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the winning returns strategy of Kamera Express.

Discover how Kamera Express transformed obstacles and challenges in their returns process into a customer-friendly and profitable process. 
This case provides insight into Kamera Express' vision and answers about the implementation of crucial topics within the returns process such as exchanges, paid returns, repairs, warranties and more.
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Faster processing

Saving 3 minutes per return

product-guide
Lowered returns

Prevented 5% of returns

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Process improvement

Switched from 3 to 1 tool

short intro.

Kamera Express started in 1995 from a small garage box in Capelle aan de IJsel, transformed this into a camera store who people can visit. Nowadays, Kamera Express already has more than 34 stores, operates in 4 countries and employs 450+ people.


Your images deserve the best, which is why you can rely on Kamera Express from A to Z. Their experts are ready and happy to help you, both in their shops and online. They are happy to inspire and advise you in the field of photography and video. So you can get moving and create the most beautiful images with more confidence and pleasure.

Whether you shop online or visit Kamera Express in one of the 13 shops in the Netherlands. They can also be found in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. Their shops are all about experience and expertise. You can not only look at products, but also try them out. And if you need advice, their experts are there for you during workshops and demonstrations.

Kamera Express has been awarded best retail shop in the Netherlands several years in a row!

 

Tech stack:

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Platform

Novulo

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Returns

Returnless

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Jelle lagendijk

the success story of Kamera Express.

By Jelle Lagendijk, Senior service employee Repairs & Returns at Kamera Express.

the previous returns process.

At Kamera Express, they used to work with printed return forms. These forms were filled in manually by customers. As a result, they were often unreadable, so employees in the returns department had to really hunt around to find out what was wrong with each return. This took a lot of time.

In addition, returns were not pre-notified, so every day it was another surprise what would be returned to the warehouse.

To get a better grip on the return process, a scannable barcode was added to the return form. This way, Kamera Express could scan the return package with a phone upon arrival. At the time, this ensured that when packages arrived, it was at least clear which order was involved and which product was returned. This made things a little clearer for Kamera Express, but unfortunately this did not solve all the problems and there was still a lot of room for optimisation and improvement.

Retourformulier handgeschreven-1
"Kamera Express is a very forward-thinking organisation that is constantly looking for improvements for their customers. It is great to see how they have been using Returnless for their returns management for a year and a half. They have dived deeply into our software and paid a lot of attention to the configuration. It's great to see that they are using almost all available features to provide their customers with a smooth customer journey during the returns process."

Joost Kempe, Customer Success Lead at Returnless 


Biggest challenges.

❌ No understanding of what, when and why a product is returned.
❌ Decoding handwritten return forms.
❌ Despite the low return rate, still many returns due to high sales volumes.
❌ Multiple return flows, all of which required separate handling.
❌ Customers had many questions due to the unclear return process.
❌ Returns handling took a lot of time: an average of 8 minutes to handle one return.

Fast and accurate returns handling.

Since Kamera Express uses Returnless, customers can register their returns in advance via a digital form. This form allows Kamera Express to collect extensive information based on return reasons, allowing them to support customers better and faster with their return situation.

retour + retourredenen
"Our strength lies in using only 5 return reasons in the return form. Based on this, we ask follow-up questions to get more details about the return, such as uploading an image under 'product defect'." 

Jelle Lagendijk, Senior service employee repairs & returns at Kamera Express

Previously, Kamera Express worked with multiple processes, each of which required different tooling and ways of working. For example, Kamera Express used specific tooling for customer service communication. Repair & warranties were requested by e-mail. For returns, only a paper return form was used. As a result, multiple communication streams ran side by side and it was difficult to monitor and manage these processes separately. With Returnless, Kamera Express now has all information about return requests, repairs, warranties and customer communication in one system. The returns portal allows Kamera Express to work smartly and efficiently with different filters and statuses, which improves the speed of returns handling.

Retourportal Kamera Express
"We have improved from an average of 8 to 5 minutes for handling one return." 

Jelle Lagendijk, Senior Service employee repairs & returns at Kamera Express

Notitite
"We managed to save 3 minutes per return by implementing standard messaging templates in Returnless, which allow us to quickly and accurately communicate with our customers about the status of their returns. We can even send a payment link to our customers via these templates."

Jelle Lagendijk, Senior service employee repairs & returns at Kamera Express

Preventing returns.

However, returns are sometimes unavoidable; nevertheless, Kamera Express consistently finds ways to optimize the process, aiming to minimize returns whenever possible. One such way, is by adding the specific return reason: "Better price available elsewhere?" If a customer indicates this reason in their return request, Kamera Express can send a message via a standard note template:

Dear customer,

Thank you for your request. Please send us a link to the competitor's offer. Thank you very much in advance!

Kind regards,
Support Kamera Express

 

Based on the customer's response, a refund is then made for the price difference, keeping the customer happy and preventing a return. This not only saves Kamera Express a lot of work, but in addition, it prevents a return, saves unnecessary return costs and also makes the customer happy.

Better price available
"Because we capture return requests related to price differences this way, we prevent up to 5% of returns."

Jelle Lagendijk, Senior service employee repairs & returns at Kamera Express

Exchanges.

To prevent returns, Kamera Express also offers the option to exchange. Customers can always exchange their product, whenever this happens the return request receives an 'on hold' status in the returns portal. The customer can indicate in their return request which product they would like to receive in its place. If necessary, Kamera Express will send a payment request or arrange a refund for the price difference. Once the payment is completed, the new delivery is released and the return is completed.

While this does not completely prevent a product from being returned, it does retain revenue of the initial order by offering the option to exchange.

Ruilingen

Damaged products.

Of course, it can happen that products arrive to the customer completely damaged or broken. When a customer reports physical damage, Kamera Express asks them to upload a photo for review. Based on these photos, they can check the damage. When the photos are checked, they exchange the product without any hassle, without the customer having to return the damaged or broken product. This way, they avoid return costs and save time on return handling.

 

Repairs & warranties.

At Kamera Express, they process around 9,000 repairs annually, both in and out of warranty. Previously, this process was separate from the returns process, but the implementation of Returnless allowed them to integrate these two processes into one system.

The big advantage is that through Returnless, Kamera Express can provide quotes for repairs. This allows customers to immediately agree and pay the repair costs, or choose to pay only the research costs if they decide they would rather not have the product repaired. Previously, this process ran manually and Kamera Express received an agreement or rejection by email, and payment only came afterwards.

Kamera Express Reparaties&garanties
"With this new set-up, we have optimised and streamlined the repair and warranty process, which not only improves efficiency but also increases customer satisfaction." 

Jelle Lagendijk, Senior service employee repairs & returns at Kamera Express

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In summary, Kamera Express shares 3 findings for improving your returns process.

Return handling: Get an overview and centralise everything in one place. Use standardised processes and templates for speed and accuracy.

Prevent returns: Research the return reasons you can act on as a merchant. With small adjustments, follow-up questions or actions, you may be able to reduce some of your returns.

Repairs & Warranties: Improve efficiency by including repairs in the returns process. This ensures that everything is integrated in one system, which is very efficient and user-friendly for your returns and repairs team.

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Return portal return form