The problem
Returns by email mean back-and-forth about order numbers, reasons and labels. If an online clothing shop handles 25 returns a month at 12 minutes each, that's 300 minutes, 5 hours a month.
What the AI does
Shopify's self-serve returns let customers submit return and cancellation requests from their order status page without contacting you. You set rules for which items are eligible, how long customers have and whether return shipping is free or paid, and can mark products as final sale. You can customize the request form to ask for the reason and condition. You approve or decline each request in your admin and can send a return label with the approval. It needs the newer customer accounts, not legacy accounts, and exchanges can't be requested through it.
A worked example
A children's clothing shop in Leeds on Shopify Basic gets about 25 return requests a month, mostly for size, and switches on self-serve returns.
Before
25 returns by email at 12 minutes: 300 minutes, 5 hours a month
After
25 requests at 4 minutes to approve and send a label: 100 minutes, 1.7 hours a month
What it's worth
About 3.3 hours a month saved (200 minutes), worth around $110£83€99A$159C$156 if your time is worth $33£25€30A$48C$47 an hour. Shopify's help pages don't tie self-serve returns to a plan; Shopify Basic is $33£25€30A$48C$47 a month or $25£19€23A$36C$36 billed yearly, so if you already pay for Shopify the extra cost is nil.
How to set it up
- Check you're using the newer customer accounts, then turn on self-serve returns.
- Set return rules: the time allowed, which items are eligible and who pays return postage.
- Add questions to the request form for the reason and the item's condition.
- Place a test order, request a return and approve it with a label.
- Each week, look at return reasons and fix size guides or descriptions behind the common ones.
What goes wrong
- Marking an item final sale doesn't remove the legal right to cancel most online orders within 14 days of delivery; only some items, such as personalized goods, are exempt.
- Every request still needs approving by you; Shopify's page doesn't describe automatic approval.
- Exchanges can't be requested through self-serve returns, so customers wanting a different size need a return and a new order.
- It doesn't work with legacy customer accounts; switching accounts can change how customers sign in.