you to manage online refunds and returns, so you can create a positive post-purchase customer experience.

What are Refunds? 

A refund is when your customers get their money back for returning an item. Refunds are the simplest and most well-known type of eCommerce return.

Refunds can come in various different forms, such as store credit or refund to a payment method.

With ReturnGO, you can streamline the refund process by configuring automatic approval of refunds under certain conditions, and setting up a self-service return portal that makes it easy for customers to request a refund.

Why Are Easy Refunds Important?

Based on our 2022 data, refunds account for 60% of product returns. As the majority of product returns are in the form of refunds, it’s important to make the refund process easy for your customers and handled efficiently by your team.

Across all Shopify businesses, 65% of refunds are handled manually and the remaining 35% are managed using a return portal like ReturnGO.

ReturnGO simplifies managing product refunds and exchanges and enables you to automate many parts of the refund process, so you don’t need to take any manual steps to ensure your customers receive their refunds.

Setting Up Refunds

Configure the different types of refunds, including how they are handled and under what conditions each type is offered.

Refund resolutions are linked to your return policy, where you can specify how refunds work and when customers qualify for refunds depending on order value, customer history, number of returned items, etc.

When customers issue a refund request on the return portal, they will able to choose from the refund methods their order is eligible for.

What Types of Refunds Can You Offer?

There are 4 main types of refunds you can offer. You can set the eligibility conditions for each type of refund based on the customer, order, product, or return request details. 

Different refund types will be appropriate for different circumstances, and in certain situations, you can give customers the choice of their preferred refund method.

Refund to Payment Method 

The most direct form of refund is a refund to the payment method that was used at the time of purchase, such as credit card, Paypal, etc. While this might be most the common and straightforward type of refund, try and avoid it because it’s more costly for your store.

Store Credit

Store credit is a great way to refund a customer without losing the sale. Customers may like your brand but not the product they received, and if they don’t want to take the time to pick out a new item right now, it can be helpful to offer store credit that they can use later. 

When a refund is given as store credit, the customer can use that amount to purchase another item from your store in the future. 

While this isn’t ideal since your customers aren’t obliged to take immediate action, this is ultimately better for your store than giving refunds directly to a payment method, as your customers can use the store credit only at your store. Store credit helps you retain customers and revenue at the same time.

Refund to Bank 

A refund can be issued directly to a customer’s bank account. To do this, you’ll need the customer’s IBAN. 

When a customer purchases through an offsite transaction, outside of your Shopify store, such as cash on delivery, the only way to issue a refund may be a bank transfer.

Gift Card

Gift cards can be used as a refund that keeps customers loyal to your store. When you offer a gift card as a refund, the customer receives a gift card with the refund amount on it, which they can use for future purchases.

The advantage of gift cards is that they can be combined with other gift cards and discount codes.

Special Refund Features ReturnGO Provides

In addition to standard refunds such as refund to payment method and store credit, ReturnGO offers some special features that simplify the refund process and give you more flexibility when it comes to managing refunds and returns.

Refund of Exchange

With ReturnGO you can issue a refund for an item that was previously exchanged. 

This can be useful in cases where a customer buys an item, exchanges it for another item or variant, and then isn’t satisfied with the new item or there’s a problem with the new item. By offering a refund for the exchanged item, you can ensure a positive customer experience.

Store Credit as Rewards or Penalties

Store credit can be used to reward or penalize customers.

Reward:

You can give a bonus amount of store credit to reward or incentivize customers. 

For example, you can define that in cases where customers are returning an item due to 

it being damaged or defective, you can refund them an extra 10% store credit.

Penalty:

You can deduct penalties from the store credit refund and reduce the amount of store credit given. 

For example, you can deduct a return shipping fee from the refunded amount of store 

credit.

Instant Refund

You can set up instant refunds so that customers will receive their refunds immediately upon submitting a refund request. 

Instant refunds can be activated by integrating your ReturnGO account with an instant refund provider such as Reveni or Refundid, and then defining under what conditions customers will be eligible for an instant refund.

Use instant refunds in cases where you know that a refund is eligible and there is no need to approve it manually.

Use Refunds to Boost the Return Experience

ReturnGO makes it easy for you to manage online refunds, so you can create a seamless return experience for your customers. 

The easy-to-use platform enables you to customize refund types to meet your store’s needs, while automating and streamlining your refunds and returns.