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How to set up the returns and exchanges portal?
How to set up the returns and exchanges portal?

Configuration of rules for exchanges and returns, message translations, and portal customization

Jennifer-Alice avatar
Written by Jennifer-Alice
Updated over a week ago

In this article we will show you how to set up the returns and exchanges portal, by adding reasons and instructions, as well as customizing the portal itself with your brand and preferences.

Go to Settings -> Returns & Exchanges:

Return and exchange rules

Go to the first section and click on Set up your first rule:

You will see the following points:

To configure these points, follow the steps Rule Configuration drop-down below:

Note that if you do not configure any rules, your clients will not be able to access the portal❗️

Rules configuration

The rules for returns and exchanges are set up in a very similar way to the Shipping Rules. With these rules, you can define the deadlines for returns or exchanges, the carriers to be used, the shipping costs, the warehouse to receive returns or exchanges, and even the refund method.

  • Name

    Assign a name to your rule so that you can easily identify it among new rules in the future. Remember that after you save it, you can always modify it again

  • Conditions

    Select the condition(s) under which the rule will take effect and allow your customers to make an exchange or return. You have several options based on the Brand, the destination of the order, the name of the product, etc. (You will find some examples of rules ahead)

NOTE! You must set a name and at least 1 condition to be able to save a draft rule

  • Special actions

    In special actions you can allow the customer to keep the product when requesting the return.

  • Returns and Exchanges

    Decide whether you want to allow returns and/or exchanges by activating the toggle.

    Find more relevant information about changes in the Change drop-down point below ❗️

  • Days to return or exchange

    Decide the number of days you want to allow for customers to initiate a return or exchange process - if you choose 0 days, customers will not be able to make returns or exchanges for the condition you have selected

  • Show return and exchange reasons

    Select the set of reasons you want to display for your customers when requesting the return, you can use Outvio's default set but we recommend to modify it to your needs or create a new one in Reasons and instructions (more information in the dropdown Reasons and instructions)

  • Return delivery methods

    You have 3 options:

    1) Allow customers to ship with their own courier, 2) allow customers to deliver to physical shop by themselves and/or 3) allow to use your own carriers for returns and exchanges

    • If you activate the first 2 options, please note that you must review and modify (if necessary) the set of instructions that will be shown to your customers to return to your physical store or ship by their own means (more information in the last point of the article - Reasons and instructions)

    • If you activate the third option - Use my couriers, make sure you select the correct return shipping method for the selected destination and set the corresponding pickup option (with or without carrier pickup) to avoid future courier errors.

      You can also configure whether this method will be displayed for returns and/or exchanges and whether you charge the customer a specific rate or charge them the same as the carrier charges you - in the latter case make sure you upload your rates within the selected method

    You can add multiple shipping methods by clicking on "Add method", allowing your customers to select the option that best suits their return.

    For exchanges

    • If you activate the exchange option, you can also enable the possibility of processing exchanges with services that include both delivery and collection of the products to be exchanged (such as the CorreosExpress Plus service)

      • You can set it up as a shipping service for when your customers make an exchange under the point Exchanges - Process exchanges with carriers that offer return shipments

  • Select where to deliver return

    You can decide whether the returned products are shipped to the warehouse from which they were originally shipped or to a specific warehouse of your choice

  • Refund methods

    You can allow refunds on the original payment method and/or offer the customer a refund in the form of an in-store credit - depending on your online store this can be automatic or manual.

    Find more relevant information on how refunds work in the Refunds dropdown ahead

  • You must activate at least 1 option in order to allow to process a return

Return rule example ☑️

You can set up rules to approach various cases, and the more precise your rules are, the better. However, the most common is to set up a rate and a shipping method based on the destination from which the return is made. This will allow you to efficiently manage returns and offer your customers a more personalized experience.

For example:

  • I want to return from Spain (excluding the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands), offering GLS for free with home collection or Correos Retorno (also for free) with drop off to point.

  • For my shipments from France I want the rate with Colissimo without pickup to be 3.50€ and from Germany the rate with UPS Standard without pickup to be 4.50€, but if my customers select a refund in the form of store credit, the return will be free of charge.

We set up 3 rules as follows:

1.Rule Spain

  • Name: Returns Spain Mainland

  • Condition: If >Order >Country >Contains Spain + Order >Postal Code >Not Contains >07 + Order >Postal Code >Not Contains >35

  • Return: allow

  • Days: 30 (for example)

  • Shipping methods: - Use My Couriers - With Pickup - GLS (+ add Shipping Method) -Without Pickup -Return Packages only for returns and we show corresponding instructions for each one

2.Rule France

  • Name: Returns France

  • Condition: If Order Country Contains France

  • Shipping methods: - My Couriers - No Pickup - With specific fee of 3.50 - only for returns and we show drop off instructions for client

  • Refund methods: allow both refund options + mark free shipping if the second option is selected:

    • you can also activate automatic store credit (coupon or gift card with Shopify Plus - more info in the Refunds dropdown

3.Rule Germany

  • It would be configuring the rule in the same way as the previous one but setting a different courier and a different rate:

❗️What if I do NOT want to allow returns from certain destinations or for certain reasons or for certain products?

In that case you would have to check Allow return with 0 days to return:

You would create these rules like this:

  • Example 1: Based on Product

    (Condition) IF Product Name Contains Lingerie or Bikini

    -> IF Product Name contains Lingerie or IF Product Name contains Bikini / IF Product Metatag contains # Lingerie or # Do Not Return

    -> Allow Return - 0 days

  • Example 2: Based on Destination

    (Condition) If Product Postcode contains 07 (Balearic Islands) or 35 (Canary Islands) - Allow Return - 0 days

  • Example 3: Based on Reason

    (Condition) If Return Reason includes -> I don't like it anymore -> Allow Return - 0 days

    →When the customer selects this reason for your return, the portal will not allow you to make the return (or exchange)

    Once you have configured all your shipping rules, you can decide in which order they should appear. You can change the order of your rules by simply dragging the particular rule to the selected location.

    You can also edit the rules, duplicate them (when only minor changes need to be made), or turn them on and off depending on when you need to apply the rules. When you need to delete one of the rules, simply click the Delete button next to the rule.

  • Keep in mind that some of the rules are mutually exclusive. In this case, the rule will be applied top-down (from the top and down), i.e. the first matching rule found.

Exchanges

⭐️Automatic exchanges with Shopify

If you are on Conquer Plan and use Shopify or Shopify Plus:

  • You can offer your customers 2 types of exchanges:

    • Exchange for any product available in the store

    • Exchange for a different variant of the same product

  • Exchange for any product available in the store

    This option allows customers to exchange their item for any product available in the store. When the customer chooses this option, we give you the flexibility to choose between recommending related products of greater or equal value

  • the corresponding refund or payment will be handled through Shopify.

In addition, you can boost the exchange process, even if the customer originally wanted to return the item by checking the Push Exchange option:

  • Exchange for a different variant of the same product

    This option allows customers to exchange their product for a different variant of the same item (size, color, etc)

    In this case, you have the option to specify when Outvio should create an exchange order, either immediately, after pickup by the carrier, or after receiving and accepting the returned products.

    → To accept the returned products you must enter the Returns🔁 section click on mark products as received and click on Accept under each product:

⭐️Manual exchanges

  • On the Grow plan with Shopify, exchanges are NOT automatic, which means that customers cannot directly select the exchange options on the product, such as size, gender or color.

    • Instead, customers should use a field to request the exchange and describe the variant they wish to exchange for. This information is recorded within the return shipment created and can be found in the return shipment section.

    Once you have reviewed the customer's request, you can manually create a new order from Outvio or Shopify and send it to the appropriate address. If you have any questions or need more details, feel free to contact us.

Refunds

  • Refund to original payment method

    when the customer chooses this option, Outvio calculates the total refund for the customer.

    • If you use Shopify: Outvio uses the Base Price of the product and not compare_at_price or any other parameter to calculate the cost to pay/reimburse for exchanges, we recommend that you only edit the discount price of the products but NEVER modify the base price, to avoid incidents.

    • If you need to modify the base price of a product, you have to create a new product with that base price.

The refund in the original payment method is NOT automatic, so when you receive the information with the amount to be refunded, you must make the payment to the customer on your own.

  • Refund to store credit

    • Automatic refund:

      The automatic reimbursement options include Coupon and Gift Card:

    • 💸Discount Coupon (Shopify) - The coupon is a short one-time use code that the customer can use at checkout when making a purchase.

      When a coupon is created, Shopify generates it and stores it in your Shopify account under "Coupons" and sends an email to both you and your customer to notify them.

      • If you activate the "Store Credit Generated" Notification template in Branding, a notification will also be sent from Outvio with the coupon code for the customer

    • 🎁Gift Card (Shopify Plus) - The Gift Card is available exclusively for Shopify Plus subscription stores due to limitations on the Shopify side. The advantage is that this gift card can be used multiple times until your balance is used up.

      In the case of gift cards, Outvio does not send notifications about it. You can find your Gift Cards in your Shopify Admin panel by going to Products > Gift Cards.

    • If you activate the "Coupon or Gift Card + Bonus" option in Outvio, the system automatically performs the calculation and generates a coupon or gift card that includes the amount of the credit memo.

      → Depending on the option you choose: "Immediately", "After courier pickup" or "After receiving and accepting the returned items" - Outvio will automatically generate a coupon or gift card in your Shopify store for the customer.

  • Bonus

    The bonus calculation method can be configured in two ways: with a fixed amount or a percentage. Each option has its own variable ranges. When Outvio issues a credit, the formula used is as follows: [value of returned product] + bonus

    If you select only the "Bonus" option as the credit refund method, Outvio will perform the calculation and display the amount on the products to be returned. In this case, you will have to make the payment to the customer on your own.

  • Free Shipping - you can offer free shipping to customers who opt for an in-store credit reimbursement option

    This is how these options will look in the portal:

Returns & exchanges portal

This is where you change the portal's design and appearance - add logo and background images, as well as change to your brand colours.

  • You can see how the portal looks like for your customers and edit the sections by clicking on Login page

  • Click on the gear icon to customise page settings, images, links and questions & answers:

  • Multi-branding: by clicking here you will be able to customize the portal independently for each brand ↙️

Reasons and instructions

This is where you customise your return and exchange reasons, as well as make sets of reasons. In this section you can also add instructions for returns and exchanges.

In Conquer plan you can also choose more languages:

Once you have a set of reasons, you can select them in your rules:

→You can have an overview of the new features of the new portal here

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