ReturnGO

Developing a public Shopify app with AI for seamless e-commerce returns & exchanges

Building a smart automated returns & exchanges app

Location	Tel-Aviv, Israel & Delaware, USA	Cooperation model	Time and material/Dedicated team
Industry	E-commerce, Retail, IT industry	Partnership period	September 14, 2020 - – Ongoing maintenance and support
Improvements plan	Discovery phase, requirements and estimation analysis, prototyping and designing,new features development	Team size	Two FullStack engineers with the stack PHP, Laravel, Node.js, React
Technologies	Shopify, Shopify Plus, Node.js, React.js, Laravel

About the client

Established in 2020, ReturnGO is a company with incorporation in both Tel Aviv, Israel, and Delaware, US. Their team consists of skilled professionals who work from diverse locations across the globe. With the mission of transforming the post-purchase model into a win-win situation, the company has strived to save retailers from lost revenue, additional shipping costs, staff expenses, and dissatisfied customers. ReturnGO company has become the go-to solution for 2700+ trusted brands.

About the product

With the idea of simplifying the process of managing post-purchases at every stage, ReturnGO marked the beginning of new data visibility across the entire post-purchase ecosystem. We connected to the project of creating public Shopify app from the ground up and went through all the development challenges together, resulting in a top-notch AI-powered solution. Since 2020, this has been made possible by developing a sustainable returns management Shopify application that facilitates returns and exchanges within the portal, increasing revenue and upselling with an experience akin to shopping.

Challenges overview

At the outset of our partnership, the client initially engaged us to develop a segment of the product related to Shopify integration. During the collaboration process, ReturnGO were truly satisfied with our work, which resulted in decision to let us take part in the entire project. What moved the project' forward? The client realized that e-commerce businesses could boost profits by introducing a bonus or credit system for returned orders. In the event of a product return, an online store can choose to refund customers through bonuses or retain the funds as store credit. Such a solution would help businesses stay in charge of their money and cut down on transaction costs linked to old-school banking operations. It's a win-win for both customers and e-commerce companies.

Discover the main hurdles we faced throughout the Shopify app development journey:

Tackling technical complexity

The process involved navigating through the intricate details of creating an application equipped with UI dashboards, admin panels, and a Shopify plugin.

Syncing with Shopify

Crafting a seamless integration with the Shopify platform brought its own set of challenges. Ensuring alignment with Shopify's ecosystem and guaranteeing compatibility added layers of complexity to the development process.

Prioritizing user experience (UX)

Striving for a positive experience for both administrators and customers was key, especially with the introduction of new features. This demanded meticulous attention to detail in UX design and usability.

Scaling up responsibly

Designing a platform capable of handling potential growth and increased user activity was a challenge. Ensuring scalability was crucial, making certain that the application could manage higher transaction volumes and data loads.

Fortifying data security

Implementing robust security measures to safeguard sensitive user and business data, especially in financial transactions, was a paramount challenge demanding rigorous attention to detail.

Incorporating AI smoothly

Developing an AI-powered portal required expertise in artificial intelligence. Challenges included training models, ensuring accuracy, and maintaining efficiency throughout the integration process.

Navigating continuous development

The iterative nature of development, particularly with ongoing efforts to introduce new features such as a Shopify refund system, demanded a dynamic approach.

Ensuring cross-platform compatibility

Our developers needed to make sure the solution worked seamlessly across various devices, browsers, and operating systems.

Our solution

We initiated the development of the Shopify app with a UI dashboard and an admin panel catering to two user categories: administrators and customers. The plugin functions as a store credit system specifically designed for users who have previously initiated a purchase return. It provides users with two options: either a bonus or a cash balance credited to their account.

In the following step, our experts were involved in building an analytical system for orders and returns, with ongoing work to introduce a Shopify refund feature to the application. The final option that was introduced by our developers was a cash refund, subsequently building the foundations of a well-rounded ecosystem and enhancing the end-user experience of online purchases.

Working from the ground up allowed us to introduce a new purchase experience, combined to promote sustainable e-commerce. That was expected to result in cultivating lifelong shoppers and supporting environmentally conscious shopping practices. As a solution to our challenging joint project, we presented a secure, fully hosted solution.The Shopify application caters to the evolving needs of businesses and their customers, offering a variety of benefits. Among them:

Exchange-first approach

for embracing an exchange-centric returns platform, prioritizing one-click exchanges for a smoother process.

Customizable policies

are those that tailor return and exchange policy rules, eligibility conditions, resolutions, and reasons to suit your business needs.

Automated, branded, and AI-powered portal

for providing a seamless returns experience with an automated, branded, and return portal based on generative AI solutions.

Centralized management system

for managing returns and exchanges in a single, centralized location.