Hello there and welcome to the January Returnly Update page! We'll be going over new & upcoming product features, general updates, partnerships, and improvements to Returnly below.
Returns to Military Bases - Shipping Label Generation
Who does this affect?
All merchants who facilitate returns to military bases.
Why the update?
Returns from military bases are treated differently from other addresses due to regulatory requirements. The most important difference is that they require additional customs information applied to shipping labels in order for them to be accepted for delivery - otherwise, they're rejected. Today, there is only one carrier that is allowed to ship mail from military bases: USPS. View USPS's requirements and restrictions here. Consequently, Returnly is unable to generate labels for any other carriers with a return from address that is at a military base.
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For USPS merchants:
We will soon add support for providing the necessary documentation for returns from military bases addresses. This will include a customs form being generated for the shopper. In order to properly generate the customs form, Returnly will need that for orders to shoppers at military bases that the proper 6-digit Harmonized System (HS) code, 2-letter country code, and weights are included in the product information that is provided when an order is created. Without this information, Returnly cannot generate the necessary forms required for the shipping label.
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For non-USPS merchants:
Returnly will fail label generation for your shopper and inform them that they should contact your customer support team for further assistance. Returnly is exploring making this a more user-friendly experience where the shopper is instead instructed of the address to ship the return to.
When will this update go live?
This update will be implemented in the next week. We will update this article when it is live.
Shop Collections Enhancements (Beta)
Who does this affect?
All merchants utilizing Shop Collections will enjoy these improvements. Shop Collections requires a Returnly Premium subscription, along with a US-based Shopify/Shopify Plus account.
Why the update?
While Shop Collections has been in beta, we have been able to collect valuable feedback in regards to improving the overall user experience on the front-end as well as the back-end. There are 3 updates with Shop Collections, listed below:
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Merchant Stripe Accounts utilized for uplift during exchanges - Uplift, which is the additional amount that a shopper has to pay if exchanging for a higher priced item (a more expensive variant, or different product), was previously facilitated through Returnly's Stripe account. We are changing this so that merchant Stripe accounts are the ones that collect any uplift during exchanges (within the context of Shop Collections, and also with standard exchanges). This effectively removes Returnly as the middle-man facilitator/entity, which removes a layer of complication in regards to how payments are handled.
The existing shopper flows will remain uninterrupted with this change.
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When will this update go live?
This update will be implemented at the end of January. We will update this article when it is live.
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Carry over discounts on shop collections exchange - For shoppers, the discounts applied on their first order will be carried over to their exchange order within shop collections so that they will not have to pay the difference. This quality of life improvement works well with both merchants and shoppers - shoppers won't have to contact the merchant's customer support team to get that discount applied on an ad-hoc basis, and it reduces the risk for a merchant that the shopper doesn't place a new order at all due to the inconvenience involved.
Examples of discounts being carried over:
- Percentage - 20% off a $150 order will have a maximum of $30 carried over to the exchange order. We will not be re-applying 20% off the exchange cart total so in the case the shopper exchanges for a $200 order, only $30 is carried over.
- Fixed Amount - $30 off a $100 order will have a maximum of $30 carried over to the exchange order.
- Free Shipping - This is not applied to the order line item, and exchange shipping is already free for the shopper.
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Buy X get Y (BOGO) -
- If the shopper exchanges the item that they paid full price on, no discount is carried over.
- If the shopper exchanges the item that had a 100% discount, then they can exchange for any item up to the value of that item for free.
- The shopper will not be refunded the difference if they select a cheaper item. However if the shopper exchanges the item that was fully paid for and chooses a cheaper item, they may be pocketing the difference AND keeping their free item.
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Applies To - Logic to apply discounts to only specific items during an exchange is not currently available.
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When will this update go live?
This update will be implemented at the end of January. We will update this article when it is live.
Improved Financial Reports
Who does this affect?
Customers who are utilizing Returnly Credit will have access to these two improved reports.
Why the update?
In an effort to further improve and streamline the experience for yourself and your accounting teams, we've worked on optimizing our accounts receivable and accounts payable reports to make it easier for you to reconcile or monitor funds received from invoices charged by Returnly. A key new feature is the addition of a reconciliation key to the reports, which grants accounting additional flexibility around where funds are flowing in and out from. We'll go into further detail on each report below:
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Accounts Receivable Report (Return Manager > Billing > Returnly Credit > Download)
This report shows what Returnly pays you, the merchant, via either Returnly Credit or collected uplift. In other words, it reflects new payments that the merchant receives from Returnly.
This report lists repurchases and exchange orders that Returnly has sent funds to in order to cover the new order.
Additional improvements to this report includes:- Re-organization of fields
- Renaming of fields
- Addition of Stripe payout ID field
- Addition of Stripe payout arrival date field
- Addition of exchange uplift payment field
- Addition of reconciliation key
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Accounts Payable Report (Return Manager > Analytics > Finances > Accounts Payable > Download)
This report shows what Returnly is invoicing you, the merchant, for. It reflects new payments made on recurring debts.
This report contains unique rows for each RMA where Returnly invoiced you. This essentially means that all RMAs that have been delivered, reviewed, and settled (that were part of a Returnly Credit transaction) will be included in this report.
Additional improvements to this report includes:- Re-organization of fields
- Renaming of fields
- Addition of reconciliation key
- These reports will be available at the end of next week. We will update this article when it is live.
Partnerships
New Partnership: Re:amaze
Re:amaze is a helpdesk and customer messaging platform designed for eCommerce businesses. Use Re:amaze to connect with customers across multiple channels such as email, social media, SMS, voice, live chat, FAQ, and push notifications. Increase customer happiness and boost sales with a wide range of automation tools such as chatbots and automated messages.
- For information on how to install and use this integration, visit this resource.
- You must have a Returnly Premium account in order to use this integration.
- If you are on a Premium (Annual) plan and do not have an API token provisioned for the Re:amaze integration, please reach out to partners@returnly.com. If you are not yet on a Premium (Annual) plan and would like to learn more, please reach out to us at sales@returnly.com.
Spotlight: Omnisend
Last month, we partnered with Omnisend on a webinar giving tips to “Stay Ahead of the Curve w/ Returns” In case you missed, you can access the recording here. Omnisend is the leading marketing automation platform tailor-made for ecommerce & offering a special discount of 30% off Standard or Pro until February 28th. More here.
