the path to an optimal customer experience
Replatforming and switching to Returnless V2
In this success story with SNURK Amsterdam, we discuss their experience in replatforming from Shopware to Shopify Plus, including the switch to the latest version of Returnless. What was involved, how do you offer customers the best possible customer experience, and why a smooth return process is an important part of that.Faster handling
Up to 2 minutes saved on handling time per return
Improved products
Product enhancements based on return data
Replatforming
From Shopware to Shopify Plus
Implementation
The newest version of Returnless (V2)
short intro.
Meanwhile, SNURK Amsterdam has grown and now offers nightwear in addition to bedding, recognisable by its unique prints. Nowadays SNURK exports internationally, including to China, Korea and Taiwan, in addition to their home market in the Netherlands & Belgium.
Tech stack:
CMS
Shopify Plus
WMS
Picqer
Returns
Returnless
the success story of SNURK Amsterdam.
By Isabel Ruijter, Customer and Office Manager at SNURK Amsterdam, and Arjan Hoeks, Freelance & Interim E-commerce Manager.
SNURK Amsterdam decided to switch from Shopware to Shopify Plus because of reduced downtime and to optimise user experience and speed. Switching to a totally new CMS is an exciting step. As SNURK wanted to avoid downtime during the peak period, it was decided to complete the implementation before Black Friday, which made this step even more challenging.
This is why SNURK decided to engage Arjan Hoeks. Arjan regularly helps webshops with his company (Hoeks Consultancy) as a freelance & interim e-commerce manager, and is the right person when it comes to implementing new webshop systems such as CMS tools.
Despite the challenge of switching to a new CMS before Black Friday, SNURK managed to successfully implement Shopify on time. The entire replatforming process ultimately took just four months, including design, development and production.
A solid customer experience from A to Z.
SNURK Amsterdam has been a customer of Returnless since January 2022. At the time, they were looking for a solution to further expand their shipping offer for returns. Returnless proved to be a good match and implementing Returnless immediately offered a large selection of carriers and shipping methods. In addition, the returns process was also automated, allowing customers to initiate the returns process themselves, which also resulted in significant time savings in handling of 2 minutes per return.
“You want to offer customers a positive experience from A to Z. Returns are part of that, even though you would prefer not to have returns, it can just happen that something doesn't quite fit the expectations, in which case you need to have a good process for the customer, so that the experience, despite a disappointing product, remains positive.”
Isabel Ruijter, Customer and Office Manager at SNURK Amsterdam
Arjan explains that an automated returns process makes it much easier for yourself, but also the customer. This will lead to more repeat purchases and will reduce the amount of return related questions customer service departments typically receive. Unfortunately many online retailers still focus only on the 'front end', says Arjan. They hardly deal with the returns process, and that's a shame, especially because there is much to gain.
With an extraordinarily successful Black Friday behind them, breaking records and achieving significant growth while leaving website performance unaffected, SNURK Amsterdam looks back confidently on the successful replatforming to Shopify Plus and the switch to Returnless V2.
“We put a lot of time and effort into the new website so that we can provide the best user experience. But if a customer ends up disappointed with the product, it is important they have a good return experience. That ultimately completes the customer journey.”
Arjan Hoeks, Interim & Freelance E-commerce Manager
A new and improved version of Returnless.
After a successful implementation of the new CMS, the integration with the latest version of Returnless could be made, and it was completed within half a day.
"The integration that is in place is very good, so nothing else needed to be built. We were actually able to integrate Returnless with Shopify in no time. Then it was just a matter of creating the return form and setting up the right flows." Tells Arjan Hoeks about implementing Returnless V2.
Isabel praises the improved and redesigned Returnless dashboard. Even without an e-commerce background, onboarding Returnless V2 was very easy.
A key feature is the ability to create credit notes and refunds, directly in Shopify. "This saves us time, because before, you had to perform administrative steps in addition to the returns processing itself. Now, you can handle everything in one single dashboard. Whether it's a providing a refund, gift card or coupon."
In addition, there are more branding and design options, which means SNURK now has more creative freedom to integrate its corporate identity into the returns process.
“The user experience has improved enormously in Returnless V2. You can configure an awful lot and tailor it just to your liking. Everything is self-explanatory, where in the previous version it required a bit more research. I have fewer questions, and if I do ever have questions I get the solution from the Returnless team within an hour.”
Isabel Ruijter, Customer and Office Manager at SNURK Amsterdam
A personalized return policy.
SNURK handles some return requests via a separate customer service flow. For instance, in the case of incorrectly delivered items or damaged products. Via the digital return form, these returns are pre-sorted so that they are received as a request, so they can be verified and approved by the customer service team beforehand. By uploading a photo, the damage can be checked by an employee and the return can be approved. In these cases, SNURK sends a new product without an obligation of returning the damaged items. We call this 'return without shipment'. This not only contributes to a positive customer experience, but also saves CO2 as fewer trips need to be made. In addition, SNURK has a separate process for sale items, where paid returns, unlike the regular collection where returns are free, are the standard.
"During a sale period we often experience a peak in returns, partly because sales are increasing. You want to offer your customers the service of free returns, which is what we offer for our regular collection. But surely you want to remain profitable as a business, which is why we decided to implement paid returns for sale items."
Return data analyses.
Analysing return data is done regularly and is a standardised process within SNURK. The return data available within Returnless is used to take a critical look at which products are frequently returned and for what reason.
With an impressive return rate of just 7%, SNURK is performing exceptionally well. They naturally strive to keep this return rate as low as possible and use data analysis to do so.
“If you see a product is being returned often, do you still want to sell that product? You want to be able to foresee that, but to do that you first need to have the right insights.”
Arjan Hoeks, Interim & Freelance E-commerce Manager
"We use return data for product improvements and resizing. For example, some time ago we changed the sizing of our larger clothing sizes, simply because we saw that these were returned more often than other sizes." Explains Isabel.
Arjan concludes that Returnless offers a huge advantage in obtaining and analysing return data, which is a key element that is often missing at other online retailers.
"During my projects, I notice that many organisations still use different data sources to generate complicated Power BI reports to gain insight into their returns. The fact that you now have that data by default in one dashboard, and therefore no longer have to compile reports, is a very big asset."
Collecting return data is not nearly as difficult as many entrepreneurs think, but it all starts with digitising your returns process. Arjan is amazed at how often he still comes across an Excel sheet containing all the collected return information.
“If you work with a printed return form, it is very difficult to get to the bottom of your return data. You have an immediate advantage if you utulise a digital return form - The fact that you can directly analyse that data in Returnless, gives you a very strong business case that pays for itself.”
Arjan Hoeks, Interim & Freelance E-commerce Manager
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