With so many apps on the market, how do you tell which is right for your Shopify store? We’re happy to announce that we’ve joined a group of SaaS platforms who are trying to make that question a little simpler: let us introduce The App Collective.  

Great Merchants Deserve Great Tech 

Any seasoned eCommerce pro understands that a great tech stack can make or break a brand—however, what’s great tech without the knowledge to properly wield it? That’s where The App Collective comes in.

We’re a group of SaaS veterans and eComm-obsessed thought leaders joining forces to create a community to share what we know through live events, expert guides, and of course, exclusive app offers.

The name of the game right now is Black Friday Cyber Monday prep, the first topic being Customer Service, in which we were featured alongside Push Owl, Lucky Orange, Smile.io, Gorgias, and Clyde.  

We have some takeaways from our talk but highly recommend checking out the entire event to see what everyone else has to say as well. Or, if you’d like to skip ahead to our session, you can do so here.  

Taking an Operational Approach this Holiday Season Can Turn Dissatisfied Shoppers into Loyal Repeat Customers 

A smooth customer experience when initiating a return can only go so far—what happens when the return is out of the shopper’s hands and in the customer service and warehouse teams’?

The holidays are a great time for brand discovery, but also a time when the stakes are high, leading to inevitable shipping delays, bottlenecks as customer service teams get overwhelmed, and backups at the warehouse. 

Even if a shopper is not 100% satisfied with their purchase, giving them a smooth, quick, relatively painless returns process means they’ll be likely to return. Even if “saving the sale” isn’t possible, viewing returns as another touchpoint in the customer journey rather than a problem to defend against can be a valuable extension of a brand’s overall presence.  

Use Returns Trends to Inform Marketing Strategy, Inventory Levels, and More 

Simply accounting for and lowering return rate as a metric—surprisingly—does little for a business’s bottom line. Think about it: why are customers returning items they’re not happy with? Is it a marketing issue? Is something on the PDP inaccurate? Was the item damaged in transit? Is there something wrong with the item that would require vendor intervention?

There are so many different things that can happen to impact returns as a metric, and simply lowering return rate doesn’t solve for these problems. Gathering data in the returns process—such as primary and secondary return reasons (I.E., “this dress was too small—especially in the arms.”) are worth their weight in gold.  

Consider Changing Up a Return Policy for the Holiday Season 

What do your customers want? What do they need?

Consider the holiday season and how chaotic it can be—even when you’re not running an eCommerce store. To keep them happy and not begrudgingly holding onto an item that they intended to return but ran out of time to do so, do you need to implement a longer window for returns? 

How about your return reasons—do you need to add an exchange options for gifts, or warranty for personalized items? If a new customer isn’t thrilled with—or can’t quickly and easily find—a return policy, they may be more likely to shop elsewhere with a brand they’re more familiar with, or a policy that fits their needs.  

Like what you see? 

The App Collective has two more sessions like this planned, then additional initiatives after that to help merchants unlock their full potential. The next topic is Merchandising and Conversions, followed by Shipping and Fulfillment. Follow the links to sign up—looking forward to seeing you there!